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OGDEN — Weber State University’s master of health administration program was recently recognized as being the most affordable program in the U.S., according to a survey by Top Master’s in Healthcare Administration.
The program was evaluated on its national accreditation, variety of degrees, online and executive programs, active student and alumni groups and faculty engaged in research, according to a news release.
“I can’t say enough about our program,” program director Carla Wiggins told KSL.com. “I am just so pleased. I am proud of it, it’s something we work at, it’s something we’ve tried to do.”
Tuition for the program costs $15,775 annually compared to the national average of $44,850.44. The most expensive master of health administration program is at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., at $93,480.
“I think it’s the way the whole university is structured. I think Weber State is a very affordable university overall,” Wiggins said. “Even our graduate programs here are more affordable than most places.
The program teaches management, interpersonal, technical and organizational abilities, self-development, critical thinking and lifelong learning, according to the press release.
“Our typical students are already established in a health care career and our program offers them an opportunity to advance to the next level,” Yasmen Simonian, dean of the Dr. Ezekiel R. Dumke College of Health Professions, said in a statement. “We, also, were selected because of our dual-degree option where a student can earn an MHA/MBA joint degree.”
Wiggins said they meet as a program on Tuesday and Thursday evenings to accommodate people who work during the day so they can “get the education they need to move ahead.”
“A lot of other programs don’t think that way,” Wiggins said. “They are really about the university, we’re about the students.”
I am just so pleased. I am proud of it, it's something we work at, it's something we've tried to do.
–Carla Wiggins, program director
The classes in the program are offered as a combination of online and face-to-face. Full-time, on-campus students can finish the program in four eight-week semesters at WSU Davis in Layton.
Eighty-five percent of the students who graduated in the spring of 2014 got jobs when they graduated. About 81 percent of alumni reported they believe the Weber State MHA program helped them either get a job or get a raise or to advance in position, according to a 2014 alumni survey.
“I think anyone who is interested in being a leader or manager in health care really ought to consider either our campus program or our newer online program that’s starting this fall, because I think they’re wonderful opportunities,” Wiggins said.
In the fall, an executive MHA program will be offered for professionals who can’t take campus classes. Tuition for this program will cost $35,000 for students who live in or outside Utah. The cost will cover credits and courses, course materials, books and snacks and lunches when students come to campus.
The executive MHA program will begin with each 15-week semester and will be taught face-to-face for a day and a half before being taught online. It’ll take place at a new WSU location at Station Park in Farmington.
Both the executive and the existing MHA programs enroll or will enroll about 25-30 students each year.
To learn more about the MHA program, visit weber.edu/mha. To learn more about the EMHA, visit weber.edu/emha.
