CEDARVILLE — Cedarville University will begin a new health care administration MBA program in August.
The school made the announcement at Soin Medical Center in Beavercreek June 15.
If approved by the Ohio Department of Education, it will target professionals seeking additional responsibility in their current career path or those exploring an occupational switch. The Cedarville MBA will equip graduate students for leadership and management roles in a variety of health care settings – hospitals, nursing homes, urgent cares, assisted living facilities – among others.
“People who know Cedarville University know we’re strong in health care,” said Dan Sterkenburg, assistant dean for graduate programs in the school of business administration. “Anytime you can add a concentration that is leveraging what you’re already known for, high academics and the sciences, then you’re doing the right thing.”
In addition to the typical rigor and thorough-going approach of a Cedarville degree program, students also develop a distinctly Christian foundation in a profession known for its ethical challenges.
“With the MBA – health care administration concentration, we will provide students the tools to understand health care policy, which is very complex,” said Sterkenburg. “We will teach data analysis to recommend quality improvements in health care delivery. We will offer an entire course on ethics, addressing end-of-life issues, abortion, genetic manipulation and resource allocation. It’s very important for Christians to have a strong foundation in Scripture to know how to position themselves with these issues.”
The health care business environment is rapidly changing, according to Sharon Christman, assistant dean for graduate programs for the school of nursing and a consultant for the program. The Cedarville MBA — health care administration degree is the right program, at the right time, from the right place.
“Compassion for people is at the heart of what we do,” Christman said. “The people doing the books are usually most concerned with balancing their books. Our graduates will have a greater ability to think through not only the business principles in the MBA, but also the ethical and interpersonal considerations associated with health care experiences. Cedarville University is grounded in biblical truth and the message of God’s sacrifice for people he loves. That is an excellent basis for an environment focused on helping people who are hurting. If I were a patient, I’d want a hospital administrator who earned their MBA at Cedarville more than anywhere else.”
Faculty from the schools of business administration, pharmacy and nursing will teach the completely online program. The accounting and marketing classes will be taught by business professors, while health science professors will instruct the four concentration classes in health care systems, health care policy and data analysis, quality management and ethics.
Graduate students can complete the specialized MBA in the same amount of time as the core MBA program. The MBA – health care administration is comprised of 12 classes, taken online seven weeks at a time, two or four courses per semester, year-round. Graduate students may complete the program in one or two years, depending on their pace.
For more information, visit cedarville.edu/MBAHealthAdmin.
