UofL introduces new degree program for healthcare workers

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The University of Louisville has good news for working health professionals who want to start or finish a bachelor’s degree: A new education program in healthcare leadership lets adult learners gain college credit for experience on the job.

Competency-based education, or CBE, is a learning model which takes into account what students have learned outside the classroom through employment, professional development, military service or other training. The program helps students with at least 2,000 hours of experience in healthcare and 24 transferrable college credit hours work toward a bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership and learning with a healthcare leadership track.

Classes are offered online through the College of Education and Human Development and has a set of 36 courses weighted at one credit hour each, with the option to test out of a course if the student is already proficient in that topic. Students can complete the program in as little as three intensive semesters, or work through it at a slower pace more convenient to their schedules.

 “The primary value for students interested in this program is that they will earn a bachelor’s degree from a nationally recognized university in a time-efficient and cost-effective manner through a self-paced online curriculum developed to meet healthcare industry standards for leadership development,” said program director Lee Bewley.

The program, accredited at the same level as UofL’s traditional courses, can prepare students for careers in healthcare administration and management. Applications for enrollment are being accepted now, and the first class will begin in the fall 2016 semester with new classes starting the first Tuesday of every month except December.

Bewley said he expects about 20 students in its first year, eventually expanding to reach hundreds of students across the U.S.

Healthcare Leadership is UofL’s first CBE offering through the new OnTrack Program and more degree programs are expected soon. For more information, visit http://louisville.edu/online/programs/competency-based-degree-programs/healthcare-leadership-cbe

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