Online Health Education Courses

Date published: November 13, 2006

Need an online graduate course or graduate degree in Health Education?
The American Association for Health Education (AAHE) and the Foundation for the Advancement of Health Education (FAHE), in conjunction with universities across the U.S., are offering graduate level courses and articulated degree programs entirely through distance education technologies. This AAHE/FAHE program, titled the Health Education and Promotion Network (HEP Network) (www.hepnetwork.org), offers courses that have been developed by graduate faculty from various universities and can be taken as stand alone courses or transferred into a graduate program, if applicable. All students who enroll in these online courses will be assigned an instructor/mentor to help them work through the class lectures, materials, and assignments. At the completion of the course, students will receive a letter grade from the instructor/mentor, and a transcript from the host university. The HEP Network also has articulation agreement with several universities which allow students to transfer HEP Network courses into their existing distance education master degree programs.

These courses can help you:

Meet State Department of Education guidelines to teach health, Earn graduate credit to be able to sit for the exam to become a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES), Earn a masters degree in health education totally through distance education, and Complete graduate courses to transfer to other universities.

HEP Network Courses:

Presently, the HEP Network has the following six graduate level courses available with two more be added in the near future. All classes are offered entirely through distance education technologies and include class lectures from health educators from universities across the U.S.
When you enroll in a course, you will be assigned an instructor/mentor to help you work through the course. Our webmaster can handle most of the technical problems, if any should occur.

Foundations of Health Education - This course experience introduces the learner to concepts fundamental to Health Education and to a larger extent, health promotion. Contemporary health education philosophy, Healthy People: The Health Objectives for the Nation, Certified Health Education Specialist, ethical issues in health, etc. will be discussed.
(Currently Available)

Health Behavior: Theory and Program Planning - A study of the determinants of health behavior, factors influencing health behavior, health behavior theories and application methodology are examined.
Contemporary models to plan health education programs will also be discussed. (Currently Available)

Health Education Curriculum and Instruction - This course provides teachers with the competencies and knowledge needed to teach school health education. Examinations of the school health program, national health education curricula, national health education standards, and pedagogy and teaching resources in health education form the foci of the course. (Currently Available)

Health in the Elementary Schools - This course provides elementary teachers with skills and knowledge necessary to work in the area of school health education at the elementary level. The focus of the course is on the relationship between elementary education and health education and on current issues and content in elementary school health education with coordinated school health programs. (Currently
Available)

Health Education in the Secondary Schools - This course prepares teachers with skills and knowledge necessary to work in the area of school health education at the middle school and secondary level. The course will focus on the coordinated school health program, national health education curricula, the national health education standards, pedagogy and assessment methodology across content areas, as well as teaching resources. (Available December 2006)

Drug Education and Prevention - This course will provide an overview of the major drugs of abuse and their effects on the body as well as the biological, sociological, psychological, and legal issues associated with drug use and abuse in our culture. An emphasis will be given to effective educational approaches and prevention programs that address the problems of use and abuse. (Currently Available)

Research Methods in Health Education - An examination of methods and techniques of conducting research in health education. Emphasis will be placed on helping students to develop skills in analyzing research, research problem identification, and research design. The ethics of research, reading research literature and measurement techniques will also be examined. (Currently Available)

Applied Epidemiology - this course provides an overview of principles and methods of contemporary epidemiological practice. Epidemiological investigation and research are discussed with an emphasis on application of epidemiological method in health education, health promotion, and disease prevention practice. (Currently Available)

How to Enroll in HEP Network Courses:

If you wish to enroll in a HEP Network class for credit, please go to www.hepnetwork.org, and click on the "Select University" icon on the left column. Then follow the directions to enroll in the course at the University of Central Arkansas (UCA). Most students simply call Christy Reynolds at UCA and register over the phone. Christy's phone # is
501/450-5274 and her e-mail address is ChristyR@uca.edu.

If you wish to enroll in a course for continuing education credit, please complete and submit the Mail /Fax Enrollment form found on the HEP Network website (www.hepnetwork.org).

Guidelines for Pursuing the Articulated Masters Degree through the HEP
Network:

You must have a 3.0 in the last 60 hours of your undergraduate degree program.
You will need to successfully complete 12 credits of HEP Network courses (4 courses) with a grade of "B" or better in each course.
These courses can be taken through the University of Central Arkansas (UCA). (Please follow the guidelines on "How to Enroll in HEP Network Courses" listed previously.) Consult with Dr. Jim Eddy (jeddy@hlkn.tamu.edu) or Dr. Beth Chaney
(bchaney@hlkn.tamu.edu) to discuss courses to take to meet your career goals, and the guidelines for participating universities. You can also call our toll free number at 866/886-2547.
Once you complete the four course sequence from the HEP Network and UCA, we will provide you with the universities that have agreed to accept the HEP Network courses you have completed into their distance education masters courses. Currently, we have three universities who have agreed to participate in this cooperative agreement of offering master's programs in health education, public health, and health promotion.

Contact Information:
If you have questions or need more information on the HEP Network, please contact us:

James M. Eddy, FAAHB, FAAHE
Professor & Chair
Division of Health Education
Texas A&M University
College Station TX 77843-4243
979/458-2217
jeddy@hlkn.tamu.edu

Beth H. Chaney, M.A., Ph.D., CHES

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