College launches online bachelor's degree in health sciences
ALBANY, N.Y.-Excelsior College, a leader in distance education, is now offering a bachelor's degree in health sciences.
The degree offers a practicing hygienist, among other health-care professionals, the option to move toward a career as an office administrator, in teaching, or in clinical practice in public or school health programs.
The interdisciplinary program offered completely online enrolled its first students in May. Flexible acceptance of transfer credit and the ability to complete coursework at any time from any location helps students continually progress toward their degree while managing work and family responsibilities.
Delivering application-based knowledge in health sciences, the program may be tailored to enhance a hygienist's ability to deliver patient education, improve supervisory capabilities, or learn more about the elderly and the aging process. Excelsior's program helps students develop "big picture" critical thinking and problem-solving skills needed for effective practice.
"This program is in keeping with Excelsior's 35-year tradition of educating adults at a distance so they can pursue their career dreams without losing time from work," said Deb Sopczyk, director of the School of Health Sciences at Excelsior College.
"Dental hygienists face the same challenges as professionals in other allied healthcare fields when they expand their job roles. This program helps bridge the gap when professionals move from providing care to new roles."
An accredited institution located in Albany, N.Y., Excelsior College is known for a flexible yet academically rigorous programs. The college offers degree and certificate programs and awards credit based upon completion of its online courses, its credit-by-examination program and the acceptance of transfer credit from a variety of recognized sources.
Excelsior's bachelor's degree in health sciences was developed by senior and tenured teaching faculty drawn from accredited colleges and universities, business and industry nationwide in collaboration with college faculty.
Admission into the health sciences program requires a minimum of 20 credit hours in a health science field. The degree program is 120 semester hours and is comprised of 60 hours in general education and 60 hours in health sciences courses.
The college offers the a broad range of concentrations in an undergraduate health sciences program including: management, health education, gerontology, and end-of-life care. Up to 32 health sciences credits and up to 60 credits in general education may be transferred from prior college-level coursework.
The health sciences core includes courses in Health Care Issues in Culturally Diverse Populations, Introduction to the Health Care Delivery System, Writing & Communication in the Health Science Professions, Research for Evidence-Based Practice, Health Care Education: Methods and Strategies, and Introduction to Healthcare Informatics.
Students select an additional nine credits in the concentration of their interest. As an example, the management concentration offers courses in budgeting and finance, human resources, and leadership skills as they specifically relate to healthcare organizations.
A management and leadership Capstone course provides students with an opportunity to synthesize and apply the knowledge they've acquired to complex management problems and issues in health care.
