Course Waiver Policy

(Policy Update, 1/20/09)

Courses may be challenged by demonstrating one or more of the following to the satisfaction of the student's faculty advisor and the MHA Program Director:

• Successful completion of an equivalent course or courses;
• credit load should be relatively equivalent to the existing MHA/EMHA course
• prior course work must have been completed at the 400-level or greater
• a minimum grade point of 3.5 on 4.0 scale must have been received (if the individual's undergraduate course work shows depth in the relevant area of study, a 3.0 or greater might be acceptable; however, 3.5 is a firm minimum for EMHA waivers to be granted for CPMM coursework)
• Alternative academic/professional objectives (concentration in field of interest produces course conflict - primarily intended for concurrent degree and graduate certificate enrollees); or
• Equivalent work experience in content area

Requests should be submitted at least three weeks prior to the quarter for which the waiver is requested to ensure time for review and processing.

For the (day) MHA program, waived courses will be replaced by elective course work relevant to the student's academic/professional objectives. Students are advised to discuss options with their faculty advisors. Exceptions may be considered in unique circumstances.

Process:

1. The student should first discuss his/her situation with his/her faculty advisor. (EMHA students can discuss this with the Program Director.)
2. The student must then submit a course waiver request form (and any supporting documents*) to his/her faculty advisor. If the advisor wishes, he/she may defer initial review of the request to the relevant course instructor. (EMHA students should submit their initial request directly to the instructor.)
3. After reviewing the waiver request form, the faculty advisor (or course instructor) will note his/her recommendation and then forward the form (and any supporting documents) to the program director for a final decision.
4. If a waiver recommendation is based on prior course work, successful completion of that course should be verified before the form is forwarded to the program director.
5. A waiver request must be approved by the student's faculty advisor (or course instructor) and the program director. Faculty advisors and course instructors may not approve/deny a request for waiver independently.
6. Approval or denial of the request must be signed and dated by the program director on the waiver request form. A copy will be provided to the student and faculty advisor, and the original will be placed in the student file.

If pre-registration is underway, an entry code or request for entry code should be made in case the waiver is denied.

Students may appeal decisions to the Program Director or Chair of the Department of Health Services.

* If possible, the student should include a course syllabus (or reference the appropriate website) with the waiver request form if the course involved is not a UW Health Services course. If it is not possible to obtain the course syllabus, the student will still need to provide sufficient information regarding the course to enable the faculty advisor or instructor and program director to make an informed decision.

Waiver Policy Addendum for Executive MHA Students

Executive MHA students who have completed and received a grade of 3.5 or higher in CPMM (Certificate Program in Medical Management) courses may request a waiver(s) of relevant course work, using the policy and process provided above. The table below shows which Executive MHA courses are relatively equivalent to the CPMM courses. Waivers for CPMM students will not be granted for any course in which the student received a grade lower than 3.5.

CPMM Course	EMHA Course
Medical Practice Quality Measurement & Management	Clinical Systems Management; HSMGMT 567
Leadership and Change Management	Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management; HSMGMT 510
Strategic Management of Health Care Organizations	Strategic Management of Health Care Organizations; HSMGMT 562
Health Services Financial Management	Financial Management I; HSMGMT 574

To see when these courses are offered for the current or coming year, review the EMHA course listings..

If you have questions about this policy or the approval procedure, please contact the Student Career Development Counselor.