Health Care Management Programs at Columbia Southern University
Columbia Southern University appears in our ranking of the 25 Most Affordable Online Bachelor’s in Health Management.
Columbia Southern University offers several healthcare management programs, including an Associate of Science (AS) in Health Information. This two-year program looks at how professionals can keep health information safe in the digital age. It has a Life Pace Learning track that helps students get credit based on their past experiences to reduce how many courses they need to take. Most students will take 60 credits, including Medical Law and Ethics, Introduction to Health Care Statistics, Medical Linguistics and Anatomy and Health Information Technology and Systems.
The university has a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Health Care Administration that includes 120 credits of classes and allows students to transfer up to 90 credits. Undergrads learn how to use business principles in the healthcare industry, become better leaders and evaluate healthcare organizations. Standards for Health Care Staff, Health Care Management, Budgeting in Health Care, Human Resource Management and Development and Strategic Planning in Health Care are required classes for majors. The university also offers this program with an emergency medical services management concentration. It includes the same foundation courses along with 12 credits of emergency management classes, including EMS Management, EMS Planning and Development, and EMS Roles During Emergencies and Disasters.
Also available is a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a concentration in health care administration. students learn how to analyze business policies in the healthcare field, what factors affect the industry and business theories. Students who choose this concentration will take Health Care Financial Management, Legal Foundations of Health Care, Advanced Health Care Management and Health Resources and Policy Analysis. They’ll also take 24 units of business courses, including Global Strategic Management, Corporate Finance, Human Resource Management Methods and Management Information Systems. The university has a graduate certificate in healthcare management for students who have a bachelor’s degree and want to learn more about healthcare administration. This program requires that students take the same four classes from the MBA program. They can transfer those classes to the program later too.
Students who want to study healthcare along with administration and management might enroll in the university’s Master of Public Health (MPH) program too. It features 36 credits and accepts up to 18 credits from another college or university. Students learn how to interpret research reports, analyze healthcare data, evaluate healthcare factors and work with the general community. MPH students take courses that include Public Health Concepts, Applied Biostatistics, Concepts of Environmental Health, Problem Solving in Public Health and Grant Writing in Public Health.
About Columbia Southern University
Columbia Southern University is a private university based out of Orange Beach, Alabama that offers online degree programs. Robert G. Mayes, Senior established the university in 1993 and helped it develop programs in environmental engineering and occupational health the following year. Health administration, business administration, computer science, and criminal justice programs followed a few years later. Mayes handled the operations of the university until he passed away, which led to his son taking over the university. This makes Columbia Southern one of the nation’s only colleges owned and operated by a single family. Also known as CSU, it partnered with Waldorf University to extend its online course offerings. GoArmyEd picked CSU as one of the only 140 colleges in the country where military students can get financial assistance when they enroll. More than 21,000 students attend CSU every year.
Columbia Southern University Accreditation Details
CSU has accreditation as a distance learning university from the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC). This covers all the university’s undergrad and graduate degree programs as well as the certificates that are available for students. It also joined the American Council on Education (ACE) to help students find more resources and programs that they can use while taking classes, including financial aid opportunities.
Columbia Southern University Application Requirements
Both graduate students and undergrads applying to CSU will complete the same application steps. They’ll apply online via the CSU application, which asks what program appeals to them, what level of education they have and what experience they have that relate to the subject. The university does not charge an application fee but will only accept online applications. It also asks students to submit their transcripts through the MyCSU Portal. Students can use an online form and let the university request transcripts on their behalf. Once CSU evaluates their transcripts, they can enroll in a degree or certificate program.
CSU offers three different enrollment types. Life Pace Learning allows students to take classes that run for four to 10 weeks. They can start any day of the year and log in when they want to work on their assignments. The university does not have a date by which students need to complete their studies. With term enrollment, students need to start at the beginning of one of the 11 terms offered every year. They will need to complete assignments every week. This is the only enrollment type that includes financial aid for students. CSU also has a flexible enrollment option for veterans that helps them learn at their own pace.
Tuition and Financial Aid
The cost of attending CSU starts at $230 per credit hour for undergrads in an associate program or a bachelor’s program. Those who work for one of the university’s learning partners qualify for a discount and pay $211.50 per credit hour. Graduate students pay $325 per credit hour unless they qualify for a partner discount that reduces their rate to $292.50. Those enrolled in a graduate program who are also military veterans get a discount too that drops their costs to $250 per credit hour.
Federal student aid is available for students who sign up for a term enrollment program. They can get a federal Pell grant of up to 150% of their estimated costs or borrow money. Student loans include unsubsidized and subsidized programs as well as PLUS loans. To get any federal aid, students must submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) first. CSU can bill employers for students who qualify for reimbursement programs and let them pay as they go, which lets them make payments every week, every few weeks or each month. Columbia Southern University also offers scholarships for online students in healthcare management programs.