Health care compliance is critical to all organization types and persons who work in the health care industry. Whether you are a health care practitioner, administrator, insurer or in a business that contracts with health care organizations, it is vital to understand the need for and function of a robust corporate compliance program.
Learning outcomes in this certificate program address the fundamentals of health care compliance, such as compliance administration, policies and procedures, oversight and committees, enforcement and reporting requirements, screening of employees and vendors, billing and coding basics, auditing and monitoring, education and training, investigations, fraud and abuse laws, and HIPAA. Students who excel in the five-course certificate program at UWM are prepared to sit for the Certification in Healthcare Compliance (CHC) exam offered by the Compliance Certification Board (CCB). A CHC designation is widely valued in the healthcare compliance community.
Admission Requirements
Application Deadlines
Application deadlines vary by program, please review the application deadline chart for specific programs. Other important dates and deadlines can be found by using the One Stop calendars.
Admission
CCB accreditation requires students to have a baccalaureate degree prior to taking the CHC or equivalent exam. Students who complete the certificate in conjunction with the MHA degree program must meet MHA admission requirements. Post baccalaureate applicants to the Healthcare Compliance Certificate program must have at least a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution and a stated interest in working in healthcare compliance. Minimum 2.75 cumulative GPA in bachelor’s degree program.
Applicants must submit a Reason Statement to be considered for admission. The Reason Statement is used to determine the appropriateness of your educational/professional goals and serves as an example of your ability to express yourself in writing.
Application
- Students wishing to obtain this certificate must declare their intention by applying to the program office or director.
- All graduate certificate applicants—even those already enrolled in a UWM graduate program—must apply to the Graduate School.
- Graduate degree and previously admitted graduate non-degree students who decide to pursue a certificate program must submit the application before completing 6 credits in the certificate sequence.
- Applicants must possess a baccalaureate degree and have a minimum 2.75 cumulative undergraduate grade point average to be admitted into a certificate program.
Credits and Courses
The UWM Compliance Certificate Program courses are offered online and on campus. Courses that qualify for the 15-credit program include:
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| HCA 801 | Design of Health and Human Service Systems | 3 |
| HCA 821 | Operations Management in Healthcare Organizations | 3 |
| HCA 868 | Health Law and Ethics | 3 |
| HCA 869 | Health Care Compliance | 3 |
| HCA 813 | Health Regulatory Policy and Politics | 3 |
| Total Credits | 15 | |
There is no capstone course or internship requirement for the certificate program, but students are required to interview a healthcare compliance officer as part of their Healthcare Compliance course and write a reflection on the interview. Degree seeking (MHA) students are encouraged to apply for a summer internship in a healthcare compliance role. Available internships are posted through the Health Care Compliance Association website.
Additional Requirements
Transfer Credit
No more than 20% of the required credits may be taken at an institution other than UWM. These courses are subject to Graduate School transfer policy and must be approved by the director of the certificate program.
Grade Point Average Requirement
A minimum cumulative 3.00 grade point average in certificate courses taken at UWM is required.
Articulation with Degree Programs
- Credits and courses required for a certificate may double count toward meeting UWM graduate degree requirements subject to the following restrictions:
- Degree programs must approve the courses from certificates that can double count toward the degree.
- All credits taken in completion of certificate requirements may count towards a UWM graduate degree as long as they do not contribute more than 90% of the total credits needed to obtain the degree. (Note: Students in PhD programs must still complete the minimum residency requirements)
- Certificate courses used toward meeting degree requirements must be completed within the time limit for transfer credit.
- Courses completed for a degree may be counted toward a subsequent certificate, subject to all certificate policy requirements.
- A course may count toward no more than one certificate and one degree.
- Students may not earn a certificate subsequent to a concentration in the same area.
Time Limit
Certificate program time limits shall be established as follows:
- 18 or fewer credits/Three years from initial enrollment in the certificate sequence.
- 19 or more credits/Four years from initial enrollment in the certificate sequence.
For certificates that are designed as add-ons to degree programs and are awarded concurrent with the degree, the time limit shall be the same as that of the degree program.