General Studies with a Concentration in Healthcare and Healthcare Management Information Session

Angelica:  Hello, everyone. Welcome to the General Studies on Healthcare Management Webinar. Thank you all for taking the time out of your day to participate today. My name is Angelica , and I will be your moderator for today. Before we begin, I have a few logistics I want to cover. First, you are in listen-only mode, so the presentation is being broadcast through your speakers to avoid any background noise. Second, please feel free to ask questions as we go. You can do so by typing into the Q and A box at the left side of your screen at any time throughout the session. If we do not get to your question today, and enrollment advisor will follow up with you. Third, you can watch this presentation on demand at any time using the same link you used to register. We will also follow up with an email after the presentation. Before we begin, I want to go over what we will cover today. On today’s agenda, we will introduce the presenters, then talk a little bit about Maryville, and who we are, discuss both our general studies and healthcare management programs, review our online learning experience, and navigate through the admissions process.

Angelica:  We will then conclude with a live question and answer session. First let’s meet our presenters. Once again, my name is Angelica Incarnacion, and I am a senior enrollment advisor at Maryville University. I have worked in admissions for over five years, so I hope I can be of great assistance in answering any of your questions today. We’re also really excited to have one of our Maryville faculty members join us on today’s webinar. We have Karen Schechter, Director and Assistant Professor of the healthcare management and health administration program. Karen, would you mind sharing a little bit more about yourself?

Karen Schechter: Of course. Thank you, Angelica. Thank you so much for attending today. I, as Angelica said, I’m the Director and Assistant Professor of the healthcare management and health administration program here at Maryville University. I have been at the university for almost four and a half years, specifically to help develop, and promote, and run these particular programs. We have an undergraduate healthcare management program, as well as the master’s of health administration program. My experience in the past has basically been working in the healthcare management administration industry, and in the areas of operations as well as consulting. Pleased to be here. Thank you.

Angelica: Thank you, Karen. You will be hearing more from her soon, but first, we wanted to share a little more information about the history of Maryville with you before diving into program details. Founded in 1872 in St. Louis, Missouri, Maryville University is one of the oldest, private, nonprofit universities in the US. We started out as one of the first universities in the region to educate women, and today we continue to push the boundaries and prepare students like all of you for a digital world. The university is regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, which is recognized by the US Department of Education, and is also a nationally-ranked private college recognized for comprehensive and innovative education focused on student learning outcomes and success, both online and on campus. Recently we have been recognized as America’s top college by Forbes in 2017, best values in private colleges by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance in 2018, and among the nation’s top three fastest growing universities by the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Angelica: Maryville believes in disrupting the higher education system, and have been doing so for nearly 150 years. We believe that this is why we continue to maintain numerous corporate partnerships, and have even been named an Apple distinguished school, which highlights the university’s enormous success in creating an innovative learning environment, designed to engage students and support their academic achievement. We believe that learning is very personal, and you should receive the support that you need every step of the way. We believe everything in the classroom should be challenging, and everything outside of it should be easy. We pride ourselves on our supportive and attentive faculty, and have also streamlined the admissions process, and offer personalized support throughout your educational journey. This process and support system have led to some impressive enrollment details. Our online enrollments continue to grow with each semester. As of September 12 of this year, through our support student groups, our online enrollments are approximately 9,350 students.

Angelica:  The best part is the diversity among our student body. Currently our students represent 50 states and over 50 countries. These students take advantage of our degrees of the undergraduate, master’s, and doctorate level, with over 25 degree programs 100% online, and over 150 on campus. One of the 25 online programs offered is the bachelor of arts in general studies with a concentration in healthcare. Let’s go ahead and learn more about this program. Karen Schechter will provide us with wonderful insight. Karen?

Karen Schechter:  Thank you so much again. The first program I want to talk about is the bachelor of arts in general studies with a concentration in healthcare. This program was designed to address the needs of compassionate individuals who are seeking a career in healthcare that may or may not be clinical in nature. Students in this program are looking at more nontraditional support and management roles within the industry, or are selecting courses in areas of exploration to help them define their careers. Students who are [inaudible 00:06:25] to graduate with a bachelor of arts in general studies with a healthcare concentration can find themselves working in a variety of different settings, such as clinics, health departments, healthcare associations, and community agencies. The types of courses that you take prepare you to become a meaningful community health worker, working as a health advisor and educator, or in some type of management roles within community agents and clinics. Clearly the healthcare industry is growing, particularly with the aging population, which means that there’s many, many nonclinical roles that will have opportunities to get sound careers and jobs within this market.

Karen Schechter:   A few highlights of our program at Maryville University. First of all, this is 100% online, and the concentration in healthcare, as I mentioned before, allows you to take advantage of many nonclinical roles in healthcare. The curriculum focuses on building a foundation in healthcare that includes healthcare core courses, as well as they include things like foundation, cultural diversity, ethics, public health, informatics, as well as management-type courses to allow you to take on a management role, and better understand what goes on in the management of healthcare facilities. Finally, it provides you the opportunity to take one of two paths, gerontology or mental health, depending on your interest. As you can see here, it’s 128 credit curriculum, which consists of healthcare science courses that I mentioned before, anatomy, physiology, nutrition, to give you some examples, the healthcare concentration courses, as well as electives and many courses within the gerontology and mental health, such as counseling, introduction to gerontology, exercise and physiology for the elder, positive psychology in the mental health area, as well as other courses.

Karen Schechter:  Here, again, we’ll list the courses that are within these explorations that I just mentioned.

Angelica:  Thank you, Karen, for that insight into the general studies program. We will now transition into our second program today, the bachelor’s of science in healthcare management. We will once again hear from Karen for information on this program. Karen?

Karen Schechter:  The bachelor of science degree in healthcare management is designed for students who are already working in the healthcare industry and want to advance their careers, for those who are interested in healthcare management. The graduates from this program find positions in various settings, such as medical, excuse me, or dental clinics, privately-owned or hospital-owned, insurance companies, software vendors, urgent care center, clinics, billing companies, a variety of different settings. As you can see here, the career paths, again, are also varied as far as becoming healthcare administrators or managers, doing consulting, getting involved with data analysis, being a trainer, marketing, and sales. A number of opportunities. Again, the hiring prospects in this area coincides with the growth in the market in the healthcare industry. It is estimated that the healthcare industry job opportunities will grow by 17% over the next five to 10 years. Just as with the other program, this program is personalized your program to meet your special interests and professional goals.

Karen Schechter:   It’s 100% online, and basically the types of courses that are in this program relate to not only the technical pieces of how to become a healthcare manager, but also focus on professionalism and communication, compliance, and quality, and population health management. Here is a snapshot of the curriculum itself. Again, it consists of 128 credit hours. The major itself consists of the healthcare management core, as well as its, that is complemented by general education as well as elective courses. You can see in the healthcare core the different courses that are listed here, I particularly wanted to focus on the fact that we live a healthcare management practicum and seminar that is taken during the last semester of your career in this program. The healthcare management practicum is a 50-hour practicum that takes place over a period of seven weeks, in which students go into a healthcare setting, and participate with a practicum site supervisor to apply the knowledge and skills that they have learned at the beginning and the previous portion of the curriculum.

Karen Schechter:  Students are required to find their own practicum site, and are basically advised by their practicum site supervisor as well as the practicum instructor themselves, is that the practicum as a company was a seminar that works on basic professional growth and leadership skills. We work on things such as understanding different types of personalities within the organization, and how we relate to them in a more specific way. We work on resume building, job interviews, everything necessary to prepare you for your capstone, and then launch into your career as a healthcare manager. Now I’m going to turn this back to Angelica to talk about what to expect in online learning.

Angelica:  Thank you again, Karen. Before we continue there’s a question that I would like to talk to you, that a student asked. Basically what are some of the careers that a student can have with the healthcare management program that you wouldn’t expect?

Karen Schechter:   I think that’s a really interesting question, because typically people think they just want to go start working for a medical or dental practice. I think the opportunities to work in different industries, like supporting insurance companies, doing consulting or data analysis, working with marketing firms to help them, marketing and software development firms to help them market products and services to medical and healthcare practices, because again, you’re going to gain that background, and experience, and understanding of what the needs are in that area. We’ve had students who have also been in supervisory positions in billing agencies, so again, you get a well-rounded enough experience in the program that it really lends itself to a lot of different nontraditional-type areas, and that’s a really great question, because there’s just a lot of opportunity out there.

Angelica: Excellent. Thank you so much for answering that question, Karen. All right, so now that you have all learned a little bit more about both programs, let’s go ahead and discuss what to expect as an online student here at Maryville. At Maryville, we encourage students to interact and engage. The small online class sizes allow you to network and develop relationships with fellow students and distinguished faculty. Our programs are fully asynchronous, and offer flexibility for working professionals, and is accessible based on your convenience. This means that whether you would like to access your classes or in your evening, you have the opportunity to do so. You will have structured timelines in your classes, so time management skills will be necessary. Our learning management system, called Canvass, is accessible 24 hours a day and puts all course information at your fingertips. The great thing is that each student participates in an … Sorry, in an orientation webinar prior to the start of classes to learn more about the system.

Angelica:  There’s also the flexible option of accessing your classes through your mobile device. Simply download the Canvass app, and you will have access to your classes right on your phone, great for learning on the go. Students also have access to a student support advisor, so prior to the start of classes, each student is assigned to an advisor who will provide dedicated support from start to finish. These advisors are dedicated to answering your questions, connecting you to resources, and making your journey through this program as smooth as possible. Simply aiming to make you successful in the program. You have access to 24 hour technical support. Our programs are 100% online, so we want to make sure that you have access to support at any time. Our technical support is available via phone, chat, or by submitting a ticket if necessary. There’s also career and professional development. There is a dedicated team to help prepare students for their careers through networking opportunities, internship experiences, and professional preparation for life after college.

Angelica:  They also support our alumni in their career pursuits in a similar fashion, so after you graduate, you still have that support. Also, there’s online library and writing studios. Appointments may be scheduled with a dedicated librarian for a one-on-one consultation online, by phone, or in-person. You can also access writing resources to assist you in any of your writing assignments. These help with developing parts of your papers, such as the thesis statement, and introduction or a conclusion, and it can help with general grammar and writing style. There are great resources that all online students have access to, and now you might be wondering how you can become a student at Maryville. Let’s go ahead and discuss the admissions process. This will include requirements, transcripts, application tips, tuition, and financial aid. For incoming freshmen, students that have not yet attended college, the requirements include a high school diploma or GED, a minimum of 2.5 GPA. If the GPA is below a 2.5, students may be considered for admissions on probation.

Angelica:  Also, there’s no SAT or ACT exams required. For transfer students, those who have attended college previously, the requirements include transcripts from all universities and colleges previously attended and, or enrolled in, a minimum of a 2.0 GPA. Again, if the GPA is below a 2.0, you may be considered for admissions on probation. Once again, no SAT or ACT exams required. Also, if you have earned your associate’s degree, this may satisfy our general education requirements. An additional point with the healthcare management program, there’s the GPA requirement of 2.5 is a hard requirement. Nothing below a 2.5 will be accepted. Our application process is easy and can be completed in two steps. One, you request your official transcripts. Your enrollment advisor is there to assist you if you need additional help obtaining them, and electronic transcripts are always preferred. Two, you complete our free online application. The link provided here goes directly to our application. You can also access it by looking at the resource section on the left side of your screen.

Angelica: Once again, there are no entrance exams, essays, or application fees to apply. There’s two steps, and you’re done with the application process. We do have a few tips that we as enrollment advisors like to share with students. One, get started early on requesting your transcripts. Some schools may take longer in processing your request, and sending your transcripts to Maryville. You want to allow plenty of time to ensure that you meet the application deadline. If you have less than 60 college credits, request your high school transcripts as well. After high school, if you have attended or enrolled in any institution, those transcripts will be needed, too. If you were in the military, those transcripts will be needed. Your enrollment advisor can provide assistance in requesting these if you require it. Although transcripts may be mailed by the institution, electronic transcripts are always preferred. This ensures it arrives quickly. If they do not offer electronic transcripts, they can be mailed to our off-site admissions center.

Angelica:   As mentioned earlier, you can access our online application on the bottom left side of the screen under the resources section. When prompted to indicate your student type, please select undergraduate, online slash online campus. It is the only online option available, and admissions checks its mails, so it will be found in the resources section. This will provide a requirements that have been listed today. Finally, if you need one-on-one time with an enrollment advisor, select schedule an appointment on the resource list to schedule an appointment with an enrollment advisor. You can discuss the admissions process, financial aid options, transfer credits, program details, or any other questions in more detail. They will provide a wealth of information, and will be your main point of contact through the enrollment process up to the start of class. I know many of you have been anxiously waiting for this section to be discussed, so let’s go ahead and review your tuition and financing the options. The cost per credit hour at Maryville University is 500.

Angelica: When speaking to your enrollment advisor, make sure to disclose your employer. If your employer is a corporate partner, there may be a discount applied to your tuition. There is also a one fee of $350 per semester. This fee covers your access to all services and resources include technology, transcripts, and graduation. We do offer a few financing options that help students finance their education. These include financial aid or FAFSA, so you have federal student loans and federal Pell grants. Keep in mind our school code if you do wish to complete the FAFSA. It is, as you see on the screen, 002482. This will guarantee that we can access your financial aid once you become a student here. There’s also monthly payment arrangements that you can set with the school. Employer tuition reimbursement, so always make sure that you ask your employer if they offer any type of tuition assistance or reimbursement to help you with going back to school. There are military benefits such as the GI Bill for military students, and you can also use private student loans.

Angelica:  Enrollment advisors always discuss these options in further detail with each student based on your specific interests and situation. At this time, I would like to answer some questions that have come through our chat room. As we’re going to through these questions, please don’t hesitate to continue adding more. This is your time to get further information and clarification. Karen, if there are any questions regarding the programs, I will ask you to help answer.

Karen Schechter: Sounds great. I would like to add one thing to what we’ve talked about, for both programs. That’s all right?

Angelica:  Yeah. Go ahead.

Karen Schechter:   I think one of the highlights and hallmarks of our programs, both of these programs, is particularly in these specific content areas, that the majority of our faculty are actually working in the fields for which they are teaching, so if you’re taking a course on behavioral counseling, you’re actually being taught by somebody who is doing counseling right now. In healthcare management, or in law, or in compliance. These people are out in the workforce doing these things on an everyday basis, so you get the benefit of having faculty who can bring real-life situations, relevant real-life situations to the classroom and discussions at all times. Again, I think that’s a real benefit of Maryville University, and these programs that we’re talking about today.

Angelica:  Thank you, Karen, and we have one great question that I would love to answer. The student asked, “I have already been accepted, and I’m transferring in 97 credits. Is the preferred method of taking courses two per term or is one acceptable? My first two have already been chosen.” I’ll go ahead and answer that. Students that are first enrolled, their first semester, they take no more than nine credits, so that would be taking maybe one class one term, and then two classes the second term. By that I mean first eight week term, and then second eight week term. After that first semester, if you wish to do so, you can increase to the maximum amount of credits allowed in one semester, which would be 12. That would give you two classes in each eight week term. We do register you for classes the first couple of terms, and after that you have more I guess control or liberty to choose your classes. With your question, is one acceptable? One class is acceptable for one eight week term. I hope I’m answering your question.

Stephanie: Thanks, everyone. We can see your questions continuing to come in. We’ll pause for just another moment before we go through a few more.

Angelica:   All right. Another great question that just came in. The student asked, “What do I do if in have in progress credits on my transcript?” If you are still taking classes at your current school, and you’re looking to transfer to Maryville, you would just have to send in a second official transcript once you have completed the in-progress classes, and consider those four transfer credits. All right. Another question. Student asked, “When I get my financial aid award, is there an arrangement for the over-payments received from FAFSA for the funds to be dispersed to me?” Yes, you arrange that with the financial aid office on campus. Sorry, guys. We’re going through your questions. One good question. Do students ever need to come to campus, and can they come to graduation? The answer to the first part of the question, no. Students do not need to come to campus, and it’s a fully online program, and yes, online students are more than welcome to come to graduation. Another great question. How important is time management? Do you have any tips or best practices?

Angelica:  The program is very flexible. We do recommend for students to expect to spend between 10 up to 15 hours a week on their studies, and of course you break that down however it works for you. Again, as an asynchronous program, you can log in when it’s convenient for you, whether it’s in the morning, afternoon, at night, middle of the night, so it’s flexible in that way, but you still need to be able to access your classes consistently throughout the week and keep up with your work. As far as time management skills, you always have access to your classes, and you get to see what you have to do for the week. That is great to be able to create a schedule for yourself, or a to-do list, to know what you’re going to tackle each day, and help you keep up with your work.

Karen Schechter:  I’d like to that also, is that while there is flexibility and it’s asynchronous, we do have deadlines. There are deadlines for discussion posts as well as assignments, so it’s not a self-paced course that you can just finish when you want to finish your assignments. There are definitely requirements and limitations within those weekly segments, and we usually do open up the weekly assignments a little bit early so you can plan your schedule, but it’s not self-paced in the respect that there are deadlines that you must meet within that time period. I think that’s important to know ahead of time going into it, as you plan your schedule.

Angelica:  Thank you for that insight, Karen. Another question someone asked. Is there a maximum amount of credits allowed to be transferred into a program? We do have a great guide on our website that gives you information on that, but Karen, do you have any insight on this?

Karen Schechter:   I’m sorry, say that one more time?

Angelica:   The student asked, is there a maximum …

Karen Schechter:  I’m sorry.

Angelica:  No, you’re fine. Is there a maximum amount of credits allowed to be transferred into a program?

Karen Schechter:  I’m going to let Stephanie hop in on that one. [crosstalk 00:31:14] Thanks, Stephanie.

Stephanie:  Yeah, absolutely, so we do require 60 credits to be completed at a four-year institution, and at least 30 credits need to be completed at Maryville, so there’s any combination of credits that you can transfer in to complete your degree, as long as it fits in with those requirements.

Angelica:  Thank you, Stephanie.

Stephanie:  You’re welcome.

Angelica:   There’s another question that I think you would be helpful with answering. A student asked, “How many classes are considered part-time or full-time, and is financial aid available for part-time?”

Stephanie:  Yeah, absolutely, so we do offer financial aid for part-time as well as full-time. Six credits is considered part-time and 12 credits is considered full-time. You do have to be taking at least six credits per semester to be eligible for financial aid, so if there was any semester where you only took three credits, you would need to pay out of pocket that semester.

Angelica:   Thank you for that. We’ll pause maybe for like another minute, and see if there’s any more questions that come through.

Stephanie: We would encourage you all, again, to check out the resources section. There should be a widget with a link to apply, to schedule an appointment with an enrollment advisor, and we do have a few question survey that will be available after the presentation. Would absolutely love to get feedback from you, and how we can improve on our future information sessions.

Angelica:  All righty. We don’t see any more questions, so thank you so much Karen for all those great responses, and Stephanie, you as well, and thank you to everyone who submitted a question, so this will close the Q and A portion of our webinar. If anyone has any more questions that they think of later, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. If we did not get to your questions today, an enrollment advisor will follow up with you. If you once again look at the resources section on the left side of your screen, you’ll see a couple different resources available to you, so please take advantage of that. You can schedule an appointment with an advisor to go over the program, access the online application, the application checklist, and many other resources. Remember, you can start classes in the spring. The application deadline is on Monday, December 3, and classes start January 14, so go ahead and get started now so we can get you enrolled. Thank you again for taking the time out of your day to join us today, and thank you again to Karen Schechter for her great insight.

Angelica:  You will see a small survey on your screen, as we mentioned before, so please take a couple of minutes to answer those questions and help us with future webinars. We hope that you found this webinar useful today, and we do look forward to speaking with you soon. Everyone have a great night.