Health Care UST MBA

Curriculum

Here's How It Works

• New cohorts begin each September and move through the 27-month program together as a group, taking two courses at a time.  Each two-course block lasts approximately 10 weeks.  Students complete four courses each semester. 
  2009 - 2010 Schedule
  
• On-campus sessions are held twice per semester at the beginning of each two-course block.  These three-and-a-half-day sessions on our Minneapolis campus provide concentrated, face-to-face work with faculty and fellow students.
  
• Online coursework occurs between on-campus sessions and includes lectures, assignments, exams and group work. There are no set class times, so you can accomplish your coursework according to your own schedule, but in collaboration with your cohort colleagues.

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Classes and Timeline
 

First Semester – Fall 2009

MGMT 630 - Overview of the Health Care System
This course provides students with an accurate understanding of the various components of the health care system - providers, consumers, payers, third-parties - and how they interrelate. Students will learn about issues, motivations and incentives that influence all parts of the system. They will also gain an understanding of the political and social environment in which they operate. The course is designed to give all students a common base of understanding early in their curriculum.
Instructor: Fritz Wenzel

DSCI 600 - Statistical Methods for Decision Making
The course is designed to help students evaluate how they think and make decisions, and the role mathematics, statistics and technology may and/or should play in these processes. The student will learn the principles of both statistics and quantitative methods from the perspective of their use rather than their derivation. Decision making, probability, regression, confidence intervals, decision analysis and modeling will be discussed in detail and students will be encouraged to reflect on how these techniques can be applied to their daily work.
Instructor: Thomas Ressler

ACCT 601 - Financial Accounting
Financial accounting is an integral part of the planning, reporting and control functions of every business. It is a means to achieving insights about the firm's financial condition, operating results, cash flows and ownership and capital structure. This course covers the fundamental terminology and calculations of financial accounting and reporting, as well as the comprehension and interpretation of financial statements. Ethical aspects of accounting are included.
Instructor: Joe White

MGMT 610 - Human Resource Management

This course surveys and analyzes the major functions within human resources, covering such topics as the dynamics of the work-force: diversity and aspects of planning, staffing, & legal climate; training and development; compensation; benefits; health/safety and security; employee/labor relations; personnel research; and current and future issues affecting human resource administration. This course will also integrate the application, research, and theory of Human Resource Management (HRM) into the tumultuous health care marketplace. The course deals with the role and challenges within management of human resources in contemporary organizations. 
Instructor: Katie White

Second Semester – Spring 2010

 MGMT 600 - Mgmt of Organizational Behavior
All organizations are impacted by how people behave in those organizations. A key role of a manager is to guide that behavior to successfully accomplish organizational goals. Organization Theory and Behavior is about this aspect of business. The class objectives are for you to (a) gain an understanding of the various theoretical views of behavior in organizations and (b) be able to use these theories to systematically analyze organizational situations and generate appropriate action plans. The course is designed to facilitate the incorporation of your experience and personal values about behavior in organizations in the development of these plans.
Instructor: Sally Power

DSCI 610 - Operations Management
Operations management focuses on planning, coordination and control of activities involved in the transformation of resources into goods and services.  Operations management covers a very broad spectrum of functions involving management of technology, supply chain, quality, business process improvement, lean production, workforce design, equipment, materials and information flow.  The course will provide an overview of various operations management functions and emphasize understanding of basic concepts and techniques in the operations management area that are essential for efficient and effective management of productive systems. Special emphasis is given to process management in the healthcare industry. 
Instructor: Sanjeev Bordoloi

MKTG 600 - Marketing Management
This course offers a managerial approach to the study of strategic market decision making. It will examine the basic principles of marketing and their use in developing an optimum marketing mix. It will cover such topics as market planning; segmentation and target marketing; channels of distribution; consumer behavior; competitive analysis; pricing, demand analysis and forecasting; promotion, sales management; and product decisions. The course is designed to build a conceptual foundation for understanding and analyzing marketing situations. 
Instructor: Fritz Wenzel

This course is designed to give students an understanding of how cost information is used in planning, decision-making, and performance evaluation. It will build on the preceding course, Financial Accounting, which serves as a foundation for managerial accounting. Emphasis will be placed on financial reporting and its use in budgeting, return on investment, cost determination, and profit planning as well as performance measures. There are unique issues in healthcare and financial reporting that will be considered. The purpose of the course is to prepare managers to make full use of accounting principles and apply them to the financial management of the organization. Ethical aspects of managerial accounting are included. 
Instructor: Ron Menaker

Third Semester – Fall 2010

FINC 600 - Financial Management
This course will focus on the financial management of business. It will cover the following subject matter: risk, return, evaluation, cost of capital, capital budgeting, long-term financing, capital structure theory, financial analysis and planning, and working capital management.  We will also examine how ethics in health care finance has affected the health care marketplace and the impact of capital decisions on cost of capital for health care organizations. The international aspect of financial management will be covered as it applies to the subject matter outlined above.
Instructor: Joe White

BETH 601 - Business Ethics
This course will enhance the student's ability to recognize, understand, and express the ethical dimensions of the situations and decisions they may expect to face as professionals. It will provide the knowledge essential to making sound decisions in business and seek to develop the skills and commitments required to navigate complex ethical issues successfully.
Instructor: Dawn Elm

GBEC 630 - Health Care Economics
Important macro- and microeconomic principles are applied to the health care environment. Macroeconomic topics include aggregate economic interrelationships and indicators of economic activity; causes and consequences of health care business cycles; and the impact of government policy. Microeconomic topics include optimization; forecasting techniques; demand and cost estimation; market structure; pricing; decision making under uncertainty; and cost-benefit analysis.
Instructor: Mike McIlhon

MGMT 733 - Financing & Funding The Health Care System
Gain an overall understanding of managed care organizations, how they function and their relationships with other providers. Topics include managed care definitions; attributes of managed care models; history of managed care; health plan perspective, including underwriting, rate setting, payment methodologies and new product design; contracting issues for providers; the economics of managed care; and the future of managed care.
Instructor:  Mark Fisher

Fourth Semester – Spring 2011

MGMT 631 - Community Health
This course, which will be based in the practice, methods and concepts of epidemiology, will expose students to the major principles of community and public health. The course will include the collection, analysis, and use of epidemiologic population based data; the development of public health programs to meet community needs, and the evaluation of program outcomes. It will include a practical approach to evidence based health services and their management. There will also be study of the relationships between marketing, epidemiology, and management and how these relationships can affect the health of a community.   
Instructor: Fritz Wenzel

BLAW 745 - Health Law Biomedical Ethics
The course will focus on the government regulation and liability of physicians and other healthcare personnel; government regulation and liability of hospitals and other healthcare institutions; government regulation of the cost and quality of healthcare; the financing of healthcare delivery; and other legal aspects of medical ethics.  We will study decision making and planning processes, liability, contracts, torts, medical records, malpractice, consent and tax-related issues. Instructor: Ryan Johnson

MGMT 732 - Health Care Policy
We will address the socioeconomic, political, ethical and practical issues confronting the medical care system in the United States. Emphasis is given to the trends in providing and financing care in changing markets and governments, as well as the implications for clinics, medical groups and health professionals. Our goal in the class is to use current, high visibility health policy issues to engage students in the policy process. A three day Washington D.C. Seminar, combined with coursework and group projects, will provoke students to challenge status quo solutions and problems which are too poorly defined, or unduly influenced by special interests.
Instructor: Senator Dave Durenberger

MGMT 603 - Leadership
This course will examine the general nature of leadership styles and practices; trends in leadership in American business; and personal leadership values of participating students. Leading will be distinguished from managing through a study of current literature on the subject and through a focus on the roles of defined business and community leaders. Students will help each other become more effective in developing relationships with stakeholders, utilizing resources in a sustainable manner, and leading change efforts.
Instructor: Ron Menaker

Fifth Semester – Fall 2011

MGMT 734 - Integrative Study / Major Project
Students will prepare a major study of an issue or project of their choice which integrates knowledge, attitudes and skills developed during their previous experiences in the program. Students will demonstrate competence in critical thinking, exploring and solving complex, significant issues in health care and presenting their findings and recommendations to the faculty and their colleagues in both written and oral presentation.  
Instructor: Fritz Wenzel

MGMT 799 - Strategic Management (Capstone)
An integrative approach to the formulation and implementation of organizational strategy and policy, this course focuses on organizational performances as it relates to mission, goals and objectives. You will get practice defining multi-faceted problems and their causes; analyzing internal and external environments; reviewing key corporate and business strategies; formulating alternative strategic options; and addressing the challenges of implementation. Emphasis is on the ethical dimensions of problem solving at the general management level. The course will draw upon the analytical tools and managerial knowledge developed in all previous MBA courses, with application to both for profit and nonprofit organizations.
Instructor: Jack Militello