This week, the Des Moines University community will welcome to campus students in the master of health care administration (MHA) program’s inaugural executive residency. These on-campus programs, each of approximately five days, will immerse students in real-world scenarios that integrate theory into practice.
DMU’s MHA degree is designed for early- to mid-career working professionals who seek a graduate degree to progress in their profession. The program’s year-round calendar is based on three 12-week terms each year. Students earn 48 total credit hours in 20 courses – 45 academic course credit hours and three Field Based Learning credit hours.
The MHA program offers flexible enrollment, allowing students the freedom to complete their degree requirements in as little as two years and up to seven years. The academic courses are divided into three blocks: Block one includes seven courses and earns 19 credit hours; block two includes seven courses and earns 16 credit hours; and block three includes five courses and earns 10 credit hours. Students complete their course work online and also are required to participate in three on-campus executive residencies.
Students earn academic credit hours in the graded residencies. The first residency occurs at the beginning of the student’s course work, the second is at the end of block two course work, and the third is at the end of block three course work. In the residency that begins tomorrow and continues through Sunday, students will demonstrate their growing mastery of skills in the curriculum and will be challenged with increasingly diverse team and individual projects. They’ll also work one-on-one and in small learning communities with their academic advisors, interact with the MHA Advisory Committee and talk with five local health care leaders at a career-panel dinner Saturday evening.
The final residency sets up the student’s Field Based Learning (FBL), the final course in the program. Students complete the FBL in a single academic term following completion of all other block courses. The course, in which students earn three credit hours, is designed to replicate the management and leadership of a consulting assignment typical of a new graduate and includes actual project work and the supporting academic research in a blend of theory and practice.
The MHA faculty created the program’s on-campus executive residencies to satisfy accreditation requirements of the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME), which already has granted the program eligibility approval. They created the residencies also in response to feedback from students, who wanted to feel more connected to the program and to the University.
Welcome to our MHA students on campus this week!
