Health Care Management Requirements

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The Health Care Management (HCM) major provides coursework and experience across the spectrum of health care supervision and management. Many Health Care Management graduates obtain supervisory and administrative positions in various health and medical facilities such as hospitals, nursing homes, public health departments, health insurance companies, or physician practices. Other graduates successfully complete graduate programs in a variety of business or health-related areas of study. The Bachelor of Science degree in Health Care Management accommodates beginning students as well as students who have professional preparation in health-oriented fields from colleges and universities, technical institutes, community colleges, proprietary institutions or military schools. Graduates of diploma programs also may be eligible for admission. Students in health care management build their knowledge through a combination of major core courses, approved electives and background courses, and the SIU University Core Curriculum. The HCM program is certified by the Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA).

Students in the HCM major must meet with the HCM Academic Advisor to plan their course of study. Prospective students may complete their University Core Curriculum requirements at approved institutions, provided that four-year school and residence requirements are met.

In addition to University requirements, students must successfully complete all HCM core courses with a grade of C or higher prior to completing their required HCM 422 internship. Students receiving lower than a C in any HCM core course can only repeat that course once with the exception of HCM 422 which cannot be repeated if failed unless special circumstances apply as determined by the HCM Academic Review Committee. Students must maintain a minimum GPA of 2.0 within the Health Care Management major for graduation. Students receiving a grade lower than a C twice in any individual core HCM course and/or those who fall below a 2.0 GPA for two subsequent semesters are immediately dropped from the HCM program due to poor academic performance.

Courses from other universities/colleges are not eligible as equivalencies to HCM required core courses unless an active articulation agreement exists. HCM required core courses are not eligible as independent studies. 

Students participating in internships may be required to undergo a criminal background check and drug screening. Students who do not satisfactorily pass the background check and/or drug screening may find it difficult to secure an internship in the field of health care and may be removed from the HCM program. The internship requirements (which includes both HCM 421 and HCM 422) cannot be waived except for students in other Health Sciences programs who have satisfactorily completed that program's required clinical internship as long as the clinical internship includes exposure to health care related management competencies related to their future field of clinical practice. Clinical students from other Health Sciences programs seeking to use their clinical internship to meet the HCM internship requirements (both HCM 421 and HCM 422) MUST first schedule a meeting with the HCM internship coordinator for individual approval since management competencies must be readily observable in the clinical internship.  Clinical students failing to gain prior approval from the HCM internship coordinator will not be allowed to use the clinical internship for the HCM internship credit and will need to complete the HCM internship requirements (both HCM 421 and HCM 422) to earn the HCM degree.  Clinical students must earn a grade of C or higher in their clinical internship otherwise the waiver of the HCM internship requirements (HCM 421 and HCM 422) is void.  If that occurs, the student must satisfactorily complete both HCM 421 and HCM 422 to earn their HCM degree.

Students will initiate and complete the processes involved with internship site selection and applicable SIU approval processes. Internship hours cannot begin until all approvals have been obtained from the internship coordinator, the internship site, and SIU. Any contact hours students participate in prior to the internship being appropriately approved cannot be counted toward the required 150 contact hours.

Given the nature of the industry, there may be class projects or presentations when students are required, by an individual professor and/or the HCM Program Director, to dress professionally.

Online core courses in the HCM program are restricted to online HCM students only. On campus core courses in the HCM program are restricted to on campus HCM students. The HCM program prohibits moving from one format to the other. To avoid delays in graduation, students should work closely with their academic advisor to assure they enroll in the correct format of classes as pertains to their on campus or online status. Students who enroll in the wrong format will be administratively removed at the unit level for the applicable course(s) and will then need to meet with the HCM academic advisor to get enrolled in the correct courses which may cause delays in graduation. Students may petition the HCM Program Director to change formats due to a documented medical condition. Such petitions will be taken under consideration only when the proper documentation is received for review.

Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Health Care Management Degree Requirements

Degree RequirementsCredit Hours
University Core Curriculum Requirements (Must include ECON 240) 39
Required Prerequisite/Background Courses: AH 105; HCM 310. 5
Requirements for Major in Health Care Management 49
Core Requirements: HCM 320, HCM 340, HCM 360, HCM 364, HCM 365, HCM 371, HCM 375, HCM 382,HCM 384, HCM 385, HCM 388, HCM 390, HCM 410, HCM 413, HCM 421, HCM 471 46
Internship: HCM 422 2
HCM 302 orientation 1
Other Requirements for Major in Health Care Management 24
HCM 368, HCM 415, HCM 460, HCM 461, HCM 463, HCM 464, HCM 465, HCM 468 = Students in other School of Health Sciences programs may use the core required courses taken toward that major to meet this requirement for the Health Care Management major.
Health Care Management Elective (students must choose one course from the options below that has NOT already been counted elsewhere in the student’s degree.) 3
Any Accounting, Finance, MEDP, MGMT, MICR, MKTG, PSYC, course (at a 200 level or higher) --OR-- AH 241, AFR 311A, AFR 311B, AFR 320, BAT 312, BSAN 401, BSAN 402, BSAN 407, CDS 310, CMST 326, CMST 415, CMST 442, HCM 366, HCM 395, IMAE 455, IMAE 465, IMAE 470B, IMAE 490, ITEC 216, ITEC 314, MATH 125-251, MATH 302-305, MATH 318, MATH 380, PARL 345, PARL 360, POLS 215, PH 300, PH 355, PH 415, PH 488, SOC 302, SOC 310, SOC 321, SOC 322, SOC 351, SOC 371, SOC 455, SOC 460, SOC 465, TRM 364, WGSS 437, WGSS 440, WGSS 442, WGSS 448, any study abroad course which focuses on the healthcare industry.
Total 120

Minors

The Health Care Management program offers four minors. All prerequisites of courses in the minors must be satisfied. Students must consult the HCM Academic Advisor in the School of Health Sciences to declare a minor.

Health Care Management Minor

The minor in Health Care Management (HCM) is designed to prepare undergraduate students interested in health care management with the skills and knowledge to prepare for graduate study or to work in the health care field: The HCM minor is comprised of 20 credit hours of coursework. A “C” or higher is required in all courses taken and 18 credit hours must be completed at SIU. Students must complete these courses:

  • AH 105 - Medical Terminology
  • HCM 320 - Health Policy and Politics
  • HCM 340 - Managerial Epidemiology and Population Health
  • HCM 360 - U.S. Healthcare Systems
  • HCM 366 - Health Information Management or HCM 375 - Healthcare Information and Informatics
  • HCM 388 - Legal Aspects and Current Issues in Healthcare
  • HCM 395 - Health Care Ethics or HCM 471 - Research of Social Responsibility in Healthcare

Health Information and Informatics Management Minor

The minor in Health Information and Informatics Management (HIM) is designed for students with an interest in a medical billing, reimbursement, auditing, and/or compliance specialization. The HIM minor is comprised of 20 credit hours of coursework. A grade of "C" or higher is required in all courses and all 18 credit hours must be completed at SIU. Students must complete these courses:

  • AH 105 - Medical Terminology
  • HCM 360 - U.S. Health Care Systems
  • HCM 366 - Health Information Management or HCM 375 - Healthcare Information and Informatics
  • HCM 368 - Health Care Coding Procedures I
  • HCM 388 - Legal Aspects and Current Issues in Health Care
  • HCM 410 - Operations Management and Quality Improvement in Health Care
  • HCM 468 - Health Care Coding Procedures II

Infection Prevention and Control Minor

The minor in Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) is designed for students with an interest in infection prevention and control within healthcare organizations. The IPC minor consists of 20 credit hours of coursework. A grade of “C” or higher is required in 18 credit hours must be completed at SIU. Students must complete the following courses:

  • AH 105 - Medical Terminology
  • HCM 340 - Managerial Epidemiology & Population Health
  • HCM 365 - Statistics and Research for Healthcare Professionals
  • HCM 460- Lean Six Sigma in Healthcare
  • HCM 463 - Environment of Care
  • HCM 464 - Infection Prevention Informatics
  • HCM 465 - Infection Prevention & Control Operations

Long Term Care Administration Minor

The Long-Term Care Administration (LTC) minor is designed for students with a specific interest in long-term care management/administration. The LTC minor is comprised of 17 credit hours of coursework. All coursework, except for AH 105, must be completed at SIU. Also, all coursework, including AH 105, must be completed with a "C" or higher. Students successfully completing all the requirements of the LTC minor may be eligible to sit for the Nursing Home Administrator (NHA) licensure examination in most states and U.S. territories. To earn the LTC minor, students must complete the following:

  • AH 105 - Medical Terminology
  • HCM 364 - Organizational Behavior in Healthcare Organizations
  • HCM 385 - Health Care Finance
  • HCM 390 - Human Resources in Health Professions
  • HCM 413 - Long Term Care Administration
  • HCM 415 - Issues Related to Social Gerontology and Mortality

For updated information regarding eligibility for the NHA licensure/examination, please refer to the professional licensure page at: Programs A-H | Professional Licensure | SIU.

Capstone Option for Transfer Students

The Capstone Option is available to students who have obtained a business or health care-related Associate in Applied Science degree or its equivalent, and who have a GPA of at least 2.0 on a 4.0 scale (based on transfer institution's grading policies) on all work prior to the completion of the Associate in Applied Science degree. The Capstone Option reduces the University Core Curriculum requirements from 39 to 30 hours, therefore reducing the time to degree completion. For more information please view the Capstone Option section.