Syllabus

Schedule

Course Calendar

Week 1: Jan 5 – Jan 12
Week 2: Jan 12 – Jan 19
Week 3: Jan 19 – Jan 26
Week 4: Jan 26 – Feb 2
Week 5: Feb 2 – Feb 9
Week 6: Feb 9 – Feb 16
Week 7: Feb 16 – Feb 23
Week 8: Feb 23 – Feb 27

Course Outline

Week 1: Introduction, and Strategic Planning Sets the Stage

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe the major components of strategic planning and how they function to enable organization-wide planning
2. Apply SWOT analysis to existing organization.

Readings: 

Textbook Chapters:

• 1 – Intro to Healthcare Finance
• 2 – Four Things to Know about FMS
• 24 – Strategic Planning and the Healthcare Manager

Videos:

• Introduction
• Four Elements of Financial Management 
• Types of Organizations

Assignments:

• Discussions:
• Introductions
• SWOT Analysis
  Initial Post: Conduct SWOT Analysis on McDonald’s based on their situation in 2002. Make recommendations for the next 1-3 years of this organization.
  
  Response Post: Did your peers’ recommendations misconstrue, miss entirely, or surprise you with their ability to isolate certain details about this organization, and do you agree with their substance? Do you have different recommendations entirely? Why?

• Quiz 1:
  This week’s quiz covers the assigned reading in the text and the lectures.  It consists of T/F, essay and multiple-choice questions. 30 total points. It is timed and automatically submits after 60 minutes.

Week 2: Expenses and Revenue

Learning Objectives:

1. Classify the essential structures and processes that comprise an organization’s financial composition (including but not limited to direct/indirect costs, fixed/variable costs, grouped expenses, grouped revenues, allowances and discounts)
2. Analyze staffing costs

Readings:

Textbook Chapters:

• 5 – Revenues
• 6 – Expenses
• 10 – Staffing Methods
• 16 – Operating Budgets

Videos: 

• Accounting
• Grouping Expenses and Revenues
• The Revenue Stream
• Staffing Costs

Assignments:

• Discussion:
• Staffing Costs
  Initial post: What are some of the larger factors that affect staffing cost (often the largest expense in an organization), and how are those factors reconciled so that an organization has proper coverage while staying financially viable?

  Response post: Do you agree or disagree with your peers’ assessments? Why or why not?

• Quiz 2:
  This week’s quiz covers the assigned reading in the text and the narrated PowerPoint.  It consists of T/F  and multiple-choice questions. 30 total points. It is timed and automatically submits after 60 minutes.

Week 3: Operational Budgets and Capital Budgets

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe an operational budget and its components
2. Develop the expense side of an operational budget

Readings:

Textbook Chapters:

• 7 – Cost Classifications
• 17 – Capital Expenditure Budgets

Video: 

• Budgeting

Assignments:

• Advanced Endoscopy Case Budget Option #1:
  Please read thru the entire Advanced Endoscopy Case. Please complete the budget for Option 1 (the Advanced Endoscopy Unit stays in current location,  but the service opens up on Saturdays to cover the increasing demand). Use the templates provided to complete the operating budget, incorporate all the assumptions revealed in the case, and use excel formulas to ensure accuracy in the excel worksheet.

Week 4: Capital Purchases, Depreciation Costs, Break-Even Analysis

Learning Objectives

1. Evaluate factors in determining a Capital purchase (lease or buy) and organizational considerations when requesting the purchase of capital equipment.
2. Describe depreciation costs and means for reporting costs.

Readings:

Textbook Chapters:

• 9 – Understanding Inventory and Depreciation Concepts
• 17 – Capital Expenditure Budgets
• 23 – Owning versus Leasing Equipment

Videos: 

• Capital Expenditure Budgets
• Capital Purchases

Assignments:

• Advanced Endoscopy Case Budget Option #2:
  Please refer to the Advanced Endoscopy Case. Please complete the budget for Option 2 (the Advanced Endoscopy Unit moves across town, remains open 5 days a week).  Be sure to incorporate all the assumptions that are listed in the case. Use the templates provided to complete the operating budget and the capital budget. Use excel formulas to ensure accuracy in the excel worksheet.

• Advanced Endoscopy Case Recommendation: Your boss has asked you to consider your initial thoughts on the decision – which option (opening an extra day or moving to a new location) do you think is the better option?  Why? Explain your decision process and reasoning in 3-4 paragraphs, as if you were presenting it to her in a well-thought-out, professional email. Cite numbers from the budgets to support your evaluation and recommendation. 

 Week 5: Midterm, Monitoring and Controlling  

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe tools used to plan, monitor, and control financial status and encourage financial sustainability
2. Discuss the application of organizational reports to indicate the financial health of an organization

Reading: Textbook Chapters:

• 4 – Assets, Liabilities, Net Worth
• 15 – Using Comparatives Data
• 18 – Variance Analysis and Sensitivity Analysis
• 19 – Benchmarking and other tools

Videos: 

• Reporting
• Monitoring Performance
• Variance Reporting

Assignments:

• Discussion:
• Financial Reports and Transparency
• Initial Post: Does your organization share its financial reports to its employees? If so, do you think employees make decisions based on how they will impact the bottom line? If they don’t, how could financial reports be used to invest employees in a bigger picture, beyond the concerns of their individual occupations?
  
  Response Post: How can/should healthcare organizations balance big picture awareness (and financial transparency) with the immediate responsibilities of any employee’s job, which that big picture can distract from? What are the dangers of transparency, and the upsides?

• Midterm:
  Please complete the Midterm, which covers everything in the course to date.  It includes readings, narrated presentations, and discussion board topics. The exam includes T/F, multiple-choice, short answers.  The exam is timed at 90 minutes and will automatically submit upon completion.

Week 6: Data, Value-Based Trends

Learning Objectives:

1. Research value-based healthcare trends

Readings: Textbook Chapters:

• 3 – The Digital Age
• 20 – Bid Data and Data Analytics
• 26 – Strategic Relationships
• 27 – Value-based Healthcare
• 28 – New Payment Methods
• 29 – Standardizing Measures and Payment

Video:

• Value-based Healthcare

Assignments:

• Discussion:
• Value-based Healthcare Trends
• Initial Post: Research and find a solid resource on how value-based healthcare trends have affected, and continue to affect, the financial management of healthcare organizations. If possible, find a resource that recounts a specific case in which value-based healthcare trends have forced a healthcare organization to adjust.
  
  What are the primary concerns of a healthcare organization that is trying to be financially viable in a changing landscape, specifically in regards to value-based trends? Support your analysis with research.   

  Response Post: How can the concerns identified by your peer(s) affect the financial models of healthcare organizations? What are the forces at play within the healthcare organizations, specifically that have to do with financial planning and management, and what tools are at their disposal to respond to these changes in the healthcare marketplace?
  

Week 7: The Creation of a Business Plan

Learning Objectives:

1. Develop an operations budget
2. Develop a revenue and expense system
3. Calculate a break-even price

Readings:

Textbook Chapters:

• 25 – Putting it All Together: The Business Plan

Video:

• Broad Perspective on a Business Plan

Assignments: 

• Telemedicine Project
  

  Please read through the entire Telemedicine Project Case, and download the Telemedicine Budget and Projections template file in the course to work within while completing this assignment. Included in the template is the FY2018 Budget and FY2018 Revenue to use as data for making your projections, as well as the sheets themselves where the projections can be built. You must turn in the FY2019 operating budget, FY2019 Capital budget, and FY2019 member fee structure/break-even analysis. 

  Refer to the guide in the course for additional advice on how to complete this project.

• Telemedicine Recommendation

  To complete this assignment, you must first have completed and submitted your Telemedicine Project work. 

  Imagine you are preparing your boss to present the budget to a steering committee. Rather than write the presentation, you’ve asked to put together a list of the key considerations, with thorough descriptions for why they are key considerations. Please list out these key considerations in a Word Document and submit it here. Keep in mind that you are preparing it for your boss. It must accurately and concisely describe the key considerations, and organize them in a way that encourages comprehensive understanding. It must also look professional and read professionally.

Week 8: Final Exam 

Readings: Please review readings and materials from the rest of the class, as you deem necessary, to prepare for the Final Exam

Assignments: 

• Final Exam:
  This exam consists of T/F and multiple-choice questions and covers all materials throughout the course. You will have 90 minutes to complete it, and it will automatically submit after 90 minutes has passed.

Student Resources

Online Student Support

Your Student Support Specialist is a resource for you. Please don't hesitate to contact them for assistance, including, but not limited to course planning, current problems or issues in a course, technology concerns, or personal emergencies.

Questions? Visit the Student Support Public Health page

UNE Libraries:

• Library Access for all students: Your library login ID and password are the same as the ones you use to log into Brightspace.
• Public Health Databases: https://library.une.edu/library-materials/find/research-by-subject/public-health/
• Library Questions: Ask a librarian or phone library staff at (207) 602-2361 or (207) 221-4330.

UNE Student Academic Success Center

UNE's Student Academic Success Center (SASC) offers a range of free online services to support your academic achievement. Writing support, ESOL support, study strategy and learning style consultations, as well as downloadable resources, are available to all matriculating students. The SASC also offers tutoring for GPH 712 Epidemiology, GPH 716 Biostatistics, GPH 717 Applied Epidemiology, GPH 718 Biostatistics II, and GPH 719 Research Methods. To make an appointment for any of these services, go to une.tutortrac.com. For more information and to view and download writing and studying resources, please visit:

• UNE Student Academic Success Center

Information Technology Services (ITS)

• ITS Contact: Toll Free Help Desk 24 hours/7 days per week at 1-877-518-4673

Accommodations

Any student who would like to request, or ask any questions regarding, academic adjustments or accommodations must contact the Student Access Center at (207) 221-4438 or pcstudentaccess@une.edu. Student Access Center staff will evaluate the student's documentation and determine eligibility of accommodation(s) through the Student Access Center registration procedure.

Online Peer Support

Togetherall is a 24/7 communication and emotional support platform monitored by trained clinicians. It’s a safe place online to get things off your chest, have conversations, express yourself creatively, and learn how to manage your mental health. If sharing isn’t your thing, Togetherall has other tools and courses to help you look after yourself with plenty of resources to explore. Whether you’re struggling to cope, feeling low, or just need a place to talk, Togetherall can help you explore your feelings in a safe supportive environment. You can join Togetherall using your UNE email address.

Information Technology Services (ITS)

Students should notify their Student Support Specialist and instructor in the event of a problem relating to a course. This notification should occur promptly and proactively to support timely resolution.

ITS Contact: Toll-Free Help Desk 24 hours/7 days per week at 1-877-518-4673.

Career Ready Program

The College of Professional Studies supports its online students and alumni in their career journey!

The Career Ready Program provides tools and resources to help students explore and hone in on their career goals, search for jobs, create and improve professional documents, build professional network, learn interview skills, grow as a professional, and more. Come back often, at any time, as you move through your journey from career readiness as a student to career growth, satisfaction, and success as alumni.

Policies

Passing Grade Statement

A grade of 80% or higher is required to pass the course. A grade lower than 80% will result in you having to repeat the course. Obtaining two "Fs" in the program will result in dismissal from the program.

AMA Writing Style Statement

The American Medical Association Manual (AMA) of Style, 11th edition is the required writing format for this course. Additional support for academic writing and AMA format is provided throughout the coursework as well as at the UNE Portal for Online Students.

Online resources: AMA Style Guide

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Statement

Learning to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) responsibly and ethically is an important skill in today’s society. AI is not a substitute for developing and enhancing skills in creativity, logic, critical thinking, analysis, evaluation, theorization, and writing essential to a public health professional. If you choose to use AI tools, such as ChatGPT and DALL-E2, they must be used wisely and intelligently to deepen your understanding of a subject matter and support learning. You are not allowed to use AI tools to generate your work. Content produced using AI tools cannot be used as a substitute for your original work.

Students in the Graduate Programs in Public Health (GPPH) must take ultimate responsibility for the accuracy of AI-generated content used in any work. You are expected to think critically about the results and alignment with the questions or tasks in the assignment and never substitute AI-generated results for professional human judgment and logic. GPPH students are also expected to understand that the information generated is not always accurate and, in some cases, propagates discrimination and bias. You must stay abreast of AI best practices, and the changing risks and benefits, and monitor AI for biases and risks for vulnerable populations and underrepresented groups.

Within GPPH, using AI-generated content in academic work falls under our academic integrity policies. All instructors will continue to use our AI detection software for each assignment submitted so it will be flagged.

Using any AI tool in your work must be acknowledged in-text every time it is used, not in your list of references. You will include a summary of what the AI tool was used to do, followed by the AI tool brand name, version/extension #, manufacturer/owner, and date used in parentheses.

For example, 

Themes from participant responses were identified using a chatbot session (ChatGPT, model GPT-4, OpenAI, May 17, 2024).

Failure to acknowledge the inclusion of AI-generated content in any work submitted violates our academic integrity policies and will be considered an infraction with the associated penalties for plagiarism as outlined in the Student Handbook.

The Student Orientation has a module "Artificial Intelligence Literacy for Students", please refer to this module for more information about navigating the use of AI.

Turnitin Originality Check and Plagiarism Detection Tool

The College of Professional Studies uses Turnitin to help deter plagiarism and to foster the proper attribution of sources. Turnitin provides comparative reports for submitted assignments that reflect similarities in other written works. This can include, but is not limited to, previously submitted assignments, internet articles, research journals, and academic databases.

Make sure to cite your sources appropriately as well as use your own words in synthesizing information from published literature. Webinars and workshops, included early in your coursework, will help guide best practices in APA citation and academic writing.

You can learn more about Turnitin in the guide on how to navigate your Similarity Report.

Technology Requirements

Please review the technical requirements for UNE Online Graduate Programs: Technical Requirements

Course Evaluation Policy

Course surveys are one of the most important tools that University of New England uses for evaluating the quality of your education, and for providing meaningful feedback to instructors on their teaching. In order to assure that the feedback is both comprehensive and precise, we need to receive it from each student for each course. Evaluation access is distributed via UNE email at the beginning of the last week of the course.

Late Policy

Students are responsible for submitting work by the date indicated in Brightspace.

Quizzes and Tests: Quizzes and tests must be completed by the due date. They will not be accepted after the due date.

Assignments: Unless otherwise specified, assignments will be accepted up to 3 days late; however, there is a 10% grade reduction (from the total points) for the late submission. After three days the assignment will not be accepted.

Discussion posts: If the initial post is submitted late, but still within the discussion board week, there will be a 10% grade reduction from the total discussion grade (e.g., a 3 point discussion will be reduced by 0.3 points). Any posts submitted after the end of the Discussion Board week will not be graded.

Please make every effort ahead of time to contact your instructor and your student support specialist if you are not able to meet an assignment deadline. Arrangements for extenuating circumstances may be considered by faculty.

Student Handbook Online - Policies and Procedures

The policies contained within this document apply to all students in the College of Graduate and Professional Studies. It is each student's responsibility to know the contents of this handbook.

Student Handbook

UNE Course Withdrawal

Please contact your Enrollment and Retention Counselor if you are considering dropping or withdrawing from a course. Tuition charges may still apply. Students are strongly urged to consult with Student Financial Services, as course withdrawals may affect financial aid or Veterans benefits.

Academic Integrity

The University of New England values academic integrity in all aspects of the educational experience. Academic dishonesty in any form undermines this standard and devalues the original contributions of others. It is the responsibility of all members of the University community to actively uphold the integrity of the academy; failure to act, for any reason, is not acceptable. For information about plagiarism and academic misconduct, please visit https://www.une.edu/studentlife/plagiarism.

Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to the following:

1. Cheating, copying, or the offering or receiving of unauthorized assistance or information.
2. Fabrication or falsification of data, results, or sources for papers or reports.
3. Action which destroys or alters the work of another student.
4. Multiple submissions of the same paper or report for assignments in more than one course without permission of each instructor.
5. Plagiarism, the appropriation of records, research, materials, ideas, or the language of other persons or writers and the submission of them as one's own.

Charges of academic dishonesty will be reviewed by the Program Director. Penalties for students found responsible for violations may depend upon the seriousness and circumstances of the violation, the degree of premeditation involved, and/or the student’s previous record of violations.  Appeal of a decision may be made to the Dean whose decision will be final. Student appeals will take place through the grievance process outlined in the student handbook.