The University of North Texas (UNT) Health Science Center‘s Master of Health Administration (MHA) program is now the first and the only MHA program in North Texas approved by the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME).
“This is a big step for our MHA program, and a number of faculty, staff and community advisors have been instrumental in guiding the School of Public Health through the accreditation process since it all began in 2011,” noted Richard S. Kurz, PhD., Dean of SPH. “We are also appreciative of the school’s MHA Advisory Council of local leaders and healthcare executives who have supported the SPH and our students through internships, practice opportunities, networking, job placements, and innovative ideas for enhancing the student experience.”
The MHA program is designed to prepare students for healthcare management and organizational functions in service administrations, such as hospitals, managed care organizations, medical group practices, ambulatory, long-term care, insurance and pharmaceutical companies, consulting firms, government agencies, or sector organizations. The curriculum, guided by the NCHL Health Leadership Competency Model, aims to empower students with key competencies, such as as accountability, analytical thinking, financial skills, achievement and strategic orientation, and information technology management.
“Programs that seek and maintain CAHME accreditation have gone further,” according to the organization’s website. “They’ve adopted the philosophy that accreditation is a Continuous Quality Improvement process. Without accreditation, quality is hard to distinguish. Employers want assurance that a graduate’s learning and experience properly prepared them for the wide variety of management responsibilities they’ll encounter.”
The UNT Health Science Center is a key contributor to the economic prosperity and community well-being of the city of Fort Worth, investing more than $600 million annually in the region and employing 416 faculty members, 855 adjunct faculty members and 1,353 non-faculty staff. At this moment, 2,000 students attend the university.