BELMONT — Belmont Abbey College is launching its first graduate degree program, a Master of Health Administration, the college announced March 8.
The Master of Health Administration is the degree for leadership in healthcare, and with Belmont Abbey College students will be able to complete the program fully online, the college said in a statement.
“This is a new day on many fronts for our college,” Dr. Travis Feezell, provost of Belmont Abbey College, said in the statement. “With our first graduate degree program, we’re answering not only the aspirations of so many future students but also the needs of our community.
The Master of Health Administration brings to our healthcare professionals a vital knowledge base and skill set so needed today.”
Professionals seeking to advance in their career, develop themselves as leaders, and acquire knowledge and skills in health policy, analysis, finance, marketing, strategic planning and ethics will find the MHA a fit for their goals.
The 16-month MHA curriculum will begin this fall, with additional start times for cohorts beginning in the spring of 2022 and fall of 2022.
MHA tuition is $695 per credit hour including books and fees. The new program will not require a GRE or GMAT for admission and is pending the approval of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).
Dr. Gwyndolan Swain will lead the new program. She brings more than 30 years of experience in the healthcare industry as well as nine years managing similar degree programs.
Belmont Abbey College will instruct students fully online, giving professional students the flexibility they seek to advance in their careers.
Dr. Swain will host a webinar introduction to the Masters of Health Administration at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 15. For more information, go online to www.healthcare.bac.edu.
News of the new graduate degree program comes not long after Belmont Abbey College inked a new partnership with CaroMont Health Inc. to build a hospital near campus that will complement the college’s new healthcare degree programs.
Abbey and CaroMont officials officially signed a lease agreement in September 2020 for the construction of the hospital on the abbey’s property, to be named CaroMont Regional Medical Center-Belmont.
The cooperative venture will provide substantial benefits to the Abbey, the college, CaroMont Health and the Gaston County community, officials said in a statement at the time.
The moves are part of the college’s SOAR initiative, which has involved creating new majors at Belmont Abbey College, including degree programs in Nursing and Health Information Management & Analytics, which began welcoming students last fall. Other new majors such as Marketing and Supply Chain Management were also part of this concerted effort.
Students pursuing these healthcare majors are expected to have practicals at the new hospital and use classrooms located on the hospital’s campus. They will also be able to look to the hospital for possible employment opportunities after they graduate.
Officials said the hospital, located east of the college’s main campus off I-85, could open as early as mid-2023, pending state approvals.
— Catholic News Herald
Learn more
Belmont Abbey College will host a webinar introduction to the Masters of Health Administration program at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 15.
For more information, go online to www.healthcare.bac.edu.