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How Will You Uplift Others?
As the healthcare industry continues to grow, train for a role where you’ll push for change — from organizational procedures to policy and technology. Our vibrant, virtual Christ-centered community supports your curiosity and drive during your new endeavor.
Introducing
Locked-In Tuition.
Our Locked-In Tuition program guarantees you’ll pay the same price for your entire undergraduate degree.
About the Program
ACU’s online Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Administration allows you to build on your existing healthcare experience or make a career change. This program focuses on three areas: leadership and ethics; the healthcare system; and technical and foundational competencies. You’ll start with a 42 credit-hour core before specializing your degree with a concentration.
With this degree, you’ll have the knowledge and skillset to stand out to future employers in the largest sector of the U.S. economy.
Program Structure
All the Details on Your Degree
Through a Christian worldview, you will gain the fundamental skills and expertise to navigate this rapidly changing industry. After completing core courses covering business, technology, marketing, and ethics in the context of the healthcare industry, you will select between the Public and Community Health, Change Management, or general concentration to customize your degree based on your area of interest.
Jump Start Your MHA Degree
If you plan to pursue a Master of Healthcare Administration degree, save time and money by taking six hours of graduate-level coursework while in your bachelor’s program! Talk to an advisor to learn more.
Required Hours
Total: 120 hours
University Requirements: 56 hours (including 9-15 hours in Bible)
Major: 64 hours (up to 22 hours in electives)
Cost: $395/Hour with $600 resource fee per semester
Example Coursework
Survey of Community and Public Health Issues
Innovation & Trends in Healthcare
Healthcare Leadership and Relationship Management
Healthcare Quality & Safety
Upcoming Start Dates
January 14, 2025
March 11, 2025
Common Job Titles
Medical and Health Services Manager
Practice Administrator
Health Information Manager
Community Services Director
Healthcare Executive Assistant
Healthcare Human Resources Manager
Curriculum and Concentrations
Between the core courses, concentration, and electives, you’ll complete 64 credits for your major.
Core courses set the stage with a comprehensive approach to the workings of healthcare management. You’ll begin to understand the operations of various patient care organizations, including long-term treatment, health services delivery, community and public health principles, healthcare policy and regulation, current industry trends, and quality and safety issues. You’ll also start to learn about business and research concepts through a healthcare lens, including quantitative and qualitative methods, information technology systems, human resources management, finance and economics, leadership and management, communication, and marketing for care delivery and community outreach.
Explore an area of healthcare administration in detail with one of three concentrations:
Change Management
The healthcare industry is constantly changing. From new payer models, laws, and regulations to clinical advances and emerging technologies, healthcare administrators must be prepared to respond and lead through change. The Change Management concentration equips healthcare managers to navigate the rapidly evolving industry. Students will select courses in change management theory, healthcare communication campaigns, as well as decision making and conflict and crisis management in organization.
Public and Community Health
The Public and Community Health concentration introduces students to population and public health theory and practices that contribute to the wellbeing of their communities and healthcare organizations. Introductory courses in Epidemiology, Global Public Health, and Health Disparities examine the many ways in which healthcare extends far beyond the four walls of the hospital.
General
The General concentration offers broad exposure to the fields of healthcare administration and leadership. Students can customize their degree by selecting from courses in both the Public and Community Health and Change Management concentrations. This concentration allows students to identify courses specific to their individual interests and professional goals.
Meet the Program Director
Dr. Meghan Hope, Program Director, Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Administration
Meghan Hope is an assistant professor and program director for ACU’s Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Administration and Master of Healthcare Administration programs. Meghan received her Juris Doctor with health law concentration from the University of Tulsa and a Master of Healthcare Administration from Midwestern State University. Meghan has more than a decade of expertise in the healthcare industry. Prior to joining ACU, she worked as a healthcare regulatory and operations consultant focusing on new hospital development, management, and reimbursement issues. Meghan has also served as an administrator in community-based and academic healthcare environments. Her research interests and passions include healthcare policy influences on management decisions and regulatory considerations in clinical research.
Meghan received her master’s online and has since developed a passion for the online learning experience. She loves the opportunity to form meaningful relationships with her students while helping them develop the leadership skills and industry expertise necessary for successful careers in healthcare administration.
Spotlight
Faculty Spotlight: Trinette Pierre
With more than 30 years of experience, Dr. Trinette Pierre has become one of the leading voices in private healthcare consulting and academia today. Drawing from her passion for learning and pushing others to achieve their professional goals, Dr. Pierre is an engaging adjunct professor within the Master of Healthcare Administration program with ACU Online. Learn more about her story and why she advocates for others to reach their dreams, too.
Student Spotlight: Summer Norment
After taking care of her grandmother throughout her childhood, Summer Norment has dreamed of opening her own long-term care facility. In order to reach that goal, she knew going back to school to earn a Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Administration would be an opportunity worth investing in. Check out our latest spotlight to see how Summer is making her dreams a reality with the help of ACU Online.
What Can You Do with a Healthcare Administration Degree?
“Healthcare is so much more than treating illness or disease. It is an opportunity to improve the lives of patients and the communities we serve.” – Meghan Hope, Program Director, BS in Healthcare Administration and Master of Healthcare Administration. Learn how our program recognizes this by incorporating tools and skills to address the changing healthcare landscape that you can start using right away.
Making Your Community Healthier with a Degree Focused on Public Health
Healthcare is so much more than what happens within the four walls of a hospital. With our B.S. in Healthcare Administration specializing in Public and Community Health, you will explore ways to contribute to the wellbeing of your community as a healthcare leader. Learn more about this exciting degree in our blog post.
Faculty Spotlight: Meghan Hope
A lot happens beyond the four walls of a hospital. For Meghan Hope, Program Director for Healthcare Administration programs at ACU Online, this was true throughout her education and continues to inspire her as she leads the next generation of healthcare professionals. Check out our latest blog to learn more about her story.
The Top Five Industries in High Demand for 2021
For more than a year now, COVID-19 has played a role in the personal and professional lives of individuals worldwide. Finally, after groundbreaking unemployment numbers, the job market is reopening and adapting to accommodate our new reality. Here are the five industries set to experience regrowth and seek recruitment in 2021.
Enter a dynamic and rewarding field with an online Bachelor’s in Healthcare Administration from ACU. Based on figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, demand for medical and health services managers is predicted to increase 32% between 2020 and 2030. This degree program forms a stepping stone to entry- and mid-level roles where you’ll plan, coordinate, or direct services in a hospital, individual department, private practice, or other care facility, collaborate with doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers, and strive to continually improve patient care quality and access.
Thinking long term past this degree? Continue expanding your skills with a Master of Healthcare Administration, or specialize your knowledge with a Master of Business Administration or public policy degree.
You embrace your caring and dedicated personality. ACU’s online Bachelor’s in Healthcare Administration degree program lets you fully flourish to find your vocation and authentic place in the world, so you can benefit your community. Whether you’re starting your bachelor’s or are considering a career change, this program reflects the mission and values of the School of Health and Human Services. Challenge yourself academically while strengthening your faith and acquiring essential skills that show you’re a leader and innovator ready to keep pace with the healthcare industry’s advancements.
Through fully online courses that fit around your schedule, you’ll:
- explore the relationship between Christian values and patient care delivery while understanding how to uphold organizational and professional standards;
- familiarize yourself with various types of healthcare environments, including procedures, ethics, and technology;
- learn the power of decision making and its effects on both healthcare environments and the community-at-large;
- start to view data and research as tools for improving patient care, policies, and organizational systems;
- discover yourself as a leader and change agent supporting patients and your community; and
- examine various traditional business competencies through a healthcare-specific perspective with the goal of improving care quality, streamlining access, and growing community outreach efforts.
To be considered for admission, students must:
- Submit official high school and/or college transcripts.
- Complete the online program application accompanied by a non-refundable processing fee.
Students are not required to submit ACT or SAT test scores.
Graduation Requirements: Students must earn a 2.0 GPA or higher to meet graduation requirements and complete at least 33 advanced hours.
Abilene Christian University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award associate, baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral degrees. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Ga. 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of ACU.
Abilene Christian University enjoys a strong national reputation as one of the leading private Christian universities in the west and southwest, indicated by various ratings (such as U.S. News and World Report and other reports).