University of La Verne College of Business and Public ...

University of La Verne

College of Business and Public Management

Master of Health Administration

Program Review

Date: September 22, 2019

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I. Introduction

The Master of Health Administration (MHA) is offered at the La Verne Campus (Main Campus)

and at the Irvine Orange County Campus. Students primarily attend their classes at one location

but occasionally main campus students attend the Irvine Campus.

The MHA has a long history at the University of La Verne. However, the program has not

undergone a systematic, formal review and/or implemented any major revisions in the last 10

years.

II. The Program

1. Vision, Mission, Goals, Objectives, and Learning Outcomes

Vision

The MHA Program offered at the University of La Verne will be recognized among the premier

programs in the United States for preparing early and mid-career students for advancement to

executive healthcare administrative positions.

Mission

The mission of the Masters in Health Administration program is to equip students with the

knowledge and skills to swiftly move through early- to mid-level healthcare management roles to

those in executive leadership roles by facilitating experiential, competency, and case-based

learning encounters augmented by faculty research and practical experience. The program

effectively integrates theory and practice with a curriculum and faculty dedicated to effective

learning, applied research, and community engagement.

Goals

While individual courses have goals, at this juncture the MHA program-wide does not have any

formally agreed upon Goals.

Learning Objectives

While individual courses have course learning objectives, at this juncture the MHA program-wide

does not have any formally agreed upon learning objectives linked to program-wide goals. There

was a draft of proposed Learning Objectives done in 2011 as part of the MHA Program Review.

However, that review was never adopted nor the Learning Objective recommendations

implemented. See Appendix B for the 2011 proposed Learning Objectives.

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2. Curriculum

The MHA curriculum is:

Core Requirements: 18 semester hours from the following

Code Course Title

HSM 500 Management and Organization Theory & Practice

HSM 501 Current Trends and Issues in Health Services

HSM 502 Financial and Cost Analysis

HSM 503 Healthcare Economics

HSM 504 Organizational Communications

HSM 555 Ethical Issues in Health Services

Research and Culminating Courses: 6-9 semester hours

Code Course Title

HSM 595 Organizational Research Methods

HSM 596 Graduate Seminar, or

HSM 592 Thesis

Students who wish to write a thesis must take HSM 591, Organizational Research II, as one of

their electives.

Finance Concentration

HSM 502 Financial and Cost Analysis

A minimum of three of the following:

HSM 532 Budgeting and Cost Control

HSM 534 Program Evaluation

HSM 571 Management of Clinical and Financial Information

HSM 590 Special Topics

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Public Health Concentration

All of the following:

Code Course Title

HSM 545 Foundations of Public Health

HSM 546 Epidemiology

HSM 547 Public Health Policy

HSM 548 Applied Research for Public Health Professionals

Management and Leadership Concentration

Code Course Title

HSM 500 Management and Organizational Theory and Practice

A minimum of three of the following:

HSM 520 Strategic Planning and Management in HSOs

HSM 524 Personal Professional Development

HSM 562 Human Resource Management in HSOs

HSM 590 Special Topics

Marketing and Business Development Concentration

Code Course Title

HSM 501 Current Trends and Issues in Health Services

A minimum of three of the following:

HSM 520 Strategic Planning and Management in HSOs

HSM 523 Management of Organizational Innovation

HSM 540 Legal Issues in HSOs

HSM 583 Marketing and Business Development

NOTE: Starting in the 2019-2020 school year, the MHA Program will no longer be offering

the Marketing & Business Development Concentration nor the Management & Leadership

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Concentration. The courses in those concentrations will be offered as electives starting in

the 2019-2020 school year.

3. Program Comparisons

In comparing the La Verne MHA program with various other programs (mainly in California, all

CAHME accredited), the La Verne MHA requires fewer credit hours to obtain the graduate degree.

We have a 36-unit requirement.

University of Southern California 48 Semester Units

California State University Long Beach 45 Quarter Units

University of Washington 76 Semester Units

California State University Northridge 48 Semester Units

San Diego State University 56 Semester Units

University of Utah Between 66.5-68 Semester Units

In terms of course offerings, the MHA offers similar required courses (based on title and course

description) as our comparison group with a few exceptions (see Appendix A). When compared

to our comparison group and a sample of 62 CAHME accredited programs in the country, some

differences can be identified between these various programs and our MHA. Specifically in the

Comparison Group they all require a Quality Management and 5 out of 6 programs require a

Statistics courses that we do not offer; while only 2 out of 6 require a Research Methods course

that we require. Slightly more than half of the CAHME sample programs require a

Capstone/Culminating event course as well as a Quality Management course. Only 13% of the

CAHME sample programs require a Research Methods course; while 77% require a Statistics

course.

Comparison Group CAHME Accredited (n=62)

Quality Management 100% 56%

Research Methods 33% 13%

Statistics 83% 77%

Capstone/Culminating 83% 56%

4. Comparison to National Accrediting Body Standards

It is an objective of the MHA program to achieve CAHME accreditation. CAHME is the leading

accrediting body for MHA program across North America. There are only approximately 90

programs across the country fully CAHME accredited. CAHME standards are organized around

three domains: Transformation, Execution, and People. The following outlines how the current

MHA curriculum fits into CAHME’s three domains.

Transformation: Visioning, energizing, and stimulating a change process that coalesces

communities, patients, and professionals around new models of healthcare and wellness.

Achievement

Orientation

Analytical

Orientation

Community

Orientation

Financial

Skills

Information

Seeking

Innovative

Thinking

Strategic

Orientation

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HSM583

HSM523

HSM500

HSM595

HSM596

HSM545

HSM546

HSM547

HSM500

HSM503

HSM548

HSM501

HSM545

HSM547

HSM502

HSM503

HSM532

HSM571

HSM595

HSM596

HSM500

HSM503

HSM523

HSM500

HSM503

HSM595

HSM596

HSM520

HSM500

HMS503

HSM545

HSM595

HSM596

Execution: Translating vision and strategy into optimal organizational performance.

Accountability Change

Leadership

Collaboration Communication

Skills

Impact and

Influence

Initiative

HSM555

HSM500

HSM503

HSM520

HSM500

HSM555

HSM596

HSM500

HSM501

HSM503

HSM555

HSM504

HSM500

HSM503

HSM555

HSM534

HSM501

HSM555

HSM596

HSM520

HSM547

Information

Technology

Management

Organizational

Awareness

Performance

Measurement

Process Mgmt.

& Org. Design

Project

Management

HSM500

HSM520

HSM503

HSM534

HSM595

HSM500 HSM500

HSM548

People: Creating an organizational climate that values employees from all backgrounds and

provides an energizing environment for them. Also includes the leader’s responsibility to

understand his or her impact on others and to improve his or her capabilities, as well as the

capabilities of others.

HR Management Interpersonal

Understanding

Professionalism Relationship

Building HSM562 HSM555

HSM545

HSM524

HSM500

HSM503

HSM555

HSM595

HSM596

HSM545

HSM547

Self Confidence Self-Development Talent Development Team Leadership HSM524

HSM555

HSM595

HSM596

HSM524

HSM555

HSM595

HSM596

HSM562

HSM595

HSM596

HSM500

HSM503

HSM555

5. Advisory Board

An Advisory Board was created for the MHA in the 2018-2019 School Year. The Advisory

Board is comprised of health service organizational leaders who provide counsel to the program

director in aligning curriculum and program to industry needs. Specifically, the Advisory Board

convenes primarily to offer advice to the program director on current healthcare management

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employment trends; changing needs in knowledge, skills, and abilities of managers; and related

issues. The board will assist in placement of internships in their respective organizations, offer

career mentoring advice to MHA students as well as support the efforts of program director in

finding guest speakers and adjuncts.

III. Students

1. Student Enrollment

Term enrollment depicted in the above table shows that summer terms typically have the

fewest enrollment numbers (with the exception of Summer 2019). The nine-year average for

each term are: Fall enrollments = 85, Winter enrollments = 81, Spring enrollment = 85, and

Summer = 63.

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Term Enrollment Fall 2010 through Summer 2019

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When looking at annual enrollment registrations (see table above), a slight enrollment

downturn started in the Fall14/Summer15 School Year that accelerated through the

Fall17/Summer18 School Year. It appears that trend is reversing in the Fall18/Summer19

School Year. The average annual enrollment registrations over this time period was 310.

2. Admission Policy

The MHA Admission

To apply for admission, applicants must submit the following documents to the Office of

Undergraduate Admission. All application materials become the property of the University upon

receipt.

Applicants are evaluated based on their previous college work, statement of purpose, resume, and

letters of recommendation. Special talents, character, and school and community involvement will

also be considered.

i. Application for Admission: Upon receipt of the completed and signed application

form, personal statement, and the non-refundable $50 application fee, the Office of

Admission will notify the applicant of any missing documents necessary to complete

the application process.

ii. Official transcripts: Applicants must have official transcripts sent to the Office of

Admission from each college or university previously attended. All previous college

work must be evaluated for transfer.

iii. Two letters of recommendation addressing the applicant’s record from a school

official where the applicant is currently/previously enrolled or employer. Upon

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50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

Fall 10 toSummer 11

Fall 11 toSummer 12

Fall 12 toSummer 13

Fall 13 toSummer 14

Fall 14 toSummer 15

Fall 15 toSummer 16

Fall 16 toSummer 17

Fall 17 toSummer 18

Fall 18 toSummer 19

Annual Enrollment Fall 2010 through Summer 2019

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admission to the University, recommendation forms are destroyed and are not a part of

the student’s permanent record.

iv. Resume: An applicant’s resume is reviewed to (1) identify whether the student has

healthcare organization experience (if no meaningful healthcare organizational

experience then the student would have an internship stipulation attached to admission)

(2) identify community service and other related non-academic experience.

For International Students, the admission process includes:

i. Application for Admission: Upon receipt of the completed and signed application

form, personal statement, and the non-refundable $50 application fee, the Office of

Admission will notify the applicant of any missing documents necessary to complete

the application process.

ii. Official transcripts and certificates (with notarized translations into English where

appropriate) from all secondary schools, colleges, and universities attended. Students

who have completed studies at a foreign university must send their transcripts for a

detailed credential review to be evaluated for transfer credit. There is a fee for this

service. A brochure is available upon request. Students attending a foreign university

that is accredited by a U.S. accrediting agency are exempt from the detailed credential

review.

iii. Proof of English Proficiency: Applicants must establish minimum proficiency in

English by submitting one of the following:

(a) A minimum score of 80 iBT/550pb on the Test of English as a Foreign Language

(TOEFL)

iv. Two letters of recommendation from school officials where the applicant is currently

enrolled or has most recently attended. Upon admission to the University,

recommendation forms are destroyed and are not a part of the student’s permanent

record.

IV. Student Support

1. Student Advising

Students are advised by an Academic Advisor and the Program Director.

2. Counseling

University of La Verne Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) provides a full range of

counseling services designed to assist each person to achieve his or her full human potential.

CAPS offers individual counseling, group counseling, family & couples counseling, psychiatric

and medication services, crisis support – in the office when CAPS is open and via the phone after

hours, psychological assessments, and referrals to professionals outside of the university to eligible

students free of charge. Counseling services are provided by a staff of therapists who are advanced

graduate students in the University of La Verne’s Master program in Marriage, Family and Child

Counseling or the Psy.D. program in clinical psychology. Each counselor is under the supervision

of the director and/or adjunct supervisors, all of whom are licensed, professional psychotherapists.

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3. Academic Success Center (ASC)

The Academic Success Center provides tutoring services and supplemental instruction to all the

students of the University of La Verne free of charge. It is the mission of the Academic Success

Center to help all La Verne students become self-sufficient and lifelong learners by providing them

with the opportunity to refine papers, clarify concepts, further understand theories, receive

supplemental instruction from their peers, and participate in ASC-sponsored academic workshops.

The ASC serves as an environment in which students are comfortable and not threatened, and

where they are encouraged to lower their stress levels, improve their self-efficacy, and reach their

academic potential.

The tutoring covers discipline specific areas such as accounting, economics, operations

Management, finance, or statistics as well as communication skills. The services are available to

students either in a face-to-face format or online. Tutors are available over the weekend and in

evening hours to accommodate the regional campuses students as well as working adults.

4. Library

The MHA students both on the La Verne Campus and at the Irvine campus are served by the Elvin

and Betty Wilson Library located on the University La Verne campus. The library houses a

collection of 178,000 print and 40,000 electronic books in fields such as accounting, business,

economics, finance, management, marketing, management information systems, law psychology,

sociology, leadership and organization studies, and other relevant fields. Many additional books

are available to students. If Wilson Library does not own an item needed by a student, he/she can

order the item from the library’s homepage to be delivered by LINK+, a consortium of 40+

libraries in California and Nevada that has five days a week courier service to get the book to La

Verne in 48-72 hours. Students have access to over 9 million additional books via LINK+. If an

item is not available from LINK+, particularly articles that appear in journals unavailable through

Wilson Library, students can order books and articles through LeoDelivers, the library’s web-

based interlibrary loan system. Articles are scanned and sent from lending libraries to Wilson

Library, then delivered via email to the requestor; books are mailed to the library and made

available for pickup or mailed to the requestor. LeoDelivers provides access for La Verne students

and faculty to resources available at thousands of libraries across the United States and around the

world. Wilson Library subscribes to 25,680 journal titles: 250 are print journals and all other titles

are electronic journals accessible 24/7 exclusively to La Verne students wherever they are located

via the library’s proxy server. Of those journal titles, over 270 are of primary interest to accounting,

business, management, marketing and organizational leadership, and over 10,000 journal titles are

available in related disciplines. The library subscribes to 64 databases of which, 21 are directly

relevant to the degree programs within the purview of the CBPM programs

.

The library utilizes 24-hour online librarian access, 24-hour “Leo pack” access which allows

students to access the library’s resources online, 24-hour “Leo delivers” which allows students to

access materials from other libraries, and 24-hour “Link +” which allows students to access other

libraries directly. The library subscribes to many research sources such as Proquest, Sage, and

Ebscohost.

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5. Career Services

Career Services at the University of La Verne provide quality resources, counseling, and services

to help students and alumni assess and apply their education and life experiences to a lifetime of

fulfilling opportunities. Their mission is to assist undergraduate and graduate students and alumni

with identifying, developing, and implementing their career goals through self-direction and

personal responsibility. Career services provide students with:

- Career Counseling

- Assessments

- Job/Internship Search

- Major Exploration

- Mock Interviews

- Informational Interviews

- Graduate school advice which includes choosing a school and the application process

- Workshops on resume writing, interviewing techniques and job search

Career Services holds an Etiquette and Networking Dinner and Virtual Career Fairs to help

students in their job search and with their professional development. They also maintain a library

of career-related books and employment source materials, accessible during business hours.

Additionally, the office maintains directories and information on graduate school programs and

national fellowship opportunities, for students whose professional goals might require additional

research opportunities or advanced degrees. Online services include targeted information and links

for career exploration, internships, summer jobs, full-time employment, graduate school,

conducting a job search, and much more.

The Career Services office does not have the sufficient Staff and resources to help all of La Verne

students and especially the RCA students. This lack of resources is reflected in our students’

assessment of Career Services. Students rank La Verne lower than our select 6, Carnegie class

institutions or all institutions participating in the EBI survey on questions related to career services.

Recently, the College of Business and Public Management created the Center for Career and

Professional Development (CCPD) which “prepares students and recent graduates to succeed in

their search for meaningful and rewarding careers, and to equip them with the resources and

networking opportunities needed to advance through the process with confidence and

professionalism.”

V. Program Assessment

1. Direct and Indirect Assessment of Learning Objectives

Currently, the MHA does not have program-wide Learning Objectives and therefore Direct

Assessment cannot be done.

While the program lacks the ability to assess Learning Outcomes, assessment of the program

indirectly occurs in two ways: (1) through exit interviews as well as a SWOT Analysis exercise of

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the MHA in each HSM596 Graduate Seminar course conducted by the Program Director in and

(2) through student evaluations.

Findings from the One-on-One Exit Interviews and group MHA SWOT Analyses conducted in

HSM596 in Spring 2018, Fall 2018, and Spring 2019 (totally 43 students) are summarized below

(not in any order of magnitude). Areas noted were based on examining results over the three

HSM596 courses and identifying consensus across all three courses.

Areas of Success • Small class sizes

• Accessible faculty

• Diverse student body

• Open term enrollment

• Evening & weekend classes

• Multiple campus locations

• Hybrid offerings

• Adjunct faculty with significant HSM related work experience

• Utilization of guest speakers in many of the courses

Areas for Improvement

• Internship processes, support and cost

• Lack of career mentoring

• Academic Advising is not hands-on/proactive enough

• “Busy work” in some of the courses

• Disorganized course delivery and/or not following syllabus in some instances

• Timeliness of faculty to grade and/or provide feedback on assignments in some instances

• Students have repeatedly remarked that they are not fully honest in their course evaluations because they are concerned about retaliation by the faculty.

• Not CAHME accredited

Course Evaluations of MHA Courses Summer 2018 through Spring 2019

Overall Course Mean (and Response %) Note: Courses omitted with fewer than 3 responses

Summer 2018 Fall 2018 Winter 2019 Spring 2019

2.94 (40%) 3.58 (26%) 4.00 (50%) 3.80 (33%)

3.50 (40%) 3.07 (86%) 3.83 (59%) 3.73 (63%)

3.97 (27%) 3.58 (91%) 3.55 (90%) 3.63 (95%)

3.98 (44%) 3.72 (45%) 3.78 (33%)

3.46 (100%) 3.64 (94%) 3.41 (100%)

3.63 (40%) 3.98 (51%)

4.00 (31%) 3.45 (84%)

3.93 (38%) 4.00 (33%)

3.93 (30%)

5 courses too

low responses

2 courses too

low responses

1 course too low 4 courses too

low

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The Overall College Mean Average is 3.65. The MHA average for this time period is 3.68.

(omitting courses with fewer than three responses). 44% of overall course evaluation scores in

the MHA for this time period were below the College Mean. There were a total of 12 courses

omitted from the table above due to low number of responses.

2. Faculty Coverage and Qualifications

The table below shows faculty coverage by campus location and degree of faculty for the

Fall18 through Spring19.

Doctorate

Masters

MHA 76% 24% Main Campus 81% 19% Orange County Campus 48% 52%

Grand Total 76% 24%

3. Graduation by Year

School Year # Graduates

2006-07 7

2007-08 19

2008-09 19

2009-10 28

2010-11 15

2011-12 42

2012-13 31

2013-14 34

2014-15 34

2015-16 31

2016-17 26

2017-18 50

2018-19 Data available after 9/30/19

4. Resources: Financial, Facilities, Information Technology

Classroom shortage has been an issue on some nights when the HSM courses are offered.

However, with proper scheduling most of these issues have been resolved. All classrooms are

smart classrooms, providing access to technology for the teaching and learning process.

Sufficient financial resources are available to support the program.

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VI. Summary of Findings

VII. Recommendations

•

•

•

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APPENDIX A

COMPARISON GROUP CURRICULUM

University of Southern California Semester System

No Foundational Course Requirements

Problems and Issues in the Health Field 4

Multivariate Statistical Analysis 4

Financial Accounting for Health Care Organizations 4

Economics for Policy, Planning, and Development 2

Financial Management of Health Services 4

Residency Seminar 2

Quality of Care Concepts 2

Economic Concepts Applied to Health 4

Concepts and Practices in Managing Health Care Organizations

2

Health Information Systems 2

Legal Issues in Health Care Delivery 2

Human Behavior in Public Organizations 4

Strategic Management of Health Care Organizations 4

Electives 8

Total 48

16

California State University, Long Beach Quarter System

Foundational Course Requirements

• Elementary Financial Accounting

• Principles of Macroeconomics

• Fundamentals of Economics

The Health Care System 3

Health Care Economics 3

Organization and Systems of Health Care 3

Human Resources Management in Health Care 3

Advanced Financial Management in Health Care 3

Advanced Healthcare Information Systems Management 3

Advanced Legal and Ethnical Aspects of Health Administration

3

Research Methods in Health Care Management 3

Managing Populations Health 3

Strategic Planning and Marketing in Health Care 3

Quantitative Methods for Health Administration 3

Continuous Quality Improvement in Health Services 3

Internship in Health Care Administration 3

Project 3

Electives 3

Total 45

17

University of Washington Quarter System

No Foundational Courses Required

Introduction to Health Services and Public Health 4

Managing Health Care Organizations 3

Group Dynamics and Team Leadership I 2

Quantitative Methods 3

Accounting for Health Service Managers 3

Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management

4

Health Economics 3

Systems Modeling Frameworks for Health Care 3

Health Care Financial Management 3

Project Management 2

Epidemiology/Critical Evidence Appraisal 3

Strategic Management of Health Care Organizations 5

Clinical Systems Management 3

Health Management Program Seminar 2

Health Policy Development 3

Population Health Management Strategy 2

Informatics in Health Care Management 3

Quality Process Management 3

Risk and Insurance Seminar 3

Seminar in Health Care Finance 3

Quantitative Methods for Health Systems Design and Analysis

3

Health Administration and Business Law 4

Group Dynamics and Team Leadership II 2

Ethical Issues in Health Services 3

Capstone Integrative Seminar 4

Total 76

18

California State Northridge

Semester System

No Foundational Course Requirements

Leadership in Health Administration Practice 3

Health Economics and National Health Policy 3

Health Care Ethics 3

Seminar in Health Care Organizations 3

Managing Change in Health Care Organizations 3

Health Administration: Financial Management 3

Information Management for Decision Making and Control

3

Quality Assurance in Health Care 3

Strategic Planning in Health Administration 3

Third Party Payer Impact on Health Delivery 3

Integrative Seminar in Health Administration 3

Supervised Field Training 2

Directed Comprehensive Studies 3

Electives 9

Total 47

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San Diego State University Semester System

No Foundational Course Requirements

Epidemiology 3

Biostatistics 3

Behavioral and Social Science in Public Health 3

Environmental Determinants of Human Health 3

Introduction to Health Services 3

Health Services Organization and Management 3

Managing the High Performing Health Care Organization

3

Health Economics 3

Quantitative Methods and Health Data Analysis 3

Health Policy 3

Health Services Financial Management 3

Health Insurance and Financing Systems 3

Quality Improvement and Program Evaluation 3

Health Services Competitive Strategy and Marketing 3

Hospital and Ambulatory Care Management 3

Required Community Field Practice 3

Advanced Field Practice: Health Management and Policy

3

Special Study 2

Thesis or Capstone Project 3

Electives 3

Total 59

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University of Utah Semester System

No Foundation Course Requirements

Financial Accounting 3

Healthcare Information Technology 1.5

Managing and Leading in Organizations 3

Public Human Resource Management OR 3

Competitive Advantage Through People 1.5

Marketing for Health Professionals 3

Service Operations 3

Healthcare Administration 3

Managerial Accounting & Finance for Healthcare 3

Management and Administration in Healthcare 0.5

Healthcare Industry Players 1

Healthcare Financial Management 3

Healthcare Strategic Management 3

Strategic Management & Principal Based Leadership in Healthcare

1.5

Healthcare Integrative Experience 3

Quality Management 1.5

Biostatistics I 3

Epidemiology I 3

Public Health Management & Practice 3

Public Health Systems & Services 3

Public Health Program Planning, Evaluation & Implementation

3

Social and Behavioral Science in Public Health 3

Environmental & Biological Science in Public Health 3

Capstone 3

Public Health Practicum 6

Health Economics 3

Health Law 1.5

Ethics of Management 1.5

Career Strategies 1

Career Perspectives 1

Total 66.5-68

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