RIT Online Announces Availability of an Accelerated Master of Science Online Degree for Healthcare and Nursing Administration Professionals

ROCHESTER, N.Y., May 13, 2015 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- RIT Online, the online higher-education unit of the 185-year-old Rochester Institute of Technology, is launching a re-engineered online degree for healthcare professionals that includes accelerated, demand-based courses that equip graduates with essential skills that are sought by healthcare organizations. Health Systems Administration is a graduate-level Master of Science degree program designed by William W. Walence, Ph.D., program director for Health Systems Administration at RIT's College of Health Sciences and Technology.

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Healthcare is a fast-growing industry, and organizations need professionals with backgrounds in healthcare delivery, finance, accounting, marketing, human resources, operations, purchasing, and process improvement. Professionals with a BS degree and experience in these areas are excellent candidates for this MS program and will find a significant number of positions awaiting them in the healthcare industry.

The Health Systems Administration program encompasses course work that provides the graduate with a breadth of knowledge in key areas required for effective management of healthcare organizations: research, governance and economics, finance, health insurance, process improvement, project management, leadership and informatics.

"This MS curriculum covers an expansive range of healthcare issues that administrators and leaders must be prepared to deal with effectively: change and innovation, leadership theory and application, bioethics, and human resources," said William Walence. "Additionally, the curriculum prepares the graduate to develop and implement plans designed to create and steer healthcare organizations of the future. Health Systems Administration graduates will not only lead today's healthcare organizations, they will create patient-centered facilities of the future."

The Health Systems Administration online degree program is now in its twentieth year at RIT. After a thorough evaluation of the requirements that professional organizations have identified as essential skills and knowledge sets for the effective healthcare administrator, RIT thoroughly re-engineered the program. It now represents the state of the art in graduate-level education in this field.

The MS Health Systems Administration program prepares students to do the following:

1. Understand the complexity of the healthcare system in the US and manage that complexity effectively and efficiently in a proactive manner.
2. Develop a broad toolbox of skills and knowledge appropriate for management and leadership of healthcare organizations.
3. Effectively apply their toolbox of skills and knowledge to manage, lead and create patient-centered organizations that provide accessible, high-quality care at affordable costs.
4. Manage and lead healthcare organizations that are employers of choice for clinical and business professionals.
5. Manage and lead healthcare employees who are encouraged and empowered to recognize industry trends so they may create future-oriented, dynamic care centers that patients rank highly and prefer over other providers.

Program overview

This online program allows students to pursue their degree while maintaining full-time employment wherever they are. A distinct advantage of this program is the diversity of the student population, which fosters creative discussion and comprehension of global healthcare issues, and how these relate to the standards and practices of the American healthcare system. The ability to share information and ideas, and to compare and contrast strategies, allows students a level of creativity and scope of practice not found in the traditional classroom.

39 credit hours are required. A full-time student could finish the program in one year, and a part-time student could complete the program in less than two years, depending on how many courses a student elects to take. Students will study:

• Research Methods (3 credits)
• Reinventing Healthcare (3 credits)
• Health Governance and Economics (3 credits) or
• Healthcare Operations Management (3 credits)
• Healthcare Leadership (3 credits)
• Bioethics (3 credits)
• Human Resources in Healthcare (3 credits)
• Finance for Healthcare Professionals (3 credits)
• Health Insurance & Reimbursement (3 credits)
• Lean Sigma Application in Healthcare (3 credits)
• Healthcare Informatics (3 credits)
• Elective (3 credits)
• Healthcare Planning (3 credits)
• Capstone (3 credits)

How to apply

To learn more about this online degree program, including detailed course descriptions and prerequisites, visit the RIT Online Health Systems Administration web page.

The RIT Online difference

• 95 percent of RIT graduates enter the workforce or continue to go on for further education
• Upon graduation, you'll become a member of the 114,000-strong RIT alumni community with connections to more than 3,000 RIT employer partners
• RIT Online programs are designed and built based on real-time employer demand, and are taught by same faculty that teach on-campus
• RIT faculty have extensive experience in the classroom, in research, and in their professional fields

ABOUT RIT ONLINE

RIT Online is the online higher-education unit of the Rochester Institute of Technology. It provides a career-optimized online learning experience designed for people who compete in today's dynamic employment marketplace. RIT Online offers a range of employer-demanded qualifications for graduates who value career growth and believe in life-long learning. Unlike other online courses and degree offerings, RIT Online provides a combination of customizable degrees presented in an applied learning framework, delivered by highly qualified professors via an immersive online campus experience. To learn more, visit www.rit.edu/ritonline or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

Media Contact: Tim Cox, Match CMO, +1-650-369-7784, [email protected]

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SOURCE RIT Online