Healthcare Administration Bachelor's Degree Program

Cindy is the Program Director for our B.S. in Health Information Management and an instructor for our B.S. in Health Care Administration program. She has over 30 years in the HIM industry. Her previous experience includes employment with Kaplan University and Rasmussen College. She loves sharing her experience with her students in the HIM program. She also enjoys curriculum design and assisting faculty with adding new and interesting assignments to courses. She is the author of the Healthcare Statistics chapter in the Health Information Management: Concepts, Principles and Practices textbook, 4th and 5th Editions, by Oachs, P. and Watters, A.

Dr. Cynthia James, is the 2022 Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters recipient from Charter Oak State College. She holds a Master’s of Business Administration degree from the University of Phoenix, a Bachelor's of Science degree concentrating in Healthcare Administration from Charter Oak State College, and is a champion of online education. She has 40+ years of experience in the business of healthcare, and holds 2 certifications in professional billing and coding. Dr. James is a Clinical Department Liaison for a large Accountable Care Organization, and has worked in the federal, state, and academic sectors of healthcare. She is passionate about the business of healthcare, and is the Co-Chair of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Committee of the Connecticut Chapter of American College of Healthcare Executives. She believes all members of the healthcare team are vital to an organization, quality care, and are medically necessary.

Professor Valier has been involved in healthcare education program administration, healthcare program development, healthcare student advising, healthcare course teaching, and healthcare academic research since 2001. Before his career in HCA education, he was a healthcare consultant specializing in electronic medical records with Innovative Medical Solutions in Longmeadow, MA, for twenty-four years. After his consulting career, he returned to graduate school to complete his doctoral degree. He graduated from Nova Southeastern University, H. Wayne Huizenga Graduate School of Business and Entrepreneurship in Fort Lauderdale, FL, with a Doctor of Business Administration in Information Technology Management/Health Information Technology. His dissertation manuscript was nominated for the Best Paper Award by the Association of Information Systems in 2006 and eventually published under Valier, F. M., and McCarthy, R. A., “A Primary Study of Attributes of Innovation during Pre-diffusion, “Journal of International Technology and Information,” fall 2008. He is enrolled in an IBM Artificial Intelligence Certificate Training Course for “Watsonx” to continue his academic research in Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare Administration.

Janice's contribution to online education spans over 15 years, where she has instructed diverse students in a range of courses, including nursing, general studies, and specialized topics such as organizational diversity and transcultural concepts. During her lengthy nursing career, she has gained extensive experience across various clinical settings and roles. Alongside her clinical and leadership responsibilities, she dedicated 11 years to serving as an organizational diversity facilitator, promoting inclusivity and equity within healthcare environments. Janice's academic achievements exemplify her commitment to academic and nursing excellence. She obtained a diploma in nursing from the Medical Center School of Nursing in Columbus, GA, and earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, NC. Continuing her education, Janice pursued a Master of Science in Nursing with a focus on nursing administration from the University of North Carolina in Greensboro, NC. Additionally, she holds a graduate certificate in transcultural nursing from the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, CO, along with a specialty certification in transcultural nursing (advanced). She currently teaches Transcultural Competency in Healthcare Administration.

Ms. Pursley leads and cultivates strategy initiatives and content development to promote thought leadership and industry best practices. She is a recognized health information professional with broad health information knowledge and practice. Julie is a published author, contributor, and public speaker. Ms. Pursley’s career has been focused on the integrity of health data; acting as a change agent for protecting and promoting integrity, accuracy, and completeness. Julie has served in various roles throughout her career including health information leader for a large integrated healthcare delivery system, patient identification and matching clean-up and algorithmic optimization consultant, document management and imaging sales and operational leader serving clients in the US and Canada, and owner/president of a regional medical transcription service. Julie holds a Master of Science in Health Informatics and Bachelor of Science in Health Information Administration from the University of Cincinnati.

Michael Hartwig holds a Ph.D. from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX, in religious ethics. He has taught applied ethics at various universities in Texas, Connecticut, and Massachusetts since 1985. He has been an adjunct faculty member of Charter Oak State College since 1997. His work focuses on the application of ethical theory to applied ethical questions in business, environment, education, sexuality, and healthcare. Over the years he has been both a healthcare ethics consultant as well as a professor of healthcare ethics. In addition to his academic work, he is an artist and fiction writer.

Dr. Mathur has over 20 years of healthcare administration practitioner and teaching experience.

Having served as President of the Connecticut Health Information Management Association (CtHIMA) from 20015 – 2018, I continue to work with the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) as an editor and technical reviewer for multiple publications for AHIMA Press. Experiencing over 30 years in HIM, my career has encompassed several domains including acute care, quality improvement, home health, software marketing and development and education. I have lectured extensively on coding, DRG, reimbursement and data quality issues throughout the United States and internationally. As an educator for 25 years, both nationally and internationally, active committee member of AHIMA’s AOE, Coding Roundtable, Envision, NAHQ and ICD-10 Expert, I continue to advance my knowledge in this dynamic profession, with the observation that we in HIM are never “finished” learning. I promote and support this direction for all HIM professionals. I have my Master’s degree in Health Information Management from the College of St. Scholastica with credentials including Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA), Certified Documentation Improvement Professional (CDIP), Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) and Certified Health Technical Specialist, Trainer (CHTS-TR).