Mapping the Path(s) to Leadership: Using QM as the Foundation for an Online Degree Completion Program in Healthcare Leadership and Administration

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the healthcare industry is expected to continue growing at an unprecedented rate up to 2022. An aging population, increased healthcare spending and the Affordable Health Care Act are all helping increase demand for qualified healthcare workers (NAS Recruitment Innovation, http://www.nasrecruitment.com/uploads/files/healthcare-workforce-outlook...). To meet these demands, educators are developing innovative online degree programs for people employed or interested in the healthcare industry. In this interactive session, participants will identify the challenges of leadership in a demanding and complex health care industry. They will work with peers and with the session instructors to map out key competencies, resources, and personnel that would be helpful in designing a program for their own institution's degree-seeking adult learners. Participants will be encouraged to broaden the model presented to address the leadership competencies their own online learners need in their current or desired careers. Presenters will then introduce the stakeholder research, competency-based foundation, specific program design, curricular mapping, and Quality Matters components of the online Healthcare Leadership and Administration Program at Winona State University. Particular attention will be paid to the role of Quality Matters rubrics, course certification processes, and available training sessions as key tools in this process. Presenters will also invite participants to identify the challenges that they face in designing online degree completion/adult learner programs at their own institution, and share 'best practices' their institutions have enacted.