Undergraduate Course Catalog 2009-2010
College of Health and Human Services
» http://www.chhs.unh.edu/
Health Management and Policy (HMP)
» http://www.chhs.unh.edu/hmp/
» Click to view course offerings
Chairperson: James B. Lewis
Professor: Barbara Arrington, Cynthia M. Duncan, Leslie N.H. MacLeod, John W. Seavey, Lee F. Seidel, Robert S. Woodward
Associate Professor: Rosemary M. Caron, Marc D. Hiller, James B. Lewis
Assistant Professor: Semra Aytur, Robert J. McGrath
Research Assistant Professor: David J. Laflamme
Clinical Professor: Edgar J. Helms Jr.
Undergraduates majoring in the health management and policy program are prepared to embark upon management careers in a wide range of health care delivery and financing organizations, public health, and health policy. Graduates work in many settings, including health care delivery systems, hospitals, nursing homes, health maintenance and other managed care organizations, public health departments, community-based and home-health agencies, mental health facilities, regulatory bodies, consulting companies, and insurance companies.
The academic program is interdisciplinary, with undergraduates taking courses in many academic units of the University. Students gain a broad view of health and health care while developing analytical skills in health care management and policy. The department uses a computer laboratory that is integrated throughout the curriculum.
The department’s undergraduate program maintains full certification by the Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA). Students have the opportunity to become student members in the American College of Healthcare Executives and the American College of Health Care Administrators, both of which are represented by student chapters at the University. There also is an organization for students interested in public health issues. The department curriculum is approved under the New England Regional Student Program.
Academic Program
Competencies are achieved through three components of the curriculum: University general education requirements, HMP collateral courses, and the HMP core courses, which include a field practicum. Students work closely with their assigned faculty advisers to develop a plan of study to achieve completion of each of these components. Upper-division HMP courses are sequenced in a two-year progression as described in departmental handouts to all majors. Students are expected to follow this sequence; any exceptions are made by petition. Late transfers may have to plan for an extra year. Several upper-division HMP elective courses are available.
University General Education Requirements:
Advisers assist students in selecting courses that satisfy certain program expectations and simultaneously meet University general education requirements.
HMP-Required Collateral Courses:
A basic understanding is expected in each of the following areas related to health management and policy: 1) microeconomics, 2) finite mathematics, and 3) statistics. HMP faculty advisers work with students to select the appropriate courses to fulfill these requirements. Students are strongly advised to complete their collateral coursework prior to their junior year in the major.
HMP Core Courses:
Each of the following courses must be completed by HMP majors prior to graduation:
Introductory courses include HMP 401, U.S. Health Care Systems; HMP 501, Epidemiology and Community Medicine; and HMP 570, Social Marketing.
Upper-division courses include HMP 630 and HMP 631, Health Issues Seminar; HMP 642, Health Economics; HMP 711, Health Systems Research I; HMP 712, Health Systems Research II; HMP 721, Managing Health Care Organizations I; HMP 722, Managing Health Care Organizations II; HMP 723, Health Planning; HMP 740, Health Care Financial Management I; HMP 741, Health Care Financial Management II; and HMP 742, Strategic Management for Health Care Organizations or HMP 744, Ethical Issues in Health Management and Medicine; and HMP 746, Health Policy. Upper-division courses are not offered every semester and students progress through these courses in a sequential order. Students are required to meet with their departmental academic adviser to ensure appropriate scheduling of classes within the major.
Field Practicum:
A full-time practicum (or administrative internship) that integrates class work with a supervised managerial work experience constitutes an essential part of the academic program. It allows students to explore an area of special interest in depth. Courses comprising this component of the major include: HMP 621, Prepracticum Seminar; HMP 622, Field Practicum; and HMP 624, Post Practicum Seminar. The practicum is divided into three concurrent components: A. Field Practicum Organizational Analysis; B. Field Practicum Management Skills Development; and C. Field Practicum Project Analysis. Field practicum sites are selected by faculty with student involvement and are concentrated in central and northern New England. Given sufficient timing of student requests, efforts will be made to arrange practica at distant sites based on special needs.
HMP field practica currently occur during the summer between the junior and senior year within the curriculum. They begin in late May and end in late August and require a full-time commitment of a minimum of 400 hours.
Academic Requirements:
HMP majors must obtain a minimum of a C- in all HMP core courses and must pass all HMP-required collateral courses. Majors must have an overall grade-point average of 2.5 by the end of the semester preceding their practicum. Students not maintaining an overall grade-point average of 2.5 are reevaluated by the faculty and may be counseled into another major at the University.
The faculty reviews student performances during the semester before the practicum to determine each student’s readiness. Students who do not successfully complete prerequisite courses may not be permitted to advance through subsequent courses in the major.
Applications for Major
Students interested in additional information or in applying for admission to the health management and policy major should contact the department’s director of undergraduate studies. Students seeking internal transfer into the major must complete an internal transfer application form. Efforts should be made to complete this process during the freshman year or early in the sophomore year to ensure sufficient time to complete all of the required collateral courses as well as those in the major in a timely manner.
Honors-in-Major
The department offers an honors-in-major program. To qualify, students must meet the department’s requirement of having an overall 3.2 grade-point average at UNH and a 3.3 grade-point average for required HMP courses taken by the end of the junior year. Honors in major students take honors courses during the last half of junior year and senior year and complete an honors project. Students work with a faculty member in the department in the development of the honors project. Students should contact the department’s honors in major adviser for further information.
Academic Minor in Health Management
The department offers an integrated minor in health management designed for students in any major. Students must complete: HMP 401, U.S. Health Care Systems; HMP 501, Epidemiology and Community Health; HMP 570, Social Marketing; 721, Managing Health Care Organizations; and either HMP 710, Financial Management for Clinicians, or HMP 740 Financial Management for Health Care Organizations. Students seeking to minor in health management must meet with the department’s director of undergraduate studies before commencing the minor.
Public Health Minor
The Department of Health Management and Policy also offers a minor in public health. Public health deals with the health of populations and focuses on health promotion and disease prevention as well as access to the medical system. The public health minor requires 20 credits. The minor introduces students to many of the foundation areas of public health, and provides a basic exposure to key concepts and skills in the five core disciplines of public health, as articulated by the Council on Education for Public Health. All students are required to complete: HMP 403, Introduction to Public Health; HMP 501, Epidemiology and Community Medicine; HMP 505, Public Health: History & Practice; HMP 569, Behavior and Public Health; and HMP 570, Social Marketing. The minor is open to any baccalaureate student at UNH.
Public Health Option
This option provides students with the knowledge and skills for entry-level positions within the public health agencies workforce. The public health field is emerging as a key area for the protection of population health. This option provides students with an introduction to many of the foundation areas of public health and gives basic exposure to key concepts and skills in the five core disciplines of public health as articulated by the Council on Education for Public Health. The core courses are biostatistics, epidemiology, environmental health sciences, health services administration, and social and behavioral sciences.
The public health option at UNH is one of the few programs at the undergraduate level available nationally.
Required Courses
ECON 401, Microeconomics
MATH 420 or equivalent in Finite Mathematics
HMP 401, US Health Care Systems
HMP 403, Introduction to Public Health
HHS 540 or equivalent in Statistics
HMP 501, Epidemiology and Community Medicine
HMP 569, Public Health and Human Behavior
HMP 570, Social Marketing
HMP 711, Health Services Research I
HMP 715, Environmental Health
HMP 721, Management of Health Care Organizations I
HMP 740, Health Care Financial Management I
HMP 621, Pre-Practicum
HMP 712, Health Services Research II
HMP 630, Health Issues Seminar I
HMP 631, Health Issues Seminar II
HMP 642, Health Economics
HMP 723, Health Planning
HMP 622, Field Practicum (Summer session junior year)
HMP 624, Post Practicum
HMP 744, Health Care Ethics and Law
HMP 746, Health Policy
HMP 748, Health Policy Analysis
