University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Department of Health Policy and Administration

The Department of Health Policy and Administration (HPAA) is one of eight departments in the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the United States. As one of the oldest health management programs in the U.S., the department is organized to train future executive leaders in public health and health administration. Three levels of curriculum are offered -- undergraduate, masters and doctorate. In addition, HPAA offers one-year certificate programs in disaster management and health care quality. Its master's program also provides an online MHA (Master of Health Administration) and online MPH (Master of Public Health) option. The department has also just recently received approval to offer one of the few master’s degrees in the U.S. in disaster management.

History
The Department of Health Policy and Administration was one of the first four departments created when UNC-Chapel Hill’s School of Public Health was officially established on June 7, 1940, making it the first school of public health at a public institution. The School was originally a division within the School of Medicine and its first director was Milton J. Rosenau, one of the premier public health figures in the U.S. in the early 20th Century. Taught first by physicians, the department expanded its faculty in the sixties to include experts in public administration, sociology, health care finance and health care administration as the demand for health administrators increased dramatically from the creation of the medical care legislation. To further satisfy the demand for health administrators, especially in North Carolina, the department initiated the Off-campus Master’s Program in 1969, making it the first public health program in the country to offer courses off campus. The first program was held in Raleigh, followed by programs in Asheville in 1974 and Fayetteville in 1977. In addition to its master’s program, the department established a baccalaureate degree in 1972, a PhD degree in 1982 and a DrPH degree in 2005 – the first DrPH program in the U.S. to be taught via distance learning.

Academics
The Department of Health Policy and Administration (HPAA) offers three levels of degrees – baccalaureate, masters and doctorate. In addition, HPAA offers two certificate programs in disaster management and patient safety. All of the programs and courses are designed to provide future health leaders and professionals with the executive training and knowledge necessary to effectively manage large or small health organizations in the 21st Century. This includes traditional health administration coursework in financial management and health law, as well as core public health courses in epidemiology, environmental health and health behavior.

Bachelor of Science in Public Health (BSPH)
The Bachelor of Science in Public Health (BSPH) degree is intended for students who plan to seek careers in a variety of inpatient, ambulatory and other health care settings, including primary care facilities, medical group practices, public health organizations, health insurance companies, federal, state and local agencies, and alternative delivery organizations. The program also prepares students to assume positions in policy analysis and program development in health services research organizations. Graduates of the BSPH program have been successful in their pursuit of graduate degrees in a broad range of fields, including public health, law, medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, business administration, and health services research.

Students begin taking courses in their junior year. The sequenced program of courses is designed to provide students with solid understanding of the organization health care services in the United States and skills for effective management of health system resources, including human, financial and health information. The internship experience, placed between the junior and senior years, provides students an opportunity to apply new skills, anticipate learning needs, and clarify personal career goals.

Residential Masters (MPH, MHA, MSPH)
The Residential Master’s Program is intended to train and develop future health executives and professionals in public health or health care. Three degrees are offered: Master of Public Health (MPH), Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH), and Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA). The MPH is a professional degree intended for those students who hold a doctoral-level professional degree (JD, MD, DDS, etc.) or a PhD. The MSPH is a professional degree designed to prepare students for careers in health policy analysis, planning, development, evaluation, and advocacy at local, state, federal, and international levels as well as in the private sector. The MHA is a professional degree for students wishing to pursue management careers in health systems, hospitals, consulting firms, managed care organizations, insurance firms, medical group practices, government agencies and other health care settings.

Unlike the Executive Master’s Program where the majority of the courses are taught online, all of the courses in the Residential Master’s Program are taught on the campus of UNC-Chapel Hill. Students generally take a full course load of three classes per semester (or nine credit hours), and the entire program typically takes two years to complete. MHA and MSPH students must complete 61 credit hours, while MPH students must complete 42 credit hours. In addition, MSPH and MHA students must complete a 12-week internship program and MPH students must complete a 6-week internship program.

Executive Masters (online MPH, online MHA)
The Executive Master’s Program (EMP) is designed for working health professionals who wish to remain in their current job while still pursuing an advanced degree. The program offers an online MHA and and online MPH track. The primary difference between the two programs is that the MPH degree is designed for students desiring an executive or management career in public health, while those pursuing an MHA degree typically pursue managerial or executive positions in health care. While the MHA degree takes longer to complete (three years), the program includes additional courses in financial management, operations, and marketing. The MHA requires 60 credit hours for graduation; the MPH requires 48.

The Executive Master’s Program has a long tradition of offering courses via distance learning. First offering classes off-campus in 1969 in various cities throughout North Carolina, the EMP now uses state-of-the-art technology to offer all of its classes online, making it one of the few accredited health care administration programs in the U.S. to do so. As a result, students apply and enroll in the Executive Master’s Program from all regions of the country. At the same time, students are also expected to attend classes and special workshops during three different visits to the UNC-Chapel Hill campus, for a total of 24 on-campus days. This combination of on-campus participation and online access allows students to take advantage of the distance learning environment while still interacting in person with their colleagues and faculty. The online MHA and online MPH programs combined generally admit 40 students per cohort (group). The online MHA and online MPH programs have two cohorts per year. Thus, a new group of students start each December and August. The general requirements to be considered for admittance include a GRE score in the 50th percentile and a minimum of three years experience in health care. The average age of the Executive students is 35.

Master of Science in Disaster Management (MSDM)
The newest degree offered by the department is the Master of Science in Disaster Management (MSDM) program. The disaster management program offers 60 credit hours of curriculum, including classes in the science of disasters, public decision making, function and organization of disaster management systems, public health and environmental disasters and disaster management and leadership. The program’s primary audience is professionals currently working in disaster-related fields, such as fire, law enforcement, emergency management, veterinary medicine, allied health, emergency medical services, the military and public health. Other health care officials, such as hospital administrators and government personnel, are also expected to have interest in the program. The first group of students is expected to begin sometime in 2008 and the department expects to enroll about 35 students per year. The program is taught almost entirely online. This program is expected to be offered for the first time in 2008.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
The Doctor of Philosophy program the Department of Health Policy and Administration is designed for students seeking the academic foundation and research experience to become creative and independent researchers and teachers. The Department offers two collaborative PhD programs, one in pharmacy and other in occupational safety and health. The doctoral curriculum is designed to provide students with competencies they need for a successful career in health services/health policy research. All students take courses in research design, quantitative methods, health services research, and health policy. Also, through their minor, students develop expertise in a substantive area. The PhD program is designed to be completed in four years. Students are expected to develop expertise in a substantive area (i.e., their minor). A student's minor may be either disciplinary (i.e., economics, epidemiology, financial management, sociology/organizational studies, political science, public policy development) or interdisciplinary (decision sciences, quality and access). The Program offers a collaborative PhD program with the School of Pharmacy's Division of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy. This allows doctoral students to develop expertise in the field of pharmacoeconomics and pharmaceutical outcomes research and collaborate with the Pharmacy faculty. Applicants interested in this program should indicate interest in their personal statement.

Doctoral Program in Health Leadership (DrPH)
The only program of its kind in the country offer a comprehensive DrPH program via distance learning, the [Doctoral Program in Health Leadership program prepares mid-level working health care professionals to become top leaders. Its uniqueness comes from offering its coursework almost entirely online, thereby allowing students from all regions of the country to access the coursework while still employed. Currently in its second year of operations, the program has attracted a highly diverse group of students from various health disciplines. Each cohort of students will come to Chapel Hill for four to five days at the beginning of their studies (August), between the fall and spring semesters (early January), and between the spring and summer semesters (May). Otherwise, all learning will take place in the student’s home or office. The focus in the third year is on writing the dissertation, although students will be free to take a maximum of two electives. We anticipate that the workloads for each course will be similar, although some variation will occur. On average, each credit hour will require about 40 hours of student time. Therefore, students will spend approximately 240 hours per semester. While demanding, this amount of work (16 hours per week) is reasonable for people working full-time.

Community Preparedness and Disaster Management Certificate Program
The Community Preparedness and Disaster Management Certificate Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill provides community leaders, emergency management personnel and other disaster responders with the latest information and knowledge of management systems used to prepare for natural and man-made disasters, including bioterrorism. The program consists of four courses offered in one year. All of the courses are conducted online, thereby allowing students to continue working and still complete the program. In addition, the online format allows students from different parts of the country to take the program. Three out of the four courses can be transferred into a graduate degree program.

The courses cover a number of important topics related to community preparedness and disaster management. For example, one course focuses on the disaster management systems currently in place at the local, state and national levels. In addition, another course focuses on the ramifications associated with different disaster scenarios, such as biological, nuclear and radiological, chemical, geologic, weather, and man-made scenarios. The program also includes coursework in forensic epidemiology, risk assessment and cost/benefit analysis.

Healthcare Quality and Patient Safety Certificate Program
The one-year Healthcare Quality and Patient Safety Certificate Program is designed for a range of professionals working to improve quality and performance in health care organizations. Students may include health benefits professionals, health insurance and managed care professionals, consultants, hospitals and physician group employees who are involved in quality oversight, and employees of major medical professional associations. The program consists of four courses (for a total of 12 credit hours) taken entirely online. Three out of the four courses can be transferred into a graduate degree program. The is program is expected to be offered for the first time in 2008.

Students who complete this program will understand: • Approaches for collecting, managing, and analyzing quality of care data • Strategies for measuring quality of care from the perspective of patients, payers, providers and health care organizations • Evaluation of existing and emerging quality improvement movements, such as IT improvements, clinical practice guidelines, CQI, evidence-based medicine, case management, provider profiling and feedback, public reporting, incentives, and performance improvement teams • Analysis of the business case for quality, and overall cost-effectiveness of quality improvement programs • Guidance relating to effective program development, implementation and evaluation.

Faculty
Several members of the Health Policy and Administration Department faculty have won awards.

• Three members of the faculty won the John D. Thompson Prize for Young Investigators from the Association of University Programs in Health Administration - Bryan Weiner, Shoou-Yih Daniel Lee and Rebecca Wells.

• R. Gary Rozier won the Distinguished Service Award from the American Association of Public Health Dentistry.

• Andrea K. Biddle won the Mark S. Ehrenreich Prize in Healthcare Ethics.

• In 2002, Morris Weinberger received the Vision Award for Groundbreaking Research in Chronic Illness Care from the Improving Chronic Illness Care Program.

• In 2003, Morris Weinberger received the Under Secretary's Award for Outstanding Achievement in Health Services Research from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

• In 2003 Edward Norton received the Phillip and Ruth Hettleman Prize for Artistic and Scholarly Achievement by Young Faculty Award.

• In 2005 Morris Weinberger won the 2005 John M. Eisenberg Excellence in Mentorship Award from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) the health services research arm of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

• In both 2000 and 2001, AcademyHealth awarded their Dissertation Award to one of our students. Glen Mays won in 2000, and Courtney Harold Van Houtven won in 2001. In 2003, the International Health Economics Association awarded both John Bian and Zhou Yang Honorable Mention in the student paper competition. Anu Krishman won the student paper competition for the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research in 2003. Rachael L. DiSantostefano received an honorable mention in 2005.

Leaders (Chair)
John J. Wright, M.D. 1947 – 1962

Robert C. Coker, M.D. 1962 – 1966

Morris Schaefer, Ph.D. 1967 – 1971

Sagar C. Jain, Ph.D. 1971 – 1986

Kerry E. Kilpatrick, Ph.D. 1987 – 2002

Peggy Leatt, Ph.D. 2002 - Present

Rankings
The Department of Health Policy and Administration is currently ranked #3 in the annual rankings of top health administration programs. In addition, the Department’s Executive Master’s Program is ranked #1 by Modern Healthcare as the top health administration program for physician-executives, and the School of Public Health is ranked the leading public school of public health and tied with Harvard University overall.