Bachelor of Science in Health Administration (BSHA)

Program Location
Distance Education/Online
- Bachelor of Science in Health Administration (BSHA)
- BSHA - Finance Track
- BSHA - Strategic Management Track
Program Credits
Bachelor of Science in Health Administration (BSHA) - 120 Credits
- Bachelor of Science in Health Administration (BSHA)
- BSHA - Finance Track - 120 Credits
- BSHA - Strategic Management Track - 120 Credits
Program Length
Bachelor of Science in Health Administration (BSHA)
10 Trimesters, 160 Instructional Weeks
or
20 Trimesters, 320 Instructional Weeks
- BSHA - Finance Track
10 Trimesters, 160 Instructional Weeks
or
20 Trimesters, 320 Instructional Weeks
- BSHA - Strategic Management Track
10 Trimesters, 160 Instructional Weeks
or
20 Trimesters, 320 Instructional Weeks
Time to Complete
Bachelor of Science in Health Administration (BSHA)
40 Months or 80 Months
- BSHA - Finance Track
40 Months or 80 Months
- BSHA - Strategic Management Track
40 Months or 80 Months

WCU distance education programs may not be available to residents in all states.

Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Codes: 11-3011.00, 43-4051.03, 13-1111.00, 13-2051.00

Mission Statement:

The mission of the Bachelor of Science in Health Administration (BSHA) program is to prepare students from diverse educational and cultural backgrounds for entry-level administrative positions within healthcare service environments.  Graduates may use competencies in the areas of operations, financial analysis, policy development, business management, and risk management to promote effective healthcare administration.

Program Learning Outcomes:

  • Describe the impact of leadership and collaborative interprofessional teams within healthcare organizations that lead to better patient outcomes.
  • Apply financial management and strategic planning principles that lead to effective management decisions.
  • Demonstrate core foundational business skills in operation and administration management that lead to informed decision-making for the benefit of the healthcare organization.
  • Demonstrate ethical, legal, and compliance matters to support healthcare services.  
  • Discuss quality and risk improvement standards to optimize the business performance of healthcare organizations.
  • Examine information technology to support business management of healthcare systems.

Admission Requirements

  1. Complete an online application for admission.
  2. Participate in an interview with a University Advisor.
  3. Complete an enrollment agreement, consisting of program policies, costs, completion requirements, and other student obligations. If the applicant is under the age of 18, enrollment documents must be signed by a parent or guardian.
  4. Submit documentation of high school graduation or equivalent.
  5. Individuals with 15 or more college-level credits are required to have a 2.25 GPA in post-secondary education.
    1. Applicants with 15 or more college-level credits and a GPA of 2.0-2.24 may be considered for probationary admission after meeting the following admissions requirements:
      1. The applicant must provide a letter of intent.
      2. The applicant must be approved for admission following an interview with Program Dean/Director.
      3. The applicant must satisfy program prerequisites. 
      4. A student admitted under the probationary admissions pathway must achieve a cumulative GPA of 2.0 on all coursework attempted over the first trimester (two terms). Students who meet this standard will be converted to a full admit status and will be subject to the standard Satisfactory Academic Progress requirement for the duration of their program.  Students failing to meet these requirements following the first trimester (two terms) will be withdrawn from the university.  
      5. Students accepted under the probationary admissions pathway will be considered regular students and eligible for Title IV, if the student otherwise qualifies for funding, for the first trimester of their program of study while completing the requirements for full admission to their program.
  6. Bachelor of Science in Health Administration Transfer Credit Evaluation:  Only undergraduate level courses in which a grade of C- (70%) or better was received will be evaluated for transfer credit.  A maximum of ninety (90) total credits may be considered for transfer, subject to the following criteria:
    1. A maximum of thirty (60) credits may be accepted from alternative credit options, such as CLEP/AP/IB/ACE, etc.
    2.  A maximum of thirty (30) credits may be accepted from military training or work experience
    3. All undergraduate students must complete at least thirty (30) credits in-residence at West Coast University
    4. At least twenty-four (24) of the in-residence credits must come from core program courses

Additional criteria for transfer credit by type of credit is as follows:

General Education Credits (39 cr.)

  • Students may transfer up to thirty-six (36) general education credits.  All general education courses considered for transfer credit must reflect content aligned with one or more of the BSHA general education competencies.
  • All students are required to complete FYS002: Foundations of Success or FHE 102: Foundations of Online Higher Education (beginning Spring 2 2024).

Elective Credits (30 cr.)

  • Students may transfer up to thirty (30) elective course credits.

Program Core & Track Credits (51 cr.)

  • Students may transfer up to twenty-seven (27) core and track course credits.  All core and track courses considered for transfer credit must reflect the same content and course credit as the course for which transfer credit is requested.

Students who request to transfer credits from previously attended institutions must submit sealed official transcripts to the Registrar's Office from originating institutions prior to their first day of class.  If students are unable to submit transcripts or transcripts are unavailable, students may be enrolled for a period of one (1) term through the submission of unofficial transcripts, submitted no later than four (4) days after the start of a student's first term.  Students failing to submit official transcripts prior to the final day of the first term may be denied transfer credit for prior courses.  In addition to official transcripts, copies of course descriptions, school catalogs, and course syllabi may be requested for evaluation purposes.

Individuals who are concurrently enrolled at another institution at the time of their matriculation to West Coast University, may be allowed to request transfer credit for courses that are in-progress.  In this situation, official transcripts must be received by the end of the first term of matriculation to receive transfer credit.

Please note all veteran students are required to submit all post-secondary transcripts.  Please see the Veterans Educational Benefits policy in the Financial Policies and Information Section of the Catalog.

Eligibility for Reentry

A student who has been academically dismissed from West Coast University may apply for reentry to the University's BSHA program if:

The applicant was in good standing with the University excluding previous Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) or GPA requirements at the time of their dismissal.  If any other "good standing" issues exist, the individual would be admitted to the university on probationary status.  If a student in probationary status is not in "good standing" after completing their first semester of coursework in the BSHA program, they would be dismissed from the University.  If an applicant was previously dismissed from West Coast University for any conduct violations, he/she would not be admitted into the program.  Please refer to the "Good Standing" policy for specific information on the terms.;

Individuals granted reentry would have their successfully completed WCU credits, and credits previously transferred from other institutions, considered for applicability to the BSHA degree.  Decisions regarding transferability of credit are made by the BSHA program Dean or Director.

An individual who is readmitted by this clause will not be considered for dismissal due to the course failures in other WCU programs.  Any failures that occur after the student has reentered the university into the BSHA program would be subject to the university dismissal policy.


Health Administration Curriculum

To achieve the graduation requirement of 120 credits, all students must complete 39 credits of general education courses. Students may request to satisfy general education credit requirements through transfer credit per university policy.

General Education Requirements

Effective Spring I 2024

 

Category and Requirements WCU Course Requirements Transferable / Options
A. Written Communications (5 semester credits and 2 courses minimum)
Any competency area A WCU course Any college level course meeting competency area A outcomes
B. Oral and Interpersonal Communications (2.5 semester credits minimum and 1 course minimum) Any competency area B WCU course Any college level course meeting competency area B outcomes
C. Critical Thinking and Ethical Reasoning (5 semester credits and 2 courses minimum) Any competency area C WCU course Any college level course meeting competency area C outcomes
D. Quantitative Literacy (5 semester credits and 2 courses minimum) Any competency area D course Any college level course meeting competency area D outcomes
E. Social and Behavioral Sciences Awareness (5 semester credits and 2 courses minimum) Any competency area E WCU course Any college level course meeting competency area E outcomes
F. Historical, Cultural, and Aesthetic Recognition (5 semester credits and 2 courses minimum) Any competency area F WCU course Any college level course meeting competency area F outcomes
G. Scientific Reasoning (2.5 semester credits minimum and 1 course minimum) Any competency area G WCU course
Any college level course meeting competency area G outcomes
 None  Foundations of Success  Non-Transferable, requirement met by taking FYS 002(3 credits)

 

Effective Spring II 2024

A complete list of General Education Competency Outcome requirements and a complete list of WCU General Education Course Offerings are available on the General Education Page.

 

Category and Requirements WCU Course Requirements Transferable / Options
A. Written Communications (5 semester credits and 2 courses minimum)
Any competency area A WCU course Any college level course meeting competency area A outcomes
B. Oral and Interpersonal Communications (2.5 semester credits minimum and 1 course minimum) Any competency area B WCU course Any college level course meeting competency area B outcomes
C. Critical Thinking and Ethical Reasoning (5 semester credits and 2 courses minimum) Any competency area C WCU course Any college level course meeting competency area C outcomes
D. Quantitative Literacy (5 semester credits and 2 courses minimum) Any competency area D course Any college level course meeting competency area D outcomes
E. Social and Behavioral Sciences Awareness (5 semester credits and 2 courses minimum) Any competency area E WCU course Any college level course meeting competency area E outcomes
F. Historical, Cultural, and Aesthetic Recognition (5 semester credits and 2 courses minimum) Any competency area F WCU course Any college level course meeting competency area F outcomes
G. Scientific Reasoning (2.5 semester credits minimum and 1 course minimum) Any competency area G WCU course
Any college level course meeting competency area G outcomes
None Foundations of Online Higher Education
Non-Transferable, requirement met by taking FHE 102 (3 credits)

Elective Requirements:

To achieve the graduation requirement of 120 credits, all students must complete 30 credits of electives. Students may request to satisfy all or a portion of the elective credit requirements through transfer credit for previous education. Additionally, students may complete available online course offered by the university to satisfy elective credit (some restrictions apply).  Unless otherwise requested, students will take the following university courses to meet the elective requirements

BUS 135: Survey of Economics

BUS 220: Introduction to Marketing

BUS 250: Project Management

COMM 200:  Interpersonal Communication

ENGL 250: Technical Writing

HA 100: Medical Terminology

HA 400: Principles of Epidemiology

PH 100: Introduction to Public Health

PHIL 251: Survey of Contemporary Ethics

PHIL 435: Methods of Conflict Resolution

Bridge Courses:

Students who have completed at least thirty-nine (39) credits of coursework with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 may also satisfy up to twelve (12) credits of core coursework through the completion of four (4) graduate level courses in-residence.  All four (4)  in-residence graduate level bridge courses completed as part of an undergraduate program may be used to satisfy graduate requirements.

Strategic Management Track:

Track courses to be completed in the Strategic Management Track (12 credits)

BUS 200Organizational Behavior

3

BUS 370Business Analytics for Decision Making

3

BUS 385Entrepreneurship

3

BUS 390Social Media and Marketing

3

Total Credit Hours:12

Core courses to be completed if no track chosen (12 credits)
BUS 200Organizational Behavior

3

HA 220Global Perspectives in Healthcare

3

PSYC 200Emotional Intelligence

3

SCI 210Survey of Science and Technology

3

Total Credit Hours:12

Track Courses

Finance Track:

Track courses to be completed in the Finance Track (12 credits)

ACC 225Financial Accounting

3

BUS 290Microeconomics

3

BUS 350Corporate Finance

3

BUS 400Financial Statement Analysis and Management

3

Total Credit Hours:12

Health Administration Core Courses

To achieve the graduation requirement of 120 credits, all students must complete 51 credits of core and track courses.  Core courses provide students with the specific discipline experience required for the degree.  Tracks allow students to create interdisciplinary degrees based on personal career goals.  All students will complete at least 39 core course credits as detailed below.  The remaining 12 credits are based on the program track the student is enrolled in.  The currently available programs are:

              -Bachelor of Science in Health Administration (BSHA)

                  -BSHA – Finance Track

                  -BSHA – Strategic Management Track

A minimum grade of a "C-" (70%) will be required to receive course credit in the BSHA program.  Should a student receive a "D+" (<70%) grade or lower, it will not be considered a passing grade for the BSHA program and the student will be required to retake the course.  The earned grade will be counted into the student's CGPA and will be replaced once the course is repeated with a passing grade.  The student will be placed on an academic action plan to repeat the course and meet with the program Chair.  

Core Courses (39) Credits:

ACC 125Fundamentals of Accounting

3

ACC 150Principles of Finance

3

BUS 225Information Systems Operations and Analysis

3

HA 110Introduction to Healthcare Management

3

HA 410Research Methods in Healthcare

3

HA 320Healthcare Policy and Economics

3

HA 330Healthcare Regulatory Compliance and Accreditation

3

HA 340Healthcare Payment Systems

3

HA 420Quality Performance Management in Healthcare

3

HA 430Risk Management in Healthcare

3

HA 440Introduction to Strategic Planning and Organizational Management in Healthcare Organizations

3

HA 450Leadership in Healthcare

3

PHIL 350Organizational Law and Ethics

3

Total Credit Hours:39
BSHA Program Costs

For program costs, please see the Distance Education Tuition and Fees section.