WHAT IS THE TENNESSEE CONSORTIUM AND HOW DOES IT WORK?

WHAT IS IT?

The Tennessee Public Health Workforce Development Consortium (the “Tennessee Consortium”) is a program to enhance the capabilities of the staff of the Tennessee Department of Health by developing and implementing graduate educational programs.  These educational programs will focus on improving core public health competencies and will be based on curricula leading to the award of Certificates of Accomplishments in key public health disciplines.  These disciplines include health administration, community and behavioral health, environmental health, epidemiology, biostatistics and other disciplines related to the effective and efficient delivery of public health services.

These programs will be developed and implemented through a consortium of institutions across Tennessee .  Members of the Tennessee Consortium include East Tennessee State University, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, and the Tennessee Department of Health.  The Tennessee Consortium will, as a group, coordinate the development of curricula for the Certificates and coordinate the teaching of the required courses among its members.  For example, courses required for a Certificate program may be developed and taught by any of the members for all students enrolled in the Certificate programs. 

            The Tennessee Consortium is funded, in part, through contracts from the Tennessee Department of Health.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

The major educational activity of the Tennessee Consortium will be the development of programs leading to the awarding of academic certificates in critical public health areas.  The initial programs will focus on applied epidemiology and public health leadership.  Courses for certificates will be supplemented by conferences and other learning experiences for public health practitioners.

            Courses offered through the Consortium will be designed primarily to meet the educational needs of the current public health workforce and the needs of the Tennessee Department of Health.  Thus, the primary student group will be staff of the Health Department, although other interested persons may apply and join the programs.  Only students approved by the Tennessee Department of Health will receive tuition waivers from the Consortium.  All students must have an undergraduate degree in a health-related field from an accredited college or university.

            To meet the needs of this student group, courses will primarily utilize distance education methods to allow students to participate without travel and with minimal disruption of their work routine.  Thus courses will rely heavily on web-based techniques supplemented by interactive audio and video conferencing.  Direct meetings of students and faculty will be planned once each semester.

Students seeking Certificates will enroll in any of the three campuses included in the Tennessee Consortium.  These include East Tennessee State University , the University of Tennessee ( Knoxville ), and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center ( Memphis).  This campus will be designated as the student’s “home campus.”  Students will enroll in courses through this home campus and this campus will provide support services for the student.  The student will be expected to abide by all of the relevant procedures and requirements of that campus.  These requirements include admission and course registration procedures, tuition and fees and all expectations of students as detailed in the campus’ student handbooks.

The academic requirements for a Certificate will be the same for all students, regardless of home campus.  These requirements will be determined by the Tennessee Consortium.  The Certificate will be awarded by the home campus after completion of all requirements.

A complete description of the Operating Procedures of the Tennessee Consortium are posted on this web site.