College for America Launches $10,000 BA Degree in Healthcare Management

MANCHESTER, NH (PRWEB) October 17, 2014

College for America at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) will offer the first nationally available, accreditor-approved $10,000 Bachelor of Arts in Healthcare Management beginning November 1, offered through a competency-based curriculum designed specifically for working adults and their employers. The degree was approved by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges at its fall meeting and is available to employees of companies that partner with College for America, including some of the nation's largest health systems, hospitals, nonprofits, and insurance companies.

According to a workforce strategy report from College for America, the healthcare industry makes up the largest segment of the United States' economy, projecting 22,053,900 workers in 2020. Nonclinical, community, social service, and support positions comprise 42 percent of the healthcare workforce. Read the report at collegeforamerica.org/HealthcareJobsReport.

This bachelor of arts (BA) degree is designed to prepare students to be effective healthcare managers in a variety of settings, using critical skills and competencies, as identified by workforce and industry leaders. "Health service managers and healthcare administrators need to navigate a rapidly changing healthcare environment that demands the ability to work in interprofessional teams, comply with new rules and regulations, and communicate effectively with diverse stakeholders," explained Julian L. Alssid, Chief Workforce Strategist at College for America. "At the same time, they have to play a part in controlling costs, maintaining quality of care, and improving the patient experience. Our BA degree positions students to handle a broad range of responsibilities that they may come across in a variety of healthcare settings."

This degree also offers an important way for nonclinical healthcare workers to gain promotable skills and supervisory capabilities and to learn how to have critical conversations. Students must demonstrate mastery of 120 advanced competencies, in addition to completing an associate's degree from College for America or another accredited school, to earn the BA in Healthcare Management. "Our competency-based degree programs allow students to develop and demonstrate competency in mission-critical areas on their own schedule," said Cathrael Kazin, Chief Academic Officer at College for America. "Busy healthcare professionals will be able to hone skills that they can apply in their workplace to see immediate value."

Students in the healthcare management program also choose one of two offered concentrations: global perspectives or communications. For more information about the degree program, visit collegeforamerica.org/BA-Healthcare-Management.

While the $10,000 milestone for a BA degree is a historic one, most students will actually pay far less out of pocket for the degree. Tuition is $2,500 a year with no additional costs, and students proceed through the degree at their own pace--fueled both by what they learn in the school and by what they already know have mastered through life and work experience. Most employers offer to reimburse the tuition costs for their employees.

About College for America at Southern New Hampshire University

College for America (CfA) offers affordable, workforce-applicable higher education to working adults by partnering with employers nationwide. Since its 2013 launch, CfA has enrolled more than 1,000 students from more than 70 employers, including Wellpoint/Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, the University of Pennsylvania Health System, Grifols Academy of Plasmapheresis, and Goodwill International. In 2013, CfA became the nation's first competency-based, fully accredited higher education provider to be approved for federal financial aid, independent of the traditional credit hour model, for its associate's degree offerings. In May 2014, the school announced the approval of the first nationally available, accreditor-approved $10,000 bachelor's degree in the field of communications.

Southern New Hampshire University is an accredited, nonprofit, private university with a focus on student success and a reputation for innovation in higher education. SNHU was named one of the "50 Most Innovative Organizations in the World" by Fast Company magazine in 2012 and is the fastest-growing nonprofit provider of online higher education in the country. The university's home is a 300-acre main campus in Manchester, NH, and it offers more than 200 undergraduate and graduate online degree programs, five continuing education centers across Northern New England, and the College for America degree program for working adults and employers.

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