KU School of Medicine-Wichita

"We had several adult learners who wanted to retrain, further educate themselves or switch over to public health." —Melissa Armstrong, Ed.D., M.A., education assistant professor MPH director 24 Armstrong said. "We showed we could do that successfully during the pandemic, so we decided to continue this new modality while still serving our campus-based students." The online generalist MPH degree option was rolled out in September 2021. About 15 of KUMC's 75 MPH students are taking advantage of earning their degree fully online, Armstrong said. Of the remaining students, about 35 are enrolled in the MPH program through the Kansas City campus and about 20 are enrolled through the Wichita campus. Being able to oer the MPH degree online has helped meet a slight uptick in student demand for MPH degrees following the pandemic, said Armstrong. The online degree option also has the potential to appeal to another important demographic: rural physicians. For example, if a physician has several patients who are dealing with a similar issue, the competencies they've gained from an MPH degree could help in implementing eective, evidence-based interventions to reach more patients at one time, Armstrong said. The MPH also positions clinicians to better partner with community-based organizations and state and local government agencies. Adding credentials The pandemic also identified another way the department could capitalize on its track record of working with adult learners: by providing shorter-term certificate programs focused on specific topics and skill sets within public health. "One of the things I find so exciting about the MPH program here at KUMC is how … (our alumni) are really concerned about the health and health care in their communities and they want to stay in Kansas," Lee said. "So, we have a responsibility to build the skill sets of people who are going to serve our state." That's why it's been important for the department to identify new opportunities to reach adult learners as it has done in recent years, he said. "We want to make sure Kansans who want to promote and work in public health have an opportunity to get that education through accredited programs," Lee said. Going online While the MPH program included online class options before COVID-19, the pivot to online-only class instruction during the pandemic lockdown brought a new pathway for the MPH degree. "Because we have a rural population in Kansas, I had been saying we needed to have a fully online degree option," Simon Craddock Lee, Ph.D., MPH, chair Population Health

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