LEVEL I FORM
(4/15)
Please attach/ submit additional documents as needed to fully complete each section of the form. See
information about Level I Proposals.
I. DEPARTMENT / PROGRAM
HEALTH AND HUMAN PERFORMANCE (HHP) – COMMUNITY HEALTH AND PREVENTION SCIENCE OPTION
in collaboration with CURRY HEALTH STUDENT WELLNESS PROGRAM
II. SUMMARY
The Community Health and Prevention Science (CHPS) option proposes to offer a 25 credit Certificate
Program in Health Behavior Coaching. The courses, practicum and internship experiences necessary to
establish this certificate program already exist within the department of Health and Human
Performance (HHP). The HHP department has worked closely with the Wellness Program of Curry
Health Center to provide training in Health Behavior Coaching and create onsite coaching opportunities
in a medical setting. This unique collaboration between academics and student affairs provides
students, not only the specialized training in Health Behavior Coaching, but the opportunity to practice
the new skills in a real world setting. The onsite coaching program has developed and grown over the
past three years; pre and post intervention evaluations have shown the effectiveness of the coaching
strategies. Offering a certificate in Health Behavior Coaching will meet the needs of a quickly evolving
health care system towards prevention practices and provide further recognition of specialized training
as essential in the health care disciplines.
Graduate and undergraduate students from disciplines across campus will be able to apply for admission
to the Certificate program if they meet the pre-requisites outlined below (see catalog copy).
IV. ENDORSEMENTS AND APPROVALS
Requestor: Kathleen “Annie” Sondag
xxxPhone/ Email:
Signature _______________________ Date____________
243-5215 / annie.sondag@umontana.du
Program Chair: Scott Richter
Signature _______________________ Date____________
*Other Affected Programs: N/A
Signature _______________________ Date____________
Signature _______________________ Date____________
Signature _______________________ Date____________
Dean: Roberta Evans
Signature _______________________ Date____________
Provost’s Office: Perry Brown
Signature _______________________ Date____________
* Are affected because of: (a) required courses including prerequisites or corequisites, (b) perceived
overlap in content areas, or (c) cross-listing of coursework.
After the Faculty Senate approves the proposal on a consent agenda the Provost’s Office forwards the
item for Board of Regents approval at the next possible meeting.
V. TYPE OF LEVEL I PROPOSAL
Retitling existing majors, minors, options, or certificates
Eliminating existing majors, minors, or options. (submit with BOR program termination checklist)
Adding new minors or certificates where there is a major or an option in a major*
Campus Certificates: Adding, retitling, terminating or revising a certificate of 29 or fewer credits
Revising a program* (for minor modifications use the program modification form)
Distance or online delivery of previously authorized degree or certificate program
Adding option within an existing major or degree *
Consolidating existing programs and/or degrees *
Placing a program into moratorium
Withdrawing a program from moratorium
Adding BAS/AA/AS Area of Study
*Must submit with BOR Curriculum Proposal Form
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IV. CATALOG LANGUAGE
Attach the current or proposed catalog language with any changes clearly identified.
Certificate Program in Health Behavior Coaching:
+
Course
Credits
+
Kin 201 – Basic Exercise Prescription
3
+
NUTR 221N – Basic Human Nutrition
3
+
HTH 370 – Peer Health Education
3
+
HTH 395 – Peer Health Practicum (specific to health coaching)
2
+
HTH 430 – Health and the Mind/Body/Spirit Relationship
3
+
KIN 483/84 – Exercise Disease and Aging
4
+
CHTH 485 – Theories of Health Behavior and Counseling
3
+
CHTH 495 – Internship (specific to health coaching)
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Minimum Required Grade B-
25 Total
Admission requirements for the Certificate Program in Health Behavior Coaching include: 1) Sophomore
level or higher standing; 2) 3.0 GPA; 3) BIOH 201 and 202 pre-requisite or co-requisite; and 4) letter of
intent.
III. JUSTIFICATION
Health care in America is in the midst of a paradigm shift from a system focused almost entirely on
treatment to a system focused on both prevention and treatment. This transition came about, in part, as
a result of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that emphasizes a focus on wellness and prevention as the key
to improving the health of Americans. Specifically, the Prevention and Public Health Fund (PPHF) of the
ACA contains a profusion of new provisions designed to address 4 key prevention areas: 1) community
prevention, 2) clinical prevention, 3) public health infrastructure and training, and 4) research and
surveillance focused on workforce wellness (The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Pub. L. No.
111-148, 2010). The National Prevention Council also underscores the importance of prevention in their
vision which states, “Working together to improve the health and quality of life for individuals, families,
and communities by moving the nation from a focus on sickness and disease to one based on prevention
and wellness” (U.S. Public Health Service, 2013).
Governmental organizations are not the only entities whose focus has turned to prevention. Hospitals,
primary care centers, insurance companies, non-profit organizations and corporate employers also are
recognizing the value of prevention. As a result, the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (2014) recently
made this prediction, “Employment of health educators and community health workers is projected to
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grow 21 percent from 2012 to 2022, faster than the average for all occupations. Growth will be driven
by efforts to improve health outcomes and to reduce healthcare costs by teaching people about healthy
habits and behaviors and utilization of available health care services.”
The Community Health and Prevention Science (CHPS) option at UM has been training young
professionals in the art and science of prevention for nearly two decades. It is this long-standing focus
on prevention that led to a series of meetings between leaders in Montana’s medical community,
faculty in CHPS, and staff at Curry Health Center’s Wellness Program. In these meetings, medical care
providers in Montana embraced the health care paradigm shift toward prevention and expressed a
specific need and interest in hiring Health Behavior Coaches. Health Behavior Coaches promote lifestyle
adaptations that have been shown to reduce health care costs through prevention or delayed
progression of chronic disease. The prime outcome of these series of meetings was a request by the
Montana medical community to educational institutions to standardize the academic preparation and
training of Health Behavior Coaches.
The current template created by Montana’s medical providers in regard to desired training and skills for
Health Behavior Coaches corresponds nearly seamlessly with the curriculum currently offered by the
University of Montana CHPS program. CHPS offers a degree that is a blend of the natural and
social/behavioral sciences and includes training and practicum experiences in health coaching through
Curry Health Center’s Optimal Bear Health Coaching program. In fact, the University of Montana is the
only institution in the state that trains bachelor’s level community health educators in the science of
prevention while providing hands on training in Health Behavior Coaching. Professionals in the health
care community in Montana are looking to the University of Montana to lead the way in standardizing
training for these entry-level prevention specialists. Our program is perfectly situated to do just that by
providing an academically based Health Behavior Coaching certificate for the state of Montana and
beyond.
VI SUBMISSION
Submit the complete Level I proposal to the Provost’s Office for initial review. After all signatures have been
obtained, submit original, and an electronic file to the Faculty Senate Office, UH 221, camie.foos@mso.umt.edu
Level 1 proposals also require Board of Regents approval. The appropriate BOR forms must be
submitted with this form.
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