Curriculum Mapping of a Standalone Baccalaureate Public Health Program at a Small Liberal Arts Institution in Appalachia

Individuals from Appalachian Ohio experience obstacles in accessing educational opportunities to prepare for health careers. In addition, 73% of Appalachian counties are classified as health professional shortage areas.  These facts, coupled with the documented poor health behaviors, poor health status, and health disparities observed in Appalachia prompted Muskingum University, a small liberal-arts institution located in rural Appalachian Ohio, to develop an undergraduate, standalone, program in Public Health Studies in 2013. While more institutions are developing standalone programs, there is little information on best practices on developing curricula at small, private schools that may have fewer faculty and resources. The original interdisciplinary curriculum was developed using the public health learning outcomes outlined by the American Association of Colleges and Universities Leadership Group and the Association of Schools of Public Health.  The purpose of this project was to re-evaluate the curriculum using the requirements outlined in the Council on Education for Public Health’s (CEPH) Accreditation Criteria for Standalone Baccalaureate Programs.  Using the matrices provided by the CEPH to perform the curriculum mapping, several gaps in coverage were identified.  A revised curriculum has been proposed to address these gaps, including changes to the courses required for the major as well as changes to learning objectives within individual courses. This curriculum mapping exercise and its outcomes may provide guidance to other small institutions in medically underserved areas in the development of similar interdisciplinary public health programs.