The HCMBA — We Need Your Help on This One
While the Massey School is incredibly selective in adding any new programs, we are indeed launching a new one for Fall 2012, and we need your help on this one. As most of our alumni are aware, the School was created in 1986 with the stated mission of delivering a part-time MBA program for working professionals. A few years later, we launched the Master of Accountancy program -- also available in a part-time weeknight format. The MACC, as we call it, is now the largest such program in the State of Tennessee, enrolling almost 100 students this past fall and surpassing the University of Tennessee-Knoxville's MACC program in size two years ago.
Three years ago, in response to input from our Massey Board, we created a full-time MBA program (the AMBA) that we now deliver in a full-time, 12 month format. That program is now at capacity enrollment for the second straight year, and we are attracting students from all over the U.S., in addition to foreign countries such as China and Brazil.
And now, we are ready to once again launch another program. Three years ago we had our first meeting with a team of executives from Nashville's healthcare industry to begin assessing what their needs were in terms of the next generation of healthcare leaders. Those discussions, led by Professors Beth Woodard, Chuck Wainright, and Stan York, gradually expanded to include other groups of professionals and numerous faculty, staff, and students at Belmont across business as well as healthcare disciplines.
So, meet the HCMBA -- Nashville's MBA for Healthcare Professionals. We think it retains the best features of what has made our Massey Professional MBA program so successful: weeknight delivery format that allows professionals to continue in their full-time jobs while attending, faculty who have a blend of both academic and professional experience, a built-in international study abroad component, and a two-year completion time frame.
The biggest difference, however, will be the heavy focus on a specific set of industry skills. Beginning each August, a group of approximately 25 HCMBA students will take the first two courses in what we are referring to as our HCMBA DNA double helix -- a curriculum plan that simultaneously pairs MBA core courses with healthcare-specific courses in leadership and management. The sequence begins with a course in comparative healthcare systems and another course in patient-centered care and clinical systems. Next, students progress through the fall in a sequence of courses that pair MBA core courses such as accounting, finance, and marketing, with healthcare-specific courses such as healthcare informatics, bioethics, and leading complex healthcare organizations.
In total, students will complete a total of 21 separate courses, with one half of those on the MBA side and the other half on the healthcare administration. Between the first and second years, the current plan calls for enrollees to make a trip to Europe for a first-hand examination of some of those countries and their healthcare systems. Additional information on the program is available HERE.
So, why do we need your help? We need to recruit the best and brightest healthcare professionals for this first inaugural class, and our Massey alumni continue to be our best ambassadors for bringing new talent our way. After taking a look at the program web link above, if you know of someone you think would be a good fit, please share the basic information with them. If they are interested in learning more, I'd be happy to meet them myself to discuss the program. Bottom line: we want the HCMBA to embody the same approach to delivering a high quality graduate business education that we've tried to build into each of our programs. And also know that we want all such programs to continue adding value to your Massey degrees as we move forward. Thanks for partnering with us!