Wellstar College of Health and Human Services

The WellStar College of Health and Human Services is a dynamic academic unit that consists of the Department of Human Services, the Department of Health, Physical Education and Sport Science, and the School of Nursing. Additionally, the college includes the campus-wide Wellness Center, Student Health Clinic, Center for Health Services, and Center for Community Partnerships and the Center for Global Women’s Leadership and Sport Development.

The WellStar College Office of Research actively pursues the development of faculty scholarship and grants. This initiative was designed to develop a comprehensive approach to the interrelated academic roles of teaching, scholarship, and service.

Accreditations

All nursing degree programs and the teacher education program in this college are nationally accredited. In addition, the nursing programs are state-approved and the teacher education program is nationally recognized and has state approval for P-12 teacher certification in Georgia.

Members of each of the college units are actively engaged in the pursuit of excellence in undergraduate and graduate education.

The Human Services Department offers an undergraduate degree in Human Services and, in association with the national American Humanics Program, offers a certificate in nonprofit leadership. A master’s degree in clinical social work is now available to interested, qualified students. Faculty members in human services are taking leadership roles in community partnerships, with more than 100 agencies being affiliated with the Center for Community Partnerships. Several of these agencies are housed with the center on the Kennesaw State University campus. This partnership provides a unique model for service learning and research/evaluation initiatives.

The Department of Health, Physical Education and Sport Science offers degrees in three areas: health promotion; teacher education; and sport science.

The B.S. in Health & Physical Education has secured the following national accreditations and state approvals:

fully accredited by NCATE, National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education
fully approved by Georgia’s Professional Standards Commission for P-12 teacher certification
nationally recognized by AAHPERD, the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance
nationally recognized by NASPE, the National Association for Sport & Physical Education.

The department’s faculty expands knowledge in several areas, such as recognizing and stressing the benefits of exercise in older adults. Additionally, the department offers the Physical and Leisure Activities for Youth (PLAY) Program that provides social and physical experiences for disabled children and the Seniors Participating in Activities Related to Health at Kennesaw State (SPARHKS) Program that provides outreach to older adults. It also manages an aquatics program that offers outreach to the community. Faculty has developed a close working relationship with colleagues at the University of Catarina, located in Floriannolopis, Brazil. This collaboration helps in supporting the international underpinning of the college, resulting in student and faculty exchanges, as well as international scholarship opportunities for both universities.

The WellStar School of Nursing offers both undergraduate and graduate programs in nursing that are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) and are also fully approved by the Georgia Board of Nursing.

The school is one of the largest and most well respected programs in the Southeast, with consistently high passing rates on the RN licensing examination and nurse practitioner certification examinations. The School of Nursing programs include a generic BSN program, an accelerated BSN program for individuals holding other degrees, and a MSN program in care management and leadership. The school offers an international experience for students that provides the opportunity to work in hospitals and clinics in Oaxaca, Mexico. Additionally, the School of Nursing has responsibility for the Center for Community Health Services, operating three clinics and serving more than 2,500 at-risk persons annually. These clinics have increasingly served the working poor and recent immigrants to the U.S. Through the efforts of the school’s faculty, and the Office of Research, the college was awarded a $200,000 grant from the Georgia Health Care Foundation to develop a culturally specific response to the management of diabetes in the growing Hispanic/Latino community in the state. School of Nursing faculty is actively researching areas such as end-of-life issues, ethics, and barriers to prenatal care for immigrants and health disparities.

Academic Departments

The WellStar College of Health and Human Services houses three academic departments:

The Department of Health, Physical Education and Sport Science
The Department of Human Services
The WellStar School of Nursing

In addition to the academic departments the WellStar College of Health and Human Services, provides service to the students, faculty and staff through support of:

University Health Clinic
The Center for Health Promotion and Wellness
Employee Fitness Center

Minors

Coaching
Professional Practice with Hispanic Populations

* See section on Minors for policy on and additional information regarding minors.

Programs of Study

The WellStar College of Health and Human Services offers the following undergraduate degrees:

Bachelor of Science in Exercise and Health Science
Bachelor of Science in Health and Physical Education P-12 (with PTEU)
Bachelor of Science in Human Services
Bachelor of Science in Nursing