MHA/MBA Competencies and Curriculum

As a dual-accredited program through the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME) and the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the Army-Baylor MHA/MBA Program uses a comprehensive competency model to define and develop the knowledge, skills and abilities expected of its graduates. With 100% placement within the federal health system, most graduates transition into entry- to mid-level healthcare management positions with opportunities for progressively greater leadership responsibility. Accordingly, the program’s competency model is designed to prepare graduates not only for success in their initial post-graduate assignments, but also for continued professional growth as healthcare administrators and executives.

The competency model incorporates elements of the Joint Medical Executive Skills Program (JMESP) Core Curriculum and the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) Healthcare Executive Competencies Assessment Tool. Together, these frameworks provide a strong foundation for developing the competencies necessary to lead effectively within complex and evolving healthcare systems. The JMESP framework provides particular relevance to the military and federal healthcare environment by identifying the executive skills and competencies expected of military healthcare leaders, while the ACHE framework provides a comprehensive and regularly updated set of competencies applicable across a broad range of healthcare management and leadership domains.

The Army-Baylor competency model was most recently reviewed and updated in May 2026 through the collaborative efforts of program faculty, alumni and the program’s practitioner-based Advisory Board. This periodic review ensures that the model remains responsive to changes in healthcare delivery, the federal and military health systems and the broader healthcare management profession. By integrating established professional frameworks with input from faculty, graduates, and practicing healthcare executives, the program maintains a competency model that reflects both the academic preparation and practical leadership capabilities necessary for graduates to succeed throughout their careers.

The Army-Baylor program prepares early and mid-career Military Officers, Department of War (DoW), and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) civilians to play pivotal roles in healthcare administration in the 21st century. Our competencies are organized in their support of six domains:

Military Health
Leadership and Professionalism
Knowledge of the Healthcare Environment
Communication and Relationship Management
Health Law, Policy, and Ethics
Business and Analytical Skills

Students completing our MHA program will be assessed on their ability to demonstrate the 20 competencies on a competency proficiency scale from 0 to 5. While students in the MHA/MBA track will be assessed on their ability to demonstrate 21 competencies on a competency proficiency scale from 0 to 5.

Our proficiency scale is adapted from the National Institutes of Health competency proficiency scale. This scale is meant to, at a glance, provide an understanding of the capabilities of a student or assessment. The Army-Baylor MHA/MBA Program has selected practical application as the target for all competencies. The target level of competency attainment is a 3 in all competencies prior to residency.

0 – None (No Awareness)
1 – Fundamental Awareness (Basic Knowledge)
2 – Novice (Developing Experience)
3 – Intermediate (Practical Application)
4 – Advanced (Applied Theory)
5 – Expert (Recognized Authority)

All students monitor their growth and development (with target achievement levels) according to these competencies, through a series of self- and faculty-assessments, and create a learning portfolio to guide them towards their career goals.

Competency Model

Military Health Domain

Military Medical Mission Competency (3) – The ability to understand Medical Doctrine, Military Mission and Readiness of the Medical Forces.
Emergency Management and Contingency Operations Competency (3) – The ability to sustain preparations for and delivery of medical services and the recovery from unanticipated events (e.g., natural disasters, terrorism or global military operation).

Leadership and Professionalism Domain

Leadership Skills and Behaviors Competency (3) – The ability to influence others to accomplish the mission. It requires a complex set of skills and values to work with and through others.
Personal & Professional Accountability Competency (3) – The ability take responsibility for actions and results, both positive and negative and being responsible for the outcome of a task, whether it is a success or failure.
Organizational Climate and Culture Competency (3) – The ability to share behavioral expectations and norms in a work environment and the staff perceptions of the impact of the work environment on the individual.

Health Policy, Law, and Ethics Domain

Health Law and Health Policy Competency (3) – The ability to understand and utilize all laws that specify requirements in areas such as public health, patient consent, patient rights, and environmental standards, and regulations to include all Federal, state, and local policy that affect medical operations, decisions, plans, and actions that are undertaken to achieve specific healthcare goals within a society.
Research and Investigation Competency (3) – The ability to comprehend the capability of research and investigation to improve health status and standards of care.
Ethics Competency (3) – The ability to comprehend processes, structures, and social constructs by which the rightness or wrongness of actions is assessed and includes Personal, Professional, and Organizational ethics.

Knowledge of the Healthcare Environment Domain

Healthcare Systems and Organizations Competency (3) – The ability to grasp the organization of people, institutions and resources that deliver healthcare services to meet the health needs of target populations.
Healthcare Personnel Competency (3) – The ability to see the potential in Human Resource Management, Labor-Management Relations, Materiel Management and Facilities Management.
Healthcare Operations Management and Sustainment Competency (3) – the ability to manage and sustain healthcare operational resources, facilities, equipment, and supply chain systems to support organizational readiness, efficiency, compliance, and healthcare delivery. This competency emphasizes stewardship, operational planning, logistics and supply chain management, facilities oversight, interoperability, regulatory compliance, and the use of operational metrics to inform executive-level decision-making within healthcare environments.
Quality Improvement, Patient Safety, and High Reliability Organization Competency (3) – The ability to implement the continuous and systematic efforts to enhance the quality of patient care, outcomes, and the overall healthcare system, the measures implemented by healthcare providers to prevent harm or injury to patients during their medical care, and prioritizing a strong safety culture, open communication, and resilient processes to minimize errors in patient care.
Public, Population, and Community Health Competency (3) – The ability to apply the science and practice of protecting and improving the health of communities through education, promotion of healthy lifestyle, and disease prevention efforts, the health outcomes of a group of individuals, and the health status and well-being of individuals within a specific geographic area or community.

Business and Analytical Skills Domain

Financial Management Competency (3) – The ability to comprehend operating in a managed care environment, maintaining financial records, controlling financial activities, identifying deviations from planned performance, managing the acquisition and contracting processes, and strategic resourcing.
Strategic Planning Competency (3) – The ability to understand the Governance and Organizational Design of Healthcare. The ability to be forward looking, proactive processes for assessing the total environment, establishing direction, and developing execution strategies consistent with organizational goals and in support of mission requirements.
Data Driven Decision Making Competency (3) – The ability to apply Quantitative Methods and the process of analyzing, prioritizing, evaluating, selecting courses of action and alternatives, and implementing a decision relevant to the situation.
Information Management Competency (3) – The ability to implement the process of managing information technology (IT) resources to accomplish agency missions and to improve agency performance. This includes information and related resources such as personnel, equipment, funds, IT, and other enabling technology.
Research and Investigation Competency (3) – The ability to comprehend the capability of research and investigation to improve health status and standards of care.
**(MHA/MBA Only) Knowledge of Global Business Environment (3) – The ability to analyze the impact of global economic factors, including currency exchange rates, inflation, trade policies, and economic development indicators, on international business operations and decision-making. The ability to conduct competitive analyses of various global markets, identifying key players, market trends, and potential opportunities for business growth or expansion.

Communication and Relationship Management Domain

Interpersonal Communication Competency (3) – The ability to utilize effective communication which occurs when the receiver understands the sender’s intended message.
Strategic Communication Competency (3) – The ability to apply the development, integration and evaluation of key themes and messages utilizing effective communications tactics to deliver a clearly defined message using multiple means to targeted audiences.
Relationship, Change, and Conflict Management Competency (3) – The ability to effectively employ Relationship Management, Change Management, and Conflict Management. to maintain and enhance its interactions with stakeholders, customers, clients, partners, and other parties involved in its operations.

For the MHA and ECL MHA degrees, the target level competency attainment for each competency at the end of the program is 3 – Intermediate (Practical Application). **For the MHA/MBA and ECL MHA/MBA degrees, the target level competency attainment for each competency is also 3 – Practical Application; however, this track includes the Knowledge of Global Business Environment competency which has a target level competency attainment of 3 – Practical Application.

Learning and Competency Assessment

Higher-level teaching and learning methods examples used during the didactic year include:

In-class presentations
Cases
Team activities
Simulations
Reflective learning
Strategic/consulting projects

Lower-level teaching and learning method examples include:

Readings
Lectures with media/without media
Guest speakers

The Army-Baylor Program uses a variety of assessment methods that reflect academic rigor.

Examples of higher-level assessments during the didactic year include:

Synthesis, analysis-based exams
Case review and feedback
Team assessments
Class participation
Strategic consulting projects
Journals
Reflective Modeling

Examples of lower-level assessments during the didactic year include:

Summary papers/reports
Pre/post knowledge or skills testing

During the didactic year, Army-Baylor students are assessed using higher-level assessment methods approximately 75% of the time. During the residency year, assessment continues to emphasize higher-level methods that evaluate students’ ability to apply and integrate knowledge and competencies within real-world healthcare environments.

Throughout the didactic year, students engage in a rigorous graduate curriculum taught by a combination of active-duty faculty, including recently trained PhD-level professors who bring contemporary academic preparation and military healthcare experience to the classroom, and experienced civilian faculty and staff. Through their coursework, students develop and apply knowledge across the domains of the program’s competency model using a variety of experiential and higher-level learning and assessment methods. Complementing this formal coursework, students regularly engage with executive healthcare leaders and other key stakeholders who provide additional perspectives on the practical application of program competencies, contemporary healthcare challenges and executive healthcare leadership.

Students actively monitor their growth and development against established competency target levels through a series of self- and faculty assessments. These assessments inform the development of each student’s BEAR Learning Portfolio, which serves as a longitudinal tool for documenting competency progression, identifying areas for continued development, and guiding students toward their professional and career goals.

The didactic year culminates in a comprehensive oral board examination that requires students to integrate and apply knowledge and competencies developed throughout their coursework and broader didactic experience. Students receive individualized feedback from faculty and healthcare executives regarding their competency attainment, areas of strength and opportunities for continued development as they transition into the residency year.

Students bring their BEAR Learning Portfolios into the residency year and review them with their preceptors to identify opportunities for continued competency development. The portfolio serves as a guide for planning residency rotations and selecting performance improvement projects that support students’ individual learning and professional development needs. Throughout the residency experience, students continue to develop program competencies and receive ongoing feedback from their respective preceptors regarding competency attainment and progression.

During the residency year, students also develop a Graduate Management Portfolio (GMP), which includes summaries of the performance improvement projects completed throughout their residency. At the conclusion of the residency year, students submit their GMP and present their work to their assigned committees. Successful completion of these requirements demonstrates the integration and application of competencies developed across the didactic and residency phases and is required for graduation.

Competency Model Continuous Improvement

In 2024, the Army-Baylor faculty developed this competency model to better capture program-level competencies related to the MHA, dual MHA/MBA degree programs, and the year 2 residency year. Army-Baylor students are offered the unique opportunity to attend residency at a Military Treatment Facility (MTF), VA hospital, or a reputable civilian health care partner such as Mayo, Cleveland Clinic, Methodist, and so forth.

Understanding these program opportunities, the Army-Baylor Program competency model accounts for the common need across any major federal or civilian health system for our graduates to be competent in knowledge in health systems management, business administration, and decision-making.

Last Updated: 20260805