Healthcare Administration Online Bachelor’s Degree Program

The perspectives, beliefs, and preferences of employees in today's workplace are more diverse than perhaps ever before. Today's high-performing managers are those who foster inclusive, positive, and responsive organizational cultures for their people. But with such varied perspectives, what cultural considerations make the most sense for an organization? Management in the 21st Century will teach students how to foster a workplace environment where people can flourish and are motivated to meet objectives and ambitions for the organization.

Project Management is the formal application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project-based activities to meet organizational requirements. Project management is accomplished through the use of processes such as Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing. Project managers can divide projects into these phases to provide better management control with appropriate links to the ongoing operations of the organization. Collectively, these phases, known as the project life cycle, form the foundation for the practice of project management and are guided by the Body of Knowledge from the Project Management Institute (PMI).

Compensation and Benefits will provide students a detailed understanding of how to develop a Total Rewards Program (TRP), and the strategic choices employers make when selecting TRP financial terms. The course covers the implementation of compensation strategies, benefits packages, work-life balance programs, performance and service recognition strategies, and career development strategies.

Students gain a systematic overview of the U.S. health care system, including the role of the public and private sectors. Federal and state health policy and legislation are examined in depth. Students develop an understanding of the complex social and environmental issues that are driving the need for quality improvement, performance measurement and the use of information systems. They become familiar with the various mechanisms through which health services are delivered and also compare the U.S. health care system to other systems outside the U.S.

Students examine the role of information systems in achieving performance improvement in health care delivery, and develop the skills necessary to manage information systems. Students learn to manage health information technology to improve patient care, comply with federal and state regulations, and increase clinical and operational efficiencies.

Students gain a systematic overview of the financial operations of common health care organizations, both public and private. They gain knowledge about various financial techniques and tools applied to health care settings including revenue stream management, budgeting and resource management allocation, and third party payer management. Students identify and analyze key issues confronting the financial management of health care systems and provide strategies for effective management of these financial challenges. This course will emphasize the intersection and integration of health resources management, both clinical and financial, in quality improvement efforts.

Students learn about the laws, government policies and guidelines, and ethical considerations related to the operation of health care systems. Within this context, students explore HIPAA, informed consent, health IT compliance, anti-trust issues and organizational structures in health care. Students focus on the implications of laws and regulations on the management of health care services, particularly with respect to information systems, costs and, day-to-day operations.

Explores health communication as an emerging specialty in the health care field. We foster a broad-based conceptual understanding of health communication and its role in the contemporary U.S. health care system. Students consider the intersection of health and communication, emphasizing evidence-based approaches and ethical frameworks for research and practice. Areas of research include: provider-patient interaction, social support networks, health information and technology systems, medical ethics, health policy, and health promotion.

Students learn about computerized clinical information systems and computer-based patient information management. They explore health information systems within the context of the work environment, and associated business processes, with emphasis on clinical data and emerging clinical technologies. Students gain skills in managing change in clinical systems to build buy-in, engage individuals and ultimately change workflow. Students learn how cost-benefit analysis, return on investment, requests for proposals, and depreciation affect decision-making.

Students gain an understanding of the health care industry's organizational performance measures and assessments related to the improvement of healthcare service quality. Topics explored include traditional quality, structure and process assessments including risk management, credentialing and the role of oversight agencies; outcomes-based process improvement methods focusing on rapid-cycle tools, such as PDSA, and using small tests of change. Students apply measures and assessments directly to the complex issues and concerns of health care administration.

With the assistance of faculty, students develop and complete an exploratory project in health care administration, giving them the opportunity to independently integrate and apply professional and research content in a healthcare setting of their choice.

Employee retention is focused on keeping top employees, and ensuring they're happy and sufficiently challenged in their respective roles within the organization. The influence of company culture goes a long way in this lifecycle stage. If the culture in the organization is poor, it inevitably leads to high employee turnover rates. In the event an employee leaves the organization, approaching the separation process strategically is critical. When a team member leaves, it has an effect on other members.

Students learn about the complex safety and wellness programs that must be delivered by every employer in order to ensure an environment that is conducive to productive work. They will learn about the wide range of employer safety programs including substance abuse, ergonomics, OSHA, work-life balance, leave of absences and many others that HR supports the business in developing and delivering. Students will also consider the opportunity for employee wellness programs and how to design and implement a wellness plan.

Students will learn how to create conditions for successful conflict engagement, a necessary skill for any professional. The course focuses on the foundational capacities to remain calm and connected with oneself and others. In this state students can access helpful ideas and responses and be their best selves regardless of environment. Improving facility for conflict creates stronger relationships and reduces fear. By the end of the course, students will understand that disagreement and difference can become a source of personal and interpersonal growth.

Organizations cannot avoid change and must embrace it if they wish to remain competitive. However, oftentimes organizational change initiatives fail as a result of poor decision-making, leading to organizational discontent. The goal of positive change leadership is to lead individuals and groups toward opportunities for growth. It entails understanding the factors that cause people to resist change, assisting them in embracing change, and taking the initiative to foster a change-friendly environment within the organization.

Medical sociology examines the interplay between social factors and healthcare systems, fostering insights for addressing health disparities, improving patient care, and shaping policy. In this course students will assess how social structures, cultural beliefs and economic factors influence the functioning of healthcare systems and medical practices as well as health outcomes. Students will explore how people's experiences and conceptualizations of health and illness are impacted by social factors such as social class, race and gender. They will evaluate the role of social institutions such as public health to address health outcomes of the community.

This course introduces students to the foundational concepts needed to communicate effectively in writing for academic study and professional development. Students will also learn to read critically to evaluate an author's message. Students will be introduced to rhetorical modes and their role in the development of written communication. Students will also learn how to use revision strategies to create written communication that meets its intended purpose for its intended audience

This course builds on students' proficiency in the writing process and rhetorical modes to introduce the use of sources in written communication. Students will practice information literacy as they learn to determine information needs from sources, develop effective search strategies, and incorporate sources in written communication, legally and ethically.

Starting with a frame of human communication as a dynamic system of interactions in which people make choices that impact their relationships, other people, and themselves, students will define theory-informed communication concepts and processes, and critically examine how they apply to everyday life across a variety of contexts. Students will reflect on how the theory, concepts and processes apply to their own lives in becoming competent communicators who are knowledgeable, skilled, and versatile.

In this course, students are introduced to the theory and practice of ethical public communication in a culturally diverse society. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the public communication process which includes determining speech purpose, researching and structuring messages with attention to audience analysis, and setting. They will identify and practice elements of effective delivery in their own public speaking performances and meaningfully critique others' speech performances.

This course examines the principles of effective small group interaction. Students will analyze group development stages and small group roles. They will identify and evaluate communication skills that enhance small group cohesion and problem-solving. Students will explain how conflict affects group processes and compare face-to-face versus digital collaboration environments. These skills prepare students to participate effectively in group settings across academic, professional, and community contexts.

Students will learn and apply critical inquiry skills to analyze persuasive communication created by others and to develop persuasive communication/arguments of their own to solve problems in professional, civic, social, and personal contexts. Specifically, students will learn to recognize fallacies in logic; apply inductive and deductive reasoning strategies to the interpretation and development of persuasive communication; evaluate the validity of sources; and develop logically sound persuasive communication. Students will explore the roles of self-awareness, empathy, and ethics in the context of critical inquiry and the development of arguments.

Ethics refers to accepted standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do in various contexts, typically in relation to rights, obligations/duties, benefits to society, fairness, consequences, and virtues. In this course, students will explore both theoretical and practical dimensions of ethics in order to 1) define ethics and identify ethical positions and principles, 2) critically reflect on how ethics impacts individual and collective responsibility, decision-making, and action, and 3) apply ethics to the personal, civic, and professional contexts.

This course provides students with an understanding of the many different devices and technologies, from historical to emerging, that are required to design and build networks. In a broad survey of concepts and terminology, students will learn about topology, communications, protocols, and security, and to diagram basic networks to specification.

Computer game development is a broad industry involving the coordination of multiple digital technologies and creative design elements. In this course, students explore various computer game genres, the history, philosophy, and ethics of computer games, and methodologies for documenting and directing the game development process. Additionally, students examine the nature of play and engagement in the digital realm, as well as the application of diverse viewpoints in considering the intended game audience and the narrative construction of the games themselves.

In this course, students will study key concepts such as player engagement, narrative development, and systems design and learn how to apply the principles of game design to narrative content in the development of engaging game experiences. By the end of this course, students should be able to demonstrate these design principles, showcasing their creativity, problem-solving skills, and the ability to adapt to evolving industry standards.

This class is designed to provide students who have little or no digital video production knowledge with an introduction to methods and strategies for production of digital video stories. Using the art of telling a story, the class will create educational, informational or personal experience video productions utilizing audio, video, storyboard, scriptwriting and digital editing techniques

This course is an historical overview, and examination of the evolution of digital, film, and print media, and their functions. Students will identify and analyze contemporary problems of the media such as the legal, social, economic and psychological implications of their relationships with society. They also will examine the ways in which marketing and PR professionals utilize the mass media channels to reach their intended target audiences.

This course explores the complex and evolving relationship between human beings and technology. Through a multi-disciplinary approach that draws on fields such as sociology, psychology, philosophy, and history, students will examine the ways in which technology has shaped human culture, identity, and values, as well as how humans have influenced and continue to influence the development, adoption and use of technology.

Students will develop the ability to describe and apply the concepts, tools, and processes of algebra and trigonometry to address real-world problems. By identifying and articulating the methods most appropriate to solving problems, students recognize how algebraic and trigonometric information apply to everyday situations. Topics include graphing, conic sections, functions, exponents, radicals, logarithms, systems of linear equations, trigonometric functions, equations, and identities, and the laws of sines and cosines. Working knowledge of high school algebra is required.

Mathematical reasoning, when applied to everyday and professional lives, has two dimensions: logic for deterministic situations and probabilities for non-deterministic situations. This course aims to help students develop these mathematical reasoning skills.

This course introduces students to basic statistics for data literacy. With a focus on exploring real-world data, students will interpret numerical information and utilize the tools necessary to complete the entire statistical process: designing a study; gathering, organizing, and analyzing sample data; and making inferences about a population. Students will demonstrate data-driven decision-making and effective communication of numerical data.

This course covers the fundamental concepts of linear algebra and analytical geometry, including matrices, vectors, linear transformations, and systems of linear equations. Students will also explore the analytical geometry of Euclidean spaces, including lines, planes, circles, spheres, and conic sections. In this course, students will develop their mathematical reasoning skills and learn how to apply these principles to solve real-world problems.

Students will develop the ability to apply scientific methods to understand the natural world, to identify scientific aspects of daily life, and to evaluate the quality of scientific information based on its source and the methods used for its generation.

In this course, students will gain an introduction to classical mechanics and learn about motion, force, energy, and momentum. The course covers vectors, scalars, and coordinate systems, as well as kinematics in one and two dimensions, Newton's Laws of Motion, circular motion, and kinetic energy and work. Students also learn about potential energy and energy conservation, collision theory, rotational motion, moment of inertia, torque, rotational dynamics, and angular momentum.

This course will introduce students to major streams of social justice thought, including historical social justice movements, theoretical problems having to do with social equality, personal freedom, marginalization, and stigmatization, and the ways in which civic and professional communities respond to these issues.

With pressure and release, a window opens and closes, recording light on a sensor. The simple action captures the instinct, judgement, and skill of the person behind the lens. This class will begin a study of the art and craft of photography. Students will develop their vision and their understanding of how to achieve it. Solid skills will be learned and many doors will be opened.

A survey of the continuing change experienced in art since the 15th century. Students will examine how an image is achieved as well as the significance of the subject represented. Individual inquiry concerning the nature of art is encouraged.

Students learn to appreciate films through the critical analysis of various elements of mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing and sound. The course introduces the conventions of classical Hollywood cinema, considers the work of one major director (auteur), and surveys selected international and independent films. Students view and discuss films each week.

Students in the course will explore the cultural history of the music genre broadly referred to as rock. Students will explore the social, economic and political contexts that are influenced by and that influenced each style in the United States. By listening, watching, reflecting upon, discussing and writing, students will explore how music takes on meaning, personally, and culturally. Topics and themes include the relationships between and among gospel, country, funk, folk, disco, rap and hip hop; the role of business and technology in those relationships, and political or transgressive elements of rock music.

Starting with a frame of human communication as a dynamic system of interactions in which people make choices that impact their relationships, other people, and themselves, students will define theory-informed communication concepts and processes, and critically examine how they apply to everyday life across a variety of contexts. Students will reflect on how the theory, concepts and processes apply to their own lives in becoming competent communicators who are knowledgeable, skilled, and versatile.

In this course, students are introduced to the theory and practice of ethical public communication in a culturally diverse society. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the public communication process which includes determining speech purpose, researching and structuring messages with attention to audience analysis, and setting. They will identify and practice elements of effective delivery in their own public speaking performances and meaningfully critique others' speech performances.

In this course, students will investigate how communication practices and processes shape organizations across settings such as businesses, nonprofit, and civic organizations. By examining case studies, applying theory to practice, and reflecting on their own experiences and observations, students critically analyze how communication impacts collaboration, conflict management, and organizational change. Students will explore the role of digital and mediated communication and how organizations communicate externally with stakeholders, partners, and the broader environment.

This course provides students with a comprehensive overview of the American criminal justice system as comprising three essential components: law enforcement, the court system and corrections. Students will recognize that the field of criminal justice is interdisciplinary and they will outline and discuss the historical foundation of the criminal justice system. They will also explore social and ethical dimensions as they review real-world case studies.

This course introduces students to the fundamentals of substantive criminal law. With this foundation for understanding the legal system students will identify the essential elements of crimes, including the criminal act, criminal state of mind, and jurisdiction. They will examine the rationale underlying criminal law, factors affecting criminal responsibility, and legal defenses. By analyzing real-world scenarios, students will develop skills to distinguish lawful from unlawful actions and prepare for advanced studies or careers in criminal justice.

This course focuses on the rules and procedures governing how the American criminal justice system must process individuals suspected, accused, and convicted of law violations.

Students will learn and apply critical inquiry skills to analyze persuasive communication created by others and to develop persuasive communication/arguments of their own to solve problems in professional, civic, social, and personal contexts. Specifically, students will learn to recognize fallacies in logic; apply inductive and deductive reasoning strategies to the interpretation and development of persuasive communication; evaluate the validity of sources; and develop logically sound persuasive communication. Students will explore the roles of self-awareness, empathy, and ethics in the context of critical inquiry and the development of arguments.

Principles of Economics introduces the fundamental concepts of economics - the study of how people manage resources, and how they react to scarcity. This course focuses on both microeconomics (the behavior of consumers and companies) and macroeconomics (large-scale economic factors such as employment and interest rates), so that you'll gain a broad understanding of how a modern market economy functions, how decisions in business settings are informed by economics, and how economics applies to your everyday life.

Students will study important themes in the social history of the United States since the Civil War. This course allows students to expand their critical thinking skills through an examination of primary and secondary sources. Themes might include: the evolving status of women; the immigrant experience; the concept of the American dream; the paradox of freedom vs. slavery; the minority experience; the tensions between social classes. Students will be evaluated primarily on writing assignments.

This course is an historical overview, and examination of the evolution of digital, film, and print media, and their functions. Students will identify and analyze contemporary problems of the media such as the legal, social, economic and psychological implications of their relationships with society. They also will examine the ways in which marketing and PR professionals utilize the mass media channels to reach their intended target audiences.

Ethics refers to accepted standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do in various contexts, typically in relation to rights, obligations/duties, benefits to society, fairness, consequences, and virtues. In this course, students will explore both theoretical and practical dimensions of ethics in order to 1) define ethics and identify ethical positions and principles, 2) critically reflect on how ethics impacts individual and collective responsibility, decision-making, and action, and 3) apply ethics to the personal, civic, and professional contexts.

In this course, students will explore broad, foundational knowledge in psychology, including its history, major theorists and a survey of psychology subfields such as developmental, cognitive and social psychology. Students will also describe and assess the role of ethics and social responsibility in the study and application of psychological theory and practices.

In this class, students will explore how social relationships, groups, societies and culture develop and change over time. From a sociological theory foundation and employing the sociological imagination, students will examine the impact of social structures, institutions, and systems on individual lives. Students will apply sociological research methods to investigate sociological phenomena in their own lives.

This course empowers students with essential habits of mind for success in higher education and beyond. From a questioning mindset, students will explore informed decision-making and creative problem-solving; connecting personal values and discipline-specific ethical frameworks to various contexts. Students will learn the importance of communication to enhance collaboration to support integrated decision-making processes in diverse settings. This course provides a strong foundation for academic achievement and personal growth, valuable for all students regardless of their background or future aspirations.