820 North Washington Ave.
Madison, SD, 57042
Program Director: Renae Spohn , PhD, MBA, RHIA, CPHI, CPHQ, FAHIMA, FNAHQ
Program Phone: (605) 215-5777
Program Email: renae.spohn@dsu.edu
Content Delivery:
Campus Based, Online
Program Level: Baccalaureate
Enrollment Status: Active
Progress Report: Progress Report satisfactory and completed
Current Accreditation Award: Continuing
Last Accreditation Date: 11/21/2019
Next Review Cycle: 2029-2030
Accreditation Actions
July 2020 Accreditation Action: Accept the Progress Report.
Rationale: The program is compliant with all Standards.
Accreditation Award: Continuing Accreditation
December 2019 Accreditation Action: Grant ten years of Continuing Accreditation with a Progress Report. The program remains non-compliant with the following 2018 Standards:
Standard 16. Faculty. There are two full time faculty in addition to the program director; both of these faculty also support the associate and masters level HIM programs. The program’s response regarding efficiency in staffing and declining HIM enrollment is noted. However, consistent with the Standard, one faculty is not specifically dedicated to the baccalaureate program.
Standard 24. The Curriculum. Standard remains partially met. Based on review of Program Response to Site Visit Report, the following competencies remain not met: VIA1, VIF4. These competencies remain partially met: IA3, ID3, IE1, IIC1, IIIA4, IIIG1, IIIH1, IIIH5, IVA1, VA2, VB1, VB3, VD2, VIA3, VIC1, VIC2, VIC3, VID1, VID2, VID3, VIF1, VIH3, VIH4, VII2, VIK1. Program response to the site visit clarified two issues regarding assignments currently offered. A number of detailed updated assignments were presented to address issues of content and/or level with respect to various competencies. These updated assignments did not contain clear dates of implementation, therefore are assumed to be in the process of implementation. For competency VIA1, no updated assignment was submitted; for IVF4, the assignment submitted did not appear to address the competency.
Standard 26. The program apparently follows a 2+2 program design, whereby associate and baccalaureate academic level students complete the same courses in years 1 and 2. Syllabi follow a structured format, show clear course objectives, activities and evaluation methods. However, the AHIMA HIM entry-level curriculum competencies are not clearly described in syllabi. Review of syllabi submitted at Standard 24 indicate that course objectives are typically shown in a table cross-referenced to the curriculum competencies. Concerns are that the curriculum competencies shown are:
titled incorrectly as CAHIIM domains or CAHIIM tasks; listed by domain, subdomain, competency rubric (e.g., VI.C.2) with addition of A (associate) and B (baccalaureate) without full narrative description of the competency. AHIMA HIM baccalaureate degree (and associate where appropriate) entry-level curriculum competencies are not clearly described to students in course syllabi.