BBA Health Care Management

Program Features

The Bachelor of Business Administration in Health Care Management is a degree program designed to provide preparation in management for the health care industry. Courses in the major address current management issues and challenges confronting professionals in the health care field. Core courses provide a comprehensive exposure to the foundation principles of business that are needed to manage functions common to any business enterprise.

Our faculty use case studies, project-based learning, and other teaching methods that promote real-world decision making. Students will apply common business practices through online and on-campus courses, working individually and in group projects in both settings. Course work emphasizes good critical thinking skills and the development of ethical leadership. Class discussions revolve around both classical issues and current trends that the business enterprise might face. The Senior Project courses require the students to integrate course outcomes into a customized application project.

Career Benefits

The Health Care Management BBA degree is delivered by combining synchronous and asynchronous instruction. Students are required to complete their first year college courses and have a basic understanding of health care terminology before joining the Health Care Management major cohort. The associate’s degree may be completed after completing Cleary University courses and transferred to meet degree requirements for the BBA. Students who have earned an associate’s degree from a regionally accredited institution are also eligible to enroll in this program.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Employment of medical and health services managers is expected to grow faster than average for all occupations through 2014, as the health care industry continues to expand and diversify.” A combination of work experience in the health care field and strong business and management skills should lead to the best opportunities. Health care management employers can be any of the following types of firms:

  • Clinics
  • Dental practices
  • Health insurance organizations
  • Health care associations
  • Hospitals
  • Nursing homes
  • Physician practices
  • Mental health departments
  • Rehabilitation centers
  • Skilled nursing facilities
  • Universities and research institutions

In choosing a career in health care management, your first job might be an entry- to mid-level management position in a specialized area such as:

  • Finance
  • Government relations
  • Human resources
  • Information systems
  • Patient care services
  • Marketing and public affairs
  • Medical staff relations
  • Nursing administration
  • Material management (purchasing of equipment and supplies)

Program Learning Outcomes

When evaluating candidates for management positions, employers look for appropriate education, health care work experience, general management skills, leadership skills, business planning skills, and quantitative skills. Upon completion of this degree, the graduate will be able to:

  • Describe effective management strategies needed to achieve successful outcomes in the health care system
  • Demonstrate achievement of business skills in the health care management areas of budgeting, human resources, strategic planning, marketing, and information technology
  • Integrate knowledge of ethical practice and legal responsibilities into the management role in the health care setting
  • Develop an understanding of the health care environment to include delivery models, economics, policy, risk management, global issues, and quality measurement in health care

Required Courses

  • ORN 099 - Undergraduation Orientation

    This online course includes an on-campus student component. ORN 099 prepares the student to be successful in Cleary University's undergraduate academic program. Students learn how to use Cleary’s course management software, receive an introduction to Cleary's electronic research tools and library services, and review the writing process. Academic policies are reviewed and student skills are measured. Time management resources, along with learning and study aids, are identified. Successful completion of this course is required.

  • HCM 440 - Health Care Informatics

    This course provides the student with an understanding of health information technology and how it is designed to support clinical and managerial decision making in health care. Emphasis will be placed on the collection, storage, retrieval, and communication of data; as well as information safeguards, ethical and legal issues, and patient safety and quality of care issues that relate to data storage and transmission. Electronic medical records models and basic hardware and software concepts are
    addressed, including the impact that this technology will have on patient care.

  • BAC 300 - Business Research and Communication

    This course introduces the transfer student to academic resources: distance technology; project-based learning; working in teams; academic policies, processes and expectations; and the accelerated learning environment. Cleary’s online environment is introduced and explained. Students learn how to use electronic resources to conduct research, analyze findings, and report results in written and oral form. The research and writing processes are introduced and used to create academic papers and business reports. Plagiarism and academic ethics are discussed and students learn how to properly acknowledge research sources using APA format. Students learn to make effective formal presentations for local and remote audiences.

  • LAW 410 - Legal Issues in Health Care

    The focus of this course is on the regulatory environment of health care including HIPAA, COBRA, Medicaid, Medicare, medical malpractice, and health care reform measures, as well as ethical theory and practice applications for the health care profession. The student will analyze trends in public policy and politics, and use case studies that focus on regulatory and ethical issues a health care professional will confront.

  • HCM 450 - Global Health Issues

    This course examines the effects of poverty and economic inequality on health. Major global health problems will be discussed with particular emphasis on malnutrition, AIDS, and infectious diseases. Possible solutions will be explored. The mission and performance of global health institutions will be discussed. Comparative health care systems will be studied.

  • HCM 430 - Marketing Health Care Services

    This course studies the issues facing healthcare marketers including e-health, direct-to-consumer marketing, legislative developments, healthcare ROI, customer-driven health care, competition, and database marketing. Students will learn about various aspects of marketing through case analysis, development of a health care business marketing plan, and active classroom discussions.

  • HCM 420 - Health Care Business

    Strongly current-events driven, this class focuses on such topics as access to care, cost containment, health benefit plans, health economics, utilization review, disease management, information technology, medical technology, fraud and abuse, transparency of performance, pharmacology and biotechnology, volunteerism, quality, and patient safety. The impact of these topics on the business of health care will be studied.

  • HCM 400 - Quality Management in Heath Care

    This course surveys institutions, attitudes, and behavior related to the quality of health care in the United States. Topics studied include quality of service delivery, quality planning, physician-patient relationships, safety of health care, quality of health services research, health care evaluation and benchmarking, technology assessment, and clinical research related to quality of care.

  • LAW 320 - Business Ethics and Legal Issues

    This course provides an understanding of the body of legal principles that govern the structure and conduct of business organizations. This survey course covers such topics as the legal environment of business, regulatory environments affecting business, business-to-business relationships, and business ethics and social responsibility.

  • QTY 432 - Quality Management

    This course will explore the interaction of quality theory and classic management theory. Students will learn how organizations use quality practices and policies in normal operations. Participants will familiarize themselves with the history and philosophy of quality and its practical application in business, industry, education, health care, and government. Different approaches to performance improvement, including models and standards, will be explored. Students will demonstrate the ability to apply these theories to improve organizational performance. The content of this course is drawn largely from materials for individuals preparing to take the ASQ Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence Certification Examination.

  • MGT 400 - Management Skills Seminar

    This course provides students with the tools to successfully inspire, empower, and develop people. Students will learn advanced skills in planning, organizing, leading, and controlling individuals and teams. Skill development topics such as meeting facilitation, communication, conflict management, and stress and time management will be studied. Current trends will be featured.

  • ENT 405 - Creativity and Innovation

    Creativity, innovation, and risk taking are essential to the success of the entrepreneur. This class will aid students in unlocking their inner potential and focus on “thinking outside the box”. Students will also learn strategies for dealing with rejection and negativity.

  • CAS 111 - Microsoft PowerPoint

    This course is designed for students who have not used PowerPoint and want to know the basics to be able to develop class or business presentations. Topics include planning a presentation, using different presentation templates, creating slides, and technical aspects of making a presentation.

    NOTE: For the ABA degrees, the requirement is CAS 107 and CAS 111 or CIS 150. See the course catalog or your advisor for more details.

  • CAS 107 - Microsoft Excel

    This course is designed for the student who has not used Excel. Topics include basic spreadsheet applications, worksheet creation, formulas, formatting, printing, and charting.

    NOTE: For the ABA degrees, the requirement is CAS 107 and CAS 111 or CIS 150. See the course catalog or your advisor for more details.

  • ECO 250 - Macroeconomics

    National and international economic policies have powerful and direct effects on business operations. Business fluctuations, inflation, unemployment, monetary and fiscal policies, and international trade are discussed in the course.

  • PJT 495-9 - Senior Project I-V

    Students complete the required directed study BBA Senior Project course sequence at the end of their undergraduate degree program. Each two-credit course serves as a prerequisite for the successive course (that is, PJT 495 is a prerequisite for PJT 496, and PJT 496 is a prerequisite course for PJT 497, etc.) During this thirty-week, five-course sequence, students select project topics and complete their projects guided individually by senior faculty mentors. Preference is given to selecting topics that solve problems or make contributions for the students’ employers by applying business concepts students learned in their majors. Project types may include: primary research, a business or new product plan, marketing audit, implementation plan, a process or product improvement, or an analysis of a significant workplace problem. Successful completion of PJT 495-499 requires a grade of C or better in each class.

  • NAT 340 - Environmental Science for Managers

    Ecosystems, ecological concepts, and environmental economics will be explored. Students receive a sound theoretical framework of environmental principles which can be applied to current issues. Participants will practice performing environmental audits of selected business operations and develop strategies that can eliminate or mitigate harmful practices.

  • MTH 344 - Quantitative Business Analysis

    This course provides a comprehensive coverage of the critical thinking skills used in statistical analysis. Areas of study include probability, random variables, discrete and continuous distributions, hypothesis testing, confidence interval, correlation, and regression.

  • MTH 180 - Introduction to Business Statistics

    The ability of students to enhance their capacity to gather and analyze meaningful data using a variety of statistical techniques, is essential to business success. Topics include graphical and numerical descriptive methods for describing data, such as frequency distributions, measures of central tendency, and dispersion.

  • MKT 415 - Interactive Marketing

    This course explores marketing principles combined with Web-based strategies in an effort to reach customers and build individual relationships. Tools such as electronic advertising, direct e-mail, and electronic commerce are studied. Value analysis will be used to determine the individual customer’s contribution to profit, Web metrics, and analysis of buyer behavior.

  • MGT 420 - International Business

    This course stresses the synergy/connection between environment and culture, and the strategy and functions of business management. It further provides an overview of the functions of business in an international context. Basic economic principles are studied in international markets including micro- and macroeconomics, fiscal and monetary policies, and banking. Factors affecting foreign trade and multinational business are explored, especially the various social, political, technical, and economic complexities of doing business in foreign countries.

  • HCM 300 - Introduction to Health Care Management

    This course examines a wide variety of health care settings, from hospitals to nursing homes and clinics and will provide an introduction to medical terminology and the important issues in health care management such as ethics, cost management, strategic planning and marketing, and information technology. This course is designed for the student who has no relevant health care industry work experience and intends to earn a BBA in Health Care Management. It also serves as an introduction to this field for students who may have an interest in Health Care Management.

  • FIN 400 - Financial Management

    Selected topics in both the financial and managerial aspects of financial management for business organizations are studied with the intention of providing a survey of important concepts, issues, tools, and vocabulary that administrators need to effectively manage a business organization. Students will learn how managers and investors use financial statements in order to meet their financial objectives. The goals of the financial manager, the trade-off between risk and return, and the time value of money will be explained. The application of these basic concepts to the valuation of bonds and stocks, capital budgeting problems, and the process for determining capital structure will also be emphasized.

  • FIN 200 - Introduction to Business Finance

    Students will understand financial terms, financial statements, financial ratios, and how they affect the operations of a business corporation. This course is meant to be an introduction to finance and accounting for all students who may have budget, profit and loss responsibilities, and intend to contribute to the financial success of their companies. This is a basic finance course for students aspiring to be entrepreneurs and non-financial professionals.

  • ENG 160 - Business Composition

    Students will acquire writing skills necessary to prepare for advanced business courses. Students start at a fundamental level, beginning with an introduction to writing, moving on to writing strategies, and concluding with methods of development. This course presents writing as a means of exploring, developing, confirming, and communicating ideas. Students will apply the basic principles of language structure and become more familiar with APA documentation.

  • ECO 320 - Economics of Business

    This course provides a managerial viewpoint of macro- and microeconomic concepts that shape business environments. Macroeconomic topics include national accounts and income determination; monetary and fiscal policy; Federal Reserve System; and employment, inflation, and growth. Microeconomic topics include market structure, price theory, and supply and demand. The emphasis in this course is the business manager’s viewpoint, building an understanding of the relationship of economic theory to management practice and decision making.

  • BCS 440 - Technology and the Organization

    Today's competitive business environment requires managers at all levels to understand the role technology plays in the organization. By challenging the paradigm of how students currently view the role of technology in the organization, the student is moved to view technology as a tool to gain competitive advantages in the marketplace.

  • ACC 402 - Managerial Accounting

    This course explores basic managerial accounting concepts used to support business decisions. Topics include basic cost concepts, product costing methods, activity-based costing, cost-volume-profit analysis, standard costing, budget preparation, and relevant cost analysis.

  • ACC 401 - Financial Accounting

    This course introduces fundamental concepts in financial accounting, which are used to create financial statements for external users. The focus is on the accounting cycle and financial statement preparation (primarily the income statement and balance sheet).

  • ACC 245 - Principles of Accounting I

    This introductory course examines the basic principles of accounting. Students work through the entire accounting cycle by analyzing and posting business transactions, recording adjusting journal entries, and preparing basic financial statements. Accounting systems and controls are also covered.