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:

  • Apply financial management principles for decision making and strategic planning in healthcare organizations.
  • Analyze the application of organizational business skills to operational management and administration of healthcare organizations.
  • Evaluate quality improvement standards and practices to optimize business performance of healthcare organizations.
  • Interpret healthcare ethical, legal, and compliance matters to support healthcare services, patient data and confidentiality, and information systems.
  • Evaluate innovative information technology to support business management and organizational dynamics of healthcare organizations.
  • Assess the impact of collaborative interprofessional relationships and team building principles within healthcare organizations.
  • Demonstrate the application of leadership models and techniques to the strategic needs of healthcare organizations.

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 and achieve a cumulative GPA of 2.0 on all coursework attempted over the first trimester (two terms).  Students failing to meet these requirements following the first trimester (two terms) will be withdrawn from the university.
  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-three (33) 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 and CAPS402: General Education Capstone in-residence or equivalent.

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

Category and Requirements WCU Course Requirements Transferable / Options
A1- Written Communication
(5 Semester Credits and 2 Courses Minimum)
Written communication courses cover the use of writing as a means of conveying information.  In these courses, students will utilize discussions, papers, essays, research, etc. to examine, analyze, and transmit information in an appropriate academic or professional manner.  (Transferable courses will generally have ENG, JRN, or COM prefix) Any course that meets the General Education category and requirements.

A2. Oral Communication
(2.5 Semester Credits Minimum)

Oral communication courses cover the use of language and speech as a means of conveying information.  In these courses, students will utilize language and speech to disseminate information to audiences as appropriate.
(Transferable courses will generally have SPE, COM, JRN, ENG, or BUS prefix)
Any course that meets the General Education category and requirements.
A3. Critical Thinking
(5.0 Semester Credits 2 Minimum)
Critical thinking courses provide the skills necessary to make complex decisions. In these courses, students will utilize complex thinking, logic, and other skills to analyze decision making processes. (Transferable courses will generally have PHI, LOG, or COM prefixes) Any course that meets the General Education category and requirements.
A4. Quantitative Reasoning
(5 Semester Credits and 2 Courses Minimum)
Quantitative reasoning courses provide the skills to process, analyze, and interpret data.  In these courses students will utilize math to solve problems.  (Transferable courses generally have MAT or STAT prefixes) Any course that meets the General Education category and requirements.
B1– Social and Behavioral Sciences / Cultural Diversity, Tradition
(8 Semester Credits and 3 Courses Minimum)
Social and behavioral science, cultural diversity, and tradition courses cover a broad range of humanities disciplines.  Courses in this competency may cover social interactions, human behavior, cultural diversity, aesthetic awareness, art appreciation and creation, history, civic duty, and other areas in the field.  (Transferable courses generally have SOC, SSC, PSY, ART, HIS, LIB, ENG, ANT, REL, POL, LNG, CRJ, or related prefixes) Any course that meets the General Education category and requirements.
B2. Life and Physical Sciences
(2.5 Semester Credits and 1 Courses Minimum)
Life and Physical Science courses cover vary disciplines within the scientific field.  Courses in this field may cover any scientific discipline within life and physical sciences.  (Transferable courses generally have BIO, CHEM, PHYS, ENV, NRM, or SCI prefixes) Any course that meets the General Education category and requirements.
B3. General Education Capstone
(3 Semester Credits)
CAPS 402 (3):  General Education Capstone Non-transferable
In addition to the courses above, all students must complete FYS 002 (3): Foundations of Success (Non-transferable). A minimum of 39 credits is required for graduation


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

ACC 125: Fundamentals of Accounting

ACC 150:  Principles of Finance

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

HIST 100: US History

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 nine (9) credits of elective coursework through the completion of three (3) credit graduate level courses in-residence.  All in-residence three (3) credit graduate level 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

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:

HA 110Introduction to Healthcare Management

3

PHIL 350Organizational Law and Ethics

3

BUS 225Information Systems Operations and Analysis

3

PH 100Introduction to Public Health

3

HA 400Principles of Epidemiology

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

Total Credit Hours:39

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
BSHA Program Costs

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