College of Health and Human Sciences

Office Info:
4121 Little Savannah Road
Health and Human Sciences Building/West Campus

(828) 227-7271

Website: http://www.wcu.edu/academics/departments-schools-colleges/HHS/

Doug Keskula, Dean

Shawn Collins, Interim Associate Dean

The College of Health and Human Sciences is comprised of six academic units. These include the School of Health Sciences, the School of Nursing, and the departments of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Criminology and Criminal Justice, Physical Therapy, and Social Work.

College Mission Statement

The mission of the College of Health and Human Sciences is to provide a dynamic learning community that prepares individuals for professional life by providing quality educational experiences that promote scholarship, engagement and life-long learning in a global environment. This goal will be met with active, scholarly, collaborative faculty. The college will be recognized for graduates who are ethical, adaptive, technically capable and innovative professionals. In fulfilling this role, the college provides undergraduate and graduate educational programs in Cullowhee, Asheville, and online.

Introduction

Careers in both health professions and criminal justice are among the fastest growing segments of the job market. There is a rising demand for health care professionals to meet the current and projected health care needs of a growing and increasingly more diverse population. In addition, our nation’s criminal justice system provides numerous career opportunities in both the public and private security areas.

Through its graduate and undergraduate educational programs, the College is committed to providing learning opportunities to students aspiring to careers in professions that serve the needs of our society. Service to disadvantaged segments of society most in need of care across age, cultural, and socioeconomic spectrum are central to the mission of the College’s educational programs. To this end, the College is committed to fostering community-centered education and to educating and training future professionals who are knowledgeable, competent, ethical, and caring, with a strong commitment to human service.

Special Expenses

Due to the nature of the clinical, laboratory and studio experiences required in some of the college’s programs, students will encounter special expenses beyond those listed in the fees section of this catalog. Liability insurance, uniforms, transportation to internships/clinical sites, criminal background checks required by internship/clinical education facilities, software programs, and special texts and class materials are examples of what might be expected. Each program has different requirements and students should discuss costs with the program director. The following programs in the School of Health Sciences require students declaring a major or pre-major to have daily access to a laptop computer that meets the standard university networking and hardware configuration requirements: ATTR, EMC, ENVH, ND and RTH.

Clinical Education and Criminal Background Checks

Many health care facilities as well as educational and social services agencies require criminal background and/or drug screening on students who participate in internship/clinical education rotations. A student may be denied participation in an internship/clinical education rotation if he/she has a positive drug screen or a record of any felony or misdemeanor conviction. A conviction involving alcohol or drug use, possession or distribution offenses, violence-related offenses, or the abuse/neglect of children or disabled adults may be a significant obstacle to successful completion of the academic program.

If a student is denied participation in an internship/clinical education rotation based upon the results of a criminal background or drug screen, the student may be removed from the academic program; provided, however, that prior to removal the student is given the opportunity to appear before a review committee.

Undergraduate Programs

Majors: Athletic Training, Criminal Justice, Communication Sciences and Disorders, Emergency and Disaster Management, Emergency Medical Care, Environmental Health, Nutrition and Dietetics, Nursing, Recreational Therapy, and Social Work.

Graduate Programs

The College offers graduate programs in Physical Therapy, Social Work, Speech Pathology, Health Sciences, (with concentrations in emergency medical care, nutrition, and management) and Nursing (Nurse Administrator, Family Nurse Practitioner, Nurse Educator, and Nurse Anesthesia).

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