THE MHA DEBUTS ONLINE
For more than 50 years, the Master of Health Administration (MHA) has educated Indiana’s healthcare leaders. In fall 2024, the MHA will be offered online in an eight-week format, allowing students to complete the degree in as little as 15 months. They will experience the same high-quality instuction that has long distinguished the MHA throughout Indiana.
The MHA is a professional program that primes students for management and leadership roles across the healthcare workforce—in hospitals, medical practices, health maintenance organizations, long-term care facilities, insurance agencies, and pharmaceutical companies. One of only two programs in the state of Indiana accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Health Management Education, the IU Online MHA gives graduates an edge as they enter a highly competitive and demanding job market.
The curriculum for the program comprises flexible eight-week courses that can fit in to the daily schedules of students with families and careers. Because students progress through the program in cohorts, they can develop close personal and professional connections. The MHA provides new career opportunities for healthcare workers of all kinds—clinicians, technicians, and those who hold an undergraduate degree in clinical areas and who are seeking roles in administration or management.
We sat down with MHA Professor Chris Harle, chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management, to get his take on the new online program.
MHA content: All the plusses and no minuses
Harle noted that the MHA’s eight-week courses include all the content students enrolled in traditional 16-week courses enjoy. “It’s the same content compressed into eight weeks, so it’s more intense each day, each week.”
Online access: No boundaries
He continued, “The virtual classroom and today’s tech tools open the gates to even richer content. The instructor can reach across space and time to all the experts, all the knowledge-creators in our given field. Faculty can draw on the world of the internet, curating podcasts, videos, reviews, articles—weaving into class content new ideas and pioneering perspectives on practice. Plus, faculty’s professional networks provide another vast pool of expertise. Colleagues can speak from Haifa or New Jersey without having to navigate flights and schedules. We have a more diverse set of ideas and experiences because we have a more accessible format. You can do things online that can’t be done in person.”
eDS: Experts in design
Harle credited eLearning Design and Services’ expertise in developing the eight-week courses. “eDS was a game changer,” he said. “As faculty we know the value, the urgency of teaching online—this is how our world is trending. We’re experts in our disciplines, but less conversant in the concepts and technologies of instructional design. In developing courses, each MHA instructor was paired with an instructional designer who knew the technology and howHarle credited eLearning Design and Services’ expertise in developing the eight-week courses. “eDS was a game changer,” he said. “As faculty we know the value, the urgency of teaching online—this is how our world is trending. We’re experts in our disciplines, but less conversant in the concepts and technologies of instructional design. In developing courses, each MHA instructor was paired with an instructional designer who knew the technology and how to use it, how to pair it with good pedagogy, and when to rely on something simpler. We’re changing the model of what we’re used to. We’re upping our game.”
Student-focused design
Harle said that eDS consultants encouraged instructors to get down to some basics in pedagogy and to think about ways to use technology to increase engagement in the classroom. “We asked, ‘What is the most important content? And how do we deliver it?’”
To answer these questions, faculty focused on the students. “School is one of multiple priorities for online students,” said Harle. “They have to fit us in. Our role is to help them by making class accessible, exciting, and manageable. So we provide a checklist for each week and a variety of content laid out in a systematic way. Content is served in bite-sized pieces students can attach to.”
Harle reported that student feedback about the courses has been positive. “Students appreciated the balance and volume of content,” he said. “They likedHarle reported that student feedback about the courses has been positive. “Students appreciated the balance and volume of content,” he said. “They liked the mixture of readings, bite-sized podcasts, YouTube videos, interviews, and videos of professors and professionals. And an appropriate amount of work each week.”
A role for discussion boards
Discussion boards can create many opportunities for connection among students. According to Harle, “The instructor isn’t the sole driver of knowledge and interaction. Students from all over the country and world are amassing knowledge and elevating their credentials. They want to learn from each other’s wealth of experiences and perspectives. A discussion board can create a momentum, a life of its own, as it attracts a more diverse set of lived experiences and perspectives.”
A virtuous circle
Harle has discovered that online practices can support residential experiences. For example, when some of his residential students were attending a conference, Harle went hybrid. “I combined effective curated video content with personal engagement.” And now that he’s built a course with an instructional designer, Harle said that he now “thinks differently about how to fill a block of class time.”
What students say about the MHA
Harle said that alums from the residential MHA hail the value of the degree and its role in helping them build their professional skills. “They regard the MHA as the catalyst for building a community of peers and professional colleagues. Today, we’re recreating a similar experience—online.”