A.S. Health Services
64
Credit Hours
63%
Max Transfer Credit
Class Type
100% online, 6 & 12-week courses
Next Start Date
Jun 26, 2023
Cost Per Credit
Cost Per Credit
$398

Prioritize your wellbeing with an associate degree in health services

Behind every illness, hurt, wound, or health problem is someone with a name, a face and a personal story.

And while healthcare is a business, it also is a human endeavor, requiring caring and competent professionals helping people live longer, healthier lives.

Earn an online associate degree in health services and learn how to promote wellness and address health issues through proven processes, best practice approaches, patient education and success-oriented interventions. 

Program Availability

On Site

Broad Healthcare Exposure

Learn how to promote health and wellness in any industry.

Real-World Practitioners

Benefit from the experience of healthcare professionals.

100% Online Classes

Earn your degree around your schedule.

Program Overview

Make a difference

With Franklin’s A.S. Health Services degree program, you’ll learn about a wide range of healthcare topics from disease prevention, to public health, to health and wellness, with a special emphasis on human connection and interaction.

You’ll build an in-demand skillset that includes helping patients understand and manage chronic illness, promoting healthy living and wellness management, and supporting community health education. Plus, you’ll collaborate with clinical staff and others to assess gaps in care or coverage, address health risks, and coordinate care.

When you earn your degree in health sciences at Franklin, you’ll learn from industry-leading healthcare practitioners who practice in the real world what they teach in the classroom. 

Earn your degree from a university built for busy adults

Earn your degree on your terms by taking classes 100% online. Accredited and nonprofit, Franklin was built from the ground-up to satisfy the needs of adult learners. Our seamless transfer process and team of academic advisors will help ease your transition to becoming a student, while our flexible course schedules help to balance your education with work, family and life. Get started on your future today.

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Future Start Date

Start dates for individual programs may vary and are subject to change. Please request free information & speak with an admission advisor for the latest program start dates.

Summer 2023
June
26
Recommended Register By:
Jun 16
Fall 2023
August
14
Recommended Register By:
Aug 4
Fall 2023
September
25
Recommended Register By:
Sep 15
Fall 2023
November
6
Recommended Register By:
Oct 27

Curriculum & Course Descriptions

64 Semester Hours
Fundamental General Education
English Composition
ENG 120 - College Writing (4)

In this course, students acquire the writing competence necessary for conducting and presenting research. A variety of assignments, beginning with personal reflections, build upon one another, as students develop ideas that respond to, critique, and synthesize the positions of others. Students systematize and organize knowledge in ways that will help them in all of their courses. The course also emphasizes the elements of good writing style, appropriate grammar and mechanics, clarity of language, and logical and cohesive development. It culminates in submission of a documented research paper.

Mathematics
MATH 215 - Statistical Concepts (4)

This course introduces the student to statistics with business applications. The course covers both descriptive and inferential statistics. Topics included are: measures of central tendency; measures of dispersion; graphical displays of data; linear regression; basic probability concepts; binomial and normal probability distributions; confidence intervals; and hypothesis testing. These topics will be covered using a basic knowledge of algebra and Microsoft Excel. Note, this course has proctored exam(s).

Science
SCIE 244 - Foundations of Anatomy & Physiology (4)

This course is designed for students interested in the allied healthcare professions and focuses on gross anatomy and the function of human organ systems and how they relate to one another. Students in this course will expand their medical terminology and scientific understanding of the physiology of the human body. In addition, students will gain an understanding of general pathology as it relates to the disruption of homeostasis. This course will include a one-hour lab component.

SCIE 254 - Health & Human Disease (4)

This course is designed for students pursuing allied health professions and provides an overview of human health and disease processes. Students will learn about common diseases and how they affect human health at cellular, organ, and systemic levels. Emphasis will be placed on the body as a system and how disease impacts the human body as a whole.

Social and Behavioral Sciences
PSYC 110 - General Psychology (4)

A survey of the various fields of study comprising modern scientific psychology. The course examines the theories, research findings, and applications in each of the major areas of psychology, with the goal of providing students with practice information they can apply to their personal and professional lives. The topic areas covered in the course include learning and memory, motivation and emotion, human development, theories of personality, psychopathology, and social behavior.

SOCL 110 - Introduction to Sociology (4)

Sociology is the scientific study of group behavior - whether the groups are dyads, small groups, associations, bureaucracies, societies, publics, aggregates, social movements, or mobs, etc. This introductory course introduces the student to sociological principles and theoretical perspectives that facilitate understanding the norms, values, structure and process of the various types of groups into which people organize. The course focuses on applying the scientific method to studying social problems (e.g. poverty, crime, sexism and racism) and basic institutions (i.e. family, government, economy, religion, education). Students will develop their "sociological imagination" as a way of understanding what their lives are and can be in relation to the larger social forces at work in local, national, and international environments.

Arts & Humanities

6 credits from the following types of courses:
Choose from the Art, English Literature, Fine Arts, Humanities, Music, Philosophy, Religion or Theater disciplines.

Additional General Education
PF 121 - Basic Learning Strategies (2)

This course introduces students to the Franklin University community and provides strategies for successful transition to and participation in that community. Topics include University resources and procedures, strategies for advancing communication skills, the use of electronic tools to participate in virtual environments, and the development of an academic and career plan.

OR PF 321 - Learning Strategies (2)

This course prepares students to be successful lifelong learners both academically and in their chosen careers. Franklin courses require a high level of self-directed learning and focus on skills required in the workplace and the classroom that are easily transferable between the two environments. The course includes strategies for advancing communication skills, including the use of electronic tools to participate in virtual environments. The assignments and activities in the course are created to closely simulate teamwork found in the workplace.

COMM 150 - Interpersonal Communication (4)

By using applied critical and creative thinking, students in this course will develop a set of communication skills that will enhance their personal and professional relationships and endeavors. This course will focus on skill development in key areas such as self, perception, listening, verbal messages, conversations, relationships, conflict management, persuasion, and public speaking.

OR SPCH 100 - Speech Communication (4)

This public-speaking course emphasizes the fundamentals of extemporaneous speaking. Skill-building activities and assignments focus on research, organization, reasoning, style and delivery of presentations as well as listening and audience engagement.

Major Area Required
HIM 150 - Medical Terminology (2)

This course will introduce the foundations of medical terminology nomenclature and use. Emphasis will be on the fundamentals of prefix, word root, and suffix linkages to build a broad medical vocabulary.

PUBH 201 - Introduction to Public Health (4)

This course provides a basic introduction to public health concepts and practice by examining the philosophy, purpose, history, organization, functions, tools, activities and results of public health practice at the national, state, and community levels. The course also examines public health occupations and careers. Case studies and a variety of practice-related exercises serve as a basis for learner participation in practical public health problem-solving simulations.

PUBH 250 - Health Behavior (4)

This course will provide students with an overview of how the social and behavioral sciences contribute to primary prevention in the rapidly expanding field of health behavior. Emphasis will be placed on theory-driven approaches that are supported by empirical investigations. Students will acquire a working knowledge of foundational theories used in public health practice as well as the ability to measure key theoretical constructs.

HCM 210 - Healthcare Foundations (2)

This course will provide fundamental information regarding health, healthcare, and the healthcare delivery system. Students will become familiar with the various types of healthcare organizations, stakeholders, and healthcare issues in order to shape their understanding of the different components of the healthcare delivery system. Through the exploration of health information students will discuss and analyze the role healthcare professions play within healthcare.

ENG 220 - Research Writing: Exploring Professional Identities (4)

This is an intermediate course focusing on the composition of research papers. Students in this course prepare to be active participants in professional discourse communities by examining and practicing the writing conventions associated with their own fields of study and work. By calling attention to the conventions of disciplinary writing, the course also prepares students for upper-division college writing and the special conventions of advanced academic discourse. Course activities include three extended research papers, semi-formal writing addressing interdisciplinary communication, and readings fostering critical engagement with disciplinary conversations.

Major Electives

At least 12 credits from the following courses:

PUBH 300 - Health Education and Promotion Concepts (4)

Students taking this course will learn effective communication skills to positively influence the norms and behaviors of both individuals and communities. Common themes are health education methods, including theories and models, promoting multicultural diversity, social marketing concepts, and health communication strategies.

PUBH 310 - Health Program Planning (4)

This course encompasses the important steps in planning an effective health program; including planning frameworks, needs assessment, and implementation steps. Students will incorporate health behavior theories, health determinants, and behaviors to effectively strategize effective programs to improve health of a population.

PUBH 400 - Health Program Evaluation (4)

This course will lead students through the various types of health program implementation and evaluation strategies, including quality, fidelity, and desired effect. Concepts will include various theories and approaches, as well as qualitative and quantitative assessment methods to determine program success.

COMM 355 - Introduction to Grant Writing for Non-Profits (4)

This course will enable students to recognize when a grant might be appropriate as a source of funds for a non-profit organization or project, identify and understand non-profit status, adhere to conventions and standards associated with successful grant applications, locate grant opportunities, analyze grant requirements, prepare metrics for success, and develop a written grant proposal. This course will provide an opportunity for students to extend and apply their communication skills. Students pursuing this course will also leverage interdisciplinary insights to solve a real-world problem.

ACCT 202 - Financial/Managerial Acct for Non-Majors (4)

This course is an introduction to financial and managerial accounting. It is designed for non-accounting majors. Financial accounting emphasizes how general purpose financial statements communicate information about the business's performance and position for users external to management. It emphasizes how the accountant processes and presents the information. The course also examines the major elements of the financial statements. The managerial accounting portion of the course studies internal reporting and decision-making. The course assists those who wish to learn "what the numbers mean" in a clear, concise and conceptual manner without focusing on the mechanical aspects of the accounting process.

ACCT 215 - Financial Accounting (4)

An introduction to accounting emphasizing how general purpose financial statements communicate information about the business corporation's performance and position for users external to management. Approximately one third of the course emphasizes how the accountant processes and presents the information and includes exposure to recording transactions, adjusting balances and preparing financial statements for service and merchandise firms according to established rules and procedures. The balance of the course examines major elements of the statements such as cash, receivables, inventory, long-lived assets, depreciation, payroll, bonds, and other liabilities and stocks. Concepts of this course are applied to Managerial Accounting (ACCT 225). Students are advised to avoid any time lapse between these courses.

SEMT 240 - Disaster Planning & Response (4)

Students will explore the nuances of planning for and responding to catastrophic disasters. The course will involve discussion of domestic and international approaches to planning and responding to such disasters. Students will view issues from the perspective of an Emergency Manager who spends most of their time in the field planning for critical incidents and disasters and who understands the key components to a good plan that involves many agencies at all levels of government and at different stages of the event. Students will explore the logistics of mass care, mass evacuation, and critical infrastructure damage.

SOCL 355 - Community Mental Health (4)

This course explores the social context of mental health treatment and delivery of mental health care. The delivery of mental health care is rife with public policy debates stemming from the diversity of opinion among policy makers, treatment specialists, consumers of mental health care and their families, for-profit entities such as pharmaceutical companies, and the public. Debates that highlight this course include but are not limited to the following: the proper role of medication in mental health care, balancing patients' rights with the desire for public safety, influence of the Affordable Care Act on mental health diagnosis and treatment, and differences between mental health care in Ohio and that found in other locales.

Students can transfer in up to 12 credit hours from short-term certificates as technical credit to fulfil this requirement.

Students may select either ACCT 202 or ACCT 215.

Additional Requirements

All students are required to pass College Writing (ENG 120), and either Basic Learning Strategies (PF 121) or Learning Strategies (PF 321) prior to enrolling in any course at the 200 level or above. Students who enroll at Franklin with 30 or fewer hours of transfer credit are required to pass PF 121 Basic Learning Strategies in place of PF 321 Learning Strategies. Interpersonal Communication (COMM 150) or Speech Communication (SPCH 100) must be taken prior to enrolling in any course at the 300 level or above. Students must also meet the University algebra competency requirement.

Program Details

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Career Opportunities

Patient Advocate

Patient advocates work to uphold patients’ rights, coordinate care and ensure the quality of the healthcare experience.

Admitting Clerk

Admitting clerks are responsible for the orderly and efficient collection and data entry of patient and insurance information used to provide patient care.

Community Health Assistant

Community health assistants work with public and community health agencies to achieve health and wellness goals through administrative support, and coordinating events and educational activities.

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