The University of Washington’s MPH in Community-Oriented Public
Health Practice (COPHP) program is fully committed to a problem-based learning
pedagogy that is unique among degree programs in our School of Public Health and
rare across the country. This intense method of teaching and learning places uncommon
demands on teachers and students alike. To teach all aspects of public health practice
and to craft a broad curriculum, we draw faculty from other departments in our school
and from the practice field as well as from the academy. We select students who bring
work experience in public health practice, who share our dedication to social justice,
and who are fully prepared to undertake problem-based learning. In this chapter, we
discuss the customized set of administrative skills and practices that we have developed
to support COPHP and govern admissions, marketing, student support, faculty support
and recruiting, instructional technology, educational evaluation, institutional
relationships, anti-racism and social justice strategies, and alumni relations. Together,
these processes ensure the success of COPHP in producing effective public health
practitioners while keeping our fee-based program affordable to students.
Keywords: Admissions, Administration, Advising, Alumni relations, Antiracism,
Case editing, Faculty meetings, Faculty recruiting, Faculty retreats,
Faculty support, Institutional relationships, Instructional technology, Internet
presence, Marketing, Peer mentors, Peer review, Self-reflection, Seminars, Social
justice, Student feedback, Student support.
