USF Health’s footprint as a leader the world of online learning continues to grow.

The University of South Florida made its first appearance in the Guide to Online Schools, which uses data compiled by the National Center for Education Statistics to rank colleges with the best quality and most affordable online programs. The NCES is the federal government’s primary entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education.

USF came in at number 25 – the only Florida public university on the guide’s 2013 rankings for  “best overall” online colleges.  The university’s 22 online degree offerings cited included six graduate programs from USF Health.

Three of the USF College of Public Health’s online master’s degree (MPH) programs — in Public Health Administration, Disaster Management, and Public Health Practice – were noted in the Guide to Online Schools annual index.   The USF College of Nursing’s master’s (MS) degree in Nursing Education and its Nurse Practitioner graduate program (which offers some components of the program in an online format) were cited, as was the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine’s online master’s (MS) degree in Medical Sciences (with a Health Sciences concentration).

U.S. News & World Report, meanwhile, has ranked USF’s online graduate education programs 47^th — among the top in the nation.

The Guide to Online Schools listing does not encompass all USF Health’s online offerings.  For instance, USF Health just launched an all-online Master of Science in Health Informatics program uniquely housed within the medical school, which is scheduled to begin this summer. 

The USF College of Public Health recently added an online format for the MPH degree in epidemiology, scheduled to begin in May.   The school was among those featured in a recent Nation’s Health article on the growing popularity of online public health education – particularly among working health professionals and those with geographical constraints.

“We were the first school of public health in the nation to offer a distance-based master’s degree in public health, before online-teaching technology was even available and definitely before it was a cool thing to do,” said Donna Petersen, ScD, dean of the USF College of Public Health.

“Today, we have several full degrees on line and many graduate certificates.  Nearly two-thirds of our courses are fully on-line or blended – involving on-line components in order to maximize face-to-face teaching time.”

For more information, go to http://news.usf.edu/article/templates/?a=5093&z=210

TAMPA, FL  (Sept.  5, 2012) — USF Health is partnering with Bisk Education to offer a new online master’s degree  in Health Informatics, responding to the growing need for technology experts as the healthcare industry adopts electronic records.

“USF is proud to partner with Bisk to help drive innovation in healthcare,” said USF President Judy Genshaft, PhD. “There is a real need in today’s marketplace for employees who understand both healthcare and information science.”

The new program will fuse USF Health’s academic powers with Bisk’s online expertise. USF Health faculty members will teach the health informatics courses. Bisk will help adapt the USF Health’s traditional curriculum to an online environment with faculty-led video lectures and webcasts, online simulations, and real-time chat, group study, and discussion board tools.

Clockwise from top left: Andrew Titen, president and COO of Bisk Education; Dr. Stephen Klasko, CEO of USF Health and dean, Morsani College of Medicine; Judy Genshaft, USF president; and Nathan Bisk, chairman and CEO of Bisk Education.

Nathan Bisk, chairman and CEO of Bisk Education, founded the company, which is now one of the nation’s leading developers and marketers of alternative and distance education programs. He said he is looking forward to working with USF Health on the project.

“Health informatics is something that is sweeping the health industry – and it’s pioneering for a medical school to offer such a degree online,” he said. “There’s going to be a big demand for this program. The challenges the healthcare industry faces in converting to paperless operations will require a new breed of health professionals trained in the latest laws and technologies.”

USF Health already is a leader in moving the healthcare industry toward using electronic health records with PaperFree Florida, a $6 million federal grant program to help doctors learn how to use the technology, said Dr. Stephen Klasko, dean of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and CEO of USF Health.

“We’ve built USF Health around what’s going to be really obvious ten years from now and doing it today,” Dr. Klasko said. “What really brought us together is that Bisk has the same innovative values.”

Bisk Education CEO Nathan Bisk and USF President Judy Genshaft sign the partnership agreement to provide a new online master’s degree in health informatics.

According to Indeed.com, health information analysts earned an average of $81,000 in 2008, with a salary range of $34,000 to over $110,000.

Bisk designs high-quality educational courses by helping universities realize the potential for reaching students in an online environment, said Andrew B. Titen, president and chief operating officer of Bisk Education.

“We are all very excited about the new relationship with USF and look forward to launching this groundbreaking degree for a top tier research institution,” Titen said. “This is a partnership that will do many great things together.”

Students in the program could be Tampa Bay residents with career and family commitments that make it difficult for them to come to campus. But Bisk Education also will market the program worldwide, bringing students from far beyond Tampa Bay to learn from USF.

“We’re hoping this will lead to other degrees, which will extend USF’s reach worldwide,” Bisk said.

Courses for the 32-credit hour degree will start by May 2013. For more information visit www.usfhealthonline.com

L to R: Ronnie Banks, former USF Bulls quarterback employed by Bisk Education; Nathan Bisk, CEO of Bisk Education; and Judy Genshaft, USF president.

-USF Health-

USF Health’s mission is to envision and implement the future of health. It is the partnership of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, the College of Nursing, the College of Public Health, the College of Pharmacy, the School of Biomedical Sciences and the School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences; and the USF Physician’s Group. The University of South Florida is a global research university ranked 50^th in the nation by the National Science Foundation for both federal and total research expenditures among all U.S. universities.

-Bisk Education, Inc. –

Founded in 1971 by Nathan Bisk, Bisk Education is the world’s leading provider of professional education online. The University Alliance (UA), a division of Bisk, facilitates the promotion and online delivery of associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s degrees as well as professional certificate programs from the nation’s leading traditional universities and institutions. Powered by UA’s technology and support services, our university partners have surpassed 450,000 online enrollments – making UA the largest facilitator of e-learning in the country. University partners include Villanova University, the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business, Florida Institute of Technology, Michigan State University, University of Florida, New England College, University of St. Thomas – Minnesota, University of San Francisco, Jacksonville University, University of Vermont, The University of Scranton, Dominican University, and Tulane University’s Freeman School of Business. U.S. News University Directory, part of the Bisk network, provides comprehensive and unbiased information on more than 2,000 academic institutions directly from U.S. News & World Report, the most trusted source for college and university rankings since 1983.

Media contacts:
Lisa Greene, USF Health Communications,  (813) 974-4312 or lgreene@health.usf.edu
Sandy Levine,  Bisk Education/University Alliance Online, 813-621-6200, ext. 328