(completed November 2005)

I. Mission Statement

In keeping with SPEA's overall mission, the BSHSM degree provides basic academic training and furnishes applied skills to prepare students for a variety of entry- to mid-level positions in the vast U.S. health care industry comprising both public and private sectors.

II. Goals of the BSHSM Degree

Following are the goals for students to achieve by the end of their degree program:

1. Demonstrate understanding of the main concepts and processes of health services delivery.
2. Demonstrate understanding of concepts and skills used in managing health care organizations.
3. Relate management concepts learned in courses to the workplace environment.
4. Understand and apply basic financial management techniques and principles of health economics.
5. Demonstrate competency in oral and written communication.

III. Educational Goals and Courses Designed to Achieve Those Goals

1. Students will become familiar with the main concepts and processes of health care delivery, including the role of public health in the United States. Students will also be able to recognize the major issues and trends in the delivery of health services
(H320 - Health Care Administration; H455 - Topics in Public Health).
To achieve this goal, students will learn about:

• a. The concepts of health and wellness, and basic epidemiological methods used for determining the incidence and prevalence of disease in a given population
  b. The foundations and evolution of a public-private health care system, including the development of public health structures and processes
  c. Public and private financing for health care
  d. Health insurance: Its current and future directions
  e. Roles of health care professionals and medical technology
  f. Outpatient and inpatient services
  g. Organization of public health agencies at the local, state, and federal levels
  h. Managed care and integrated organizations
  i. Functional impairments and the delivery of community-based and institutional long-term care
  j. Issues of cost, access, and quality
  k. Main issues pertaining to the uninsured and underserved populations, and issues pertaining to major health conditions and priorities that the public health system must address
  l. Social, economic, and environmental aspects of public health
  m. Health policymaking and future directions of health care delivery

2. Students will gain both a theoretical and practical understanding of the organization and management of health care organizations.
(H402 - Hospital Administration; H411 - Long-term care administration)
To achieve this goal, students will learn :

• a. How health care organizations relate to the social, political, economic, technological, informational, and ecological changes in the environment
  b. The roles of governance and executive functions
  c. How different organizational designs can best meet the needs of primary clients
  d. How to develop and measure continuous improvement of quality and productivity
  e. The role of information systems in effective management
  f. How the main clinical, residential, and adjunct service processes must be integrated to address a variety of patient needs
  g. General laws and regulations as they apply to health care delivery
  h. How to market health care services

3. Students will be able to apply to the workplace environment the main concepts of health care administration.
(V380 - Internship)
Students will develop applied skills through case analysis and by observing and reporting on how the concepts of health care delivery and management are applied in actual practice.

4. Students will develop an understanding of economics theory and principles and techniques of health care finance as they are applied in managing health care organizations.
(H354 - Health Economics; H352 - Health Care Finance and Budgeting).
To achieve the above goals, students will:

• a. Develop skills in economic reasoning, including supply/demand analysis, marginal analysis, production theory, and cost theory
  b. Learn the demand-side (patient) and supply-side (physicians and hospitals) characteristics of health care markets
  c. Learn the effects of insurance and managed care on these health care markets
  d. Identify and analyze key financial information contained in the income statement and the balance sheet
  e. Understand techniques used in costing of health care products and services
  f. Analyze relationships between cost, volume, and profitability
  g. Make pricing decisions
  h. Understand budgeting concepts and processes
  i. Analyze budgetary performance
  j. Perform time value analysis and make investment decisions

5. Demonstrate competency in oral and written communication.
Although basic oral and written skills are acquired by the students in their general education program, most of the BSHSM coursework further emphasizes one or both competencies.

IV. Methodologies for measuring the Attainment of Educational Goals

The main assessment approach used involves mapping across the curriculum. The mission is reflected in the degree goals, which are addressed by the main required courses that students must take to earn the degree.

A. Degree Completion Process

To complete the BSHSM degree, all students must pass certain required courses.
The required courses contribute to degree goals as follows:

• 1. Goal: Demonstrate understanding of the main concepts and processes of health services delivery
  H320 (Health Systems Administration)
  H455 (Topics in Public Health)
• 2. Goal: Demonstrate understanding of concepts and skills used in managing health care organizations
  H402 (Hospital Administration)
  H411 (Long-term Care Administration)
  V366 (Managing Behavior in Public Organizations) or Z302 (Managing and Behavior in Organizations)
  V373 (Personnel Management in the Public Sector) or Z440 (Human Resources Management)
• 3. Goal: Relate management concepts learned in courses to the workplace environment.
  V380 (Internship)
  Students who have completed an a Associate of Science degree in an allied health field, and those who have acceptable work experience in a health care organization are not required to do an internship. Projects incorporated in H402 and H411 enable all students to relate materials covered in these two courses to community-based health care organizations.
• 4. Goal: Understand and apply basic financial management techniques and principles of health economics.
  H354 (Health economics)
  H352 (Health finance and budgeting)
• 5. Goal: Demonstrate competency in oral and written communication.
  Most courses require students to complete written assignments. H402 and H411 require students to present their projects to the class.

B. Direct Assessment

• 1. Course-embedded pretest-posttest
  Currently, H320 includes pretest-posttest to assess learning.
• 2. Other course-embedded measures
  Exams
  Evaluation of projects
  Oral presentation of projects
  Written homework assignments

C. Indirect Assessment

The Student Evaluation of Teaching form used in SPEA for course evaluations includes an overall rating question, "I learned a lot in this course." The mean course rating on this form reflects the students' perceptions of the level of learning they achieved in each course.

D. Recordkeeping

While individual instructors maintain their own records on student performance, in future the records will also be centralized.

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