Health Care Administration Degree

Warner Pacific University’s accelerated Health Care Administration degree anticipates the increasing demand for medical care spurred by a growing aging population. Focusing on ethical business management, cultural competence, and diverse leadership, this program—geared toward working adults who have completed some college-level coursework—equips you with broad industry knowledge and the management, problem-solving, and communication skills to make a difference in your community. 

To accommodate professionals seeking advancement in the health care field or wanting to change careers, Warner Pacific University offers this accelerated degree program online or on campus one night per week. 

About the Accelerated Health Care Administration Degree

Health care is one of the fastest-evolving industries in the United States. New medical technologies and treatment models are regularly introduced, requiring physicians and staff to quickly adapt. The regulatory landscape changes at a similar pace, influencing the care patients receive and affecting the clinical staff administering treatments.

Although most associate the health care industry with physicians, nurses, and technicians, administrators are the keystone keeping hospitals, care centers, and HMOs running efficiently. Such professionals tend to have a strong business, leadership, and management background and a comprehensive understanding of the health care industry and its specific processes. Bridging these two areas, health care administrators ultimately work to improve a facility’s care delivery, organization, and efficiency to enhance the lives of patients.

Beyond this broad picture, these professionals need an understanding of finance and economics to improve operations and systems, have to stay on top of regulations and compliance to revise or introduce new policies, and need to be empathetic communicators and leaders to create a sense of organizational culture. 

Aligning with these responsibilities, WPU’s accelerated degree program strives to create professionals who support effective health care delivery through skilled administration and change management. The program emphasizes business organizational skills within the context of health care, the technical knowledge students need to make impactful decisions, and the personal integrity necessary for connecting with patients and medical professionals. During the course of this program, students:

• develop decision-making and leadership skills while learning about the health care industry’s complex structure and processes, including treatment models, insurance issues, laws, and finances;
• learn to become transformational leaders by strengthening their analytical and strategic-thinking skills, promoting innovation, and becoming familiar with achievement and community orientation concepts;
• discover ways they can enact organizational change through collaboration, information technology management, performance measurement, process management, organizational design, and project management;
• cultivate interpersonal, relationship building, and human resources skills for leading teams and developing talent;
• examine the social aspect of health care quality and access, including the well-being of a population and community; and
• learn about the structure of the health care system and managed care organizations.

Health Care Administration Curriculum

The Health Care Administration program integrates the theoretical foundation of health care administration with practical application. The curriculum is designed to promote the development of high moral character in students as they prepare to utilize ethical decision making practices in positions of leadership and management in health care organizations

In the process, students explore concepts related to alternative health care, industry issues, organization and delivery management, public policy, and law. They further examine functional business areas like budgeting, economics, finance, and quantitative analysis within the context of health care operations.

Career Outcomes 

• Executive Administrative Assistant 
• Administrative Supervisor 
• Program Administrator 
• Nursing Home Administrator 
• Accreditation Coordinator 
• Health Center Administrator 

Minor in Health Care Administration (Traditional)
18 credits
HCA 302 | Principles of Patient Care | 3 credits**
HCA 303 | Alternative Methods and Public Policy | 3 credits**
HCA 315 | Cultural Competency in Health Care | 3 credits**
HCA 410 | Quality Management in Health Care | 3 credits**
HCA 412 | Health Care and Ethics | 3 credits**
HCA 450 | Critical Issues in Health Care | 3 credits**
** The Health Care Administration courses are offered through the PGS program, and are taught online in an accelerated, 5-week format. Please consult with your Advisor for additional information.

Upon successful completion of the Health Care Administration minor, graduates will demonstrate:

1. Mastery of the basic concepts, theories, models and vocabulary associated with transformation: achievement orientation, analytical thinking, community orientation, financial skills, information seeking, innovating thinking, and strategic orientation.
2. Mastery of the basic concepts, theories, models and vocabulary associated with execution: accountability, change leadership, collaboration, communication skills, impact and influence, initiative, information technology management, organizational awareness, performance measurement, process management and organizational design, and project management.
3. Mastery of the basic concepts, theories, models and vocabulary associated with people: human resource management, interpersonal understanding, professionalism, relationship building, self-confidence, self-development, talent development, and team leadership.

Accelerated Degree Formats

WPU’s Professional & Graduate Studies (PGS) programs have helped working adults realize their educational goal of completing a bachelor’s degree. For the accelerated Health Care Administration minor:

• course quality and instruction remains consistent between online and on-campus formats;
• all courses last five weeks, unless noted;
• courses are taught by instructors working in the health care field, who ensure content reflects current best practices and methodology;
• courses begin on a monthly basis, so that students don’t have to wait a whole semester to start the program; and
• courses are scheduled around a cohort model involving 14 to 22 individuals, a structure allowing for more personalized attention from instructors and the chance for students to expand their professional networks. 

On-Campus Accelerated Health Care Administration Degree

Conveniently earn your degree close to home or where you work by attending one of WPU’s campuses in Portland. Offering some flexibility around your existing obligations, all on-ground courses are held one night per week, and the location won’t change during the five-week duration. 

Online Accelerated Health Care Administration Degree

WPU further offers the accelerated Health Care Administration degree in an online format, an asynchronous course of study involving weekly assignments and readings.

While students can complete the work around their schedule, participation is integral to the program. It’s expected that students will log in roughly five out of seven days each week to access lectures and course materials and participate in class forums, contributing an average of three substantial posts over two days’ time. 

Requirements for the Health Care Administration Degree

Interested in completing your bachelor’s degree at WPU? To start this accelerated program in health care administration, you must:

• have completed 48 to 60 semester credits at a regionally accredited college or university or through CLEP exams or ACE evaluations for military experience and job training; 
• fill out an application and submit the application fee;
• supply transcripts from all higher education institutions attended to date and high school transcripts if you have earned fewer than six semester credits;
• have at least two years of full-time work experience; and
• have earned a cumulative 2.0 GPA for all previously completed college-level coursework. 

Students whose native language is not English must also show proof of English proficiency by earning a minimum score of 70 for the TOEFL or a 6 for the IELTS.

Learn More About WPU’s Accelerated Health Care Administration Degree

Whether you seek to round out your industry experience with management and leadership skills or switch fields to positively impact your community, advance your career with WPU’s accelerated Health Care Administration degree. To learn more about the program, contact PGS Admissions by email or by phone at 800.804.1510, or request additional information today.

Health Care Administration Partners:

Adventist Health
Kaiser Permanente
OHSU
Oregon Association of Naturopathic Physicians
Powell Valley Wellness
Progressive Insurance
Providence Health Systems
Providence St. Joseph

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