HAPS Leadership (#16): HAPS-Institute

Are you looking for graduate credit in the field of Anatomy & Physiology?  Are you looking to share your expertise on a specific A&P-related topic with peers who are as passionate as you about the subject matter?  If the answer to either question is “yes”, then the HAPS-Institute is the place for you.

Hi, I’m Peter English.  As the Executive Director of the Human Anatomy & Physiology Society, I serve as the Director of the HAPS-Institute.  I oversee the curriculum that we develop, the schedule of courses that we offer, and the enrollment of great individuals such as yourself.

At HAPS-I, we have maximized salary and minimized tuition to make this the best possible service to the HAPS community.  With all of the issues surrounding accreditation, it is becoming increasingly important that faculty have graduate credit in A&P, and our credit is earned through Alverno College in Milwaukee.  HAPS-I is one way in which HAPS is helping members meet the evolving needs in the changing landscape of higher education.

Every HAPS member has his or her specialty, and HAPS-I is taking advantage of this.  In most cases, HAPS-I courses center around an educator teaching the class of his or her dream: a specific, incredibly rich understanding of a topic being taught by an expert with an amazing depth of knowledge.  Courses can be completely online or can be a mix of online and in-person instruction.  Many of the in-person components are tied to Regional Conferences or the Annual Conference.  For 2014, we are offering four courses.  Looking ahead, we will have our first traveling course with participants studying A&P in Italy this summer.

In order to attract the best instructors, we pay an above average $2,500 per course based on an enrollment of 6 students (enrollment above this number pays more and pro-rates compensation for fewer students so that low-enrollment courses can still run).  All HAPS-I courses have end-of-course surveys to ensure that we continue to hire only the best instructors.

For the students, tuition is just $550 per credit hour for HAPS members ($750 per credit hour for non-HAPS members), which is less than one-third the cost of some other graduate credit programs.  Most HAPS-I courses are 2-credits, but between now and this summer, we’ll be offering 1-credit, 2-credit, and 3-credit courses to meet everyone’s demands.

The HAPS Foundation has recognized the importance of this sort of continuing education and offers HAPS-I scholarships four times per year.  The scholarships cover the cost of 1-credit of instruction and the next due date for applications is February 15.

So, what do you say?  Ready to be part of something incredible?    The HAPS-Institute is ready for you!