In fall quarter of 2016, BC will start offering two BAS degrees in Health Promotion Management and Healthcare Management and Leadership for students who already have an associate degree in healthcare or business and want to earn a baccalaureate degree.
According to a BC press release, “Healthcare Management and Leadership will help prepare graduates for jobs that require advanced technical and supervisory knowledge needed to manage healthcare systems and facilities. Development of the degree is in response to favorable employer demand trends anticipated over the next decade.”
“In general, the BAS and BA/BS degrees are similar in that they are both 4-year undergraduate degrees. Some of the BAS programs are considered to be terminal degrees (they don’t meet the requirements for entrance to graduate school),” explained Pamela Charney, program chair of healthcare technology and management. “Our BAS is designed to provide students with the option to go to graduate school or to the workplace.”
With the addition of these two degrees, HSEWI made a few changes. “BC has had Healthcare Management tracks under two existing bachelor degrees – one in Radiation and Imaging Sciences and one in Healthcare Technology and Management,” explained Leslie Newquist, dean of health sciences. “This was confusing to students, so we re-organized the management and leadership under the new umbrella of Healthcare Management and Leadership.”
These degrees will meet an anticipated demand in the job market. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that medical and health services manager positions are projected to grow by 23 percent by 2022 and 61 percent of jobs will require a bachelor’s degree or higher.
“This is a win-win situation for both students and area employers,” said Chris Bell, director of applied baccalaureate programs at BC. “Puget Sound residents will get access to bachelor’s degrees with affordable tuition that can help them land jobs with good salaries. And employers, will have ready-access to qualified workers so they can provide the best care possible or grow their companies.”
“Health Promotion Management will help prepare graduates to undertake a wide array of positions in the health and wellness industry, including health educators, health promotion work-life specialists, employee health and wellness coaches, and wellness consultants. The degree capitalizes on observed trends in the field of health and wellness. As business, government and educational organizations implement legally-mandated employee wellness programs and as preventative, personalized healthcare measures become the centerpiece of employee benefit programs, a growing need for health and wellness coaches, specialists and consultants is evident,” the press release stated.
The programs are well-suited for students who are working as they do not require a lot of on-campus time. “The Healthcare Management and Leadership degree is almost entirely online; the Health Promotion Management degree courses meet two or three evenings a week in the first year of the program and one evening a week in the second year,” said Newquist. Students going for these degrees need to be “highly self-motivated, since they don’t go to class every day,” continued Newquist.
“Full-time students can complete the degree in two years. In order to apply, prospective students must have an Associate’s Degree (or equivalent), with 55 credits from either healthcare or IT course work,” stated Charney.