Outstanding Program Award—Credit

University of Massachusetts Boston

Management of Aging Services Track, Master of Science in Gerontology

The aging of the American population is creating a need for expanded services and for workers trained in managing those services. A new track of UMass Boston’s M.S. degree in Gerontology responds to this need, offering students an advanced degree in the growing field of aging services (which include long-term care, service supported housing, communitybased services, marketing to an aging population, and health services for those requiring chronic care). The program—designed primarily for mid-career professionals in the aging field but also appropriate for those new to the field—was launched in 2004; 21 students have now received their M.S. in Gerontology following the Management of Aging Services (MAS) track.

In recent years, the number of assisted living facilities and senior housing developments has skyrocketed, private geriatric case management has increased, and private companies are looking for individuals with expertise at reaching senior consumers. Adult day care and senior centers are expanding. But traditionally, administrators and managers of aging services agencies have not been specifically trained for these positions, instead holding, for example, MBAs or degrees in social work. The MAS program was created to correct this deficiency. “The concept of this program—to specifically train individuals to assume management positions in agencies that deliver services to elders—is highly innovative,” says Maggie Dionne, Director of Housing and Supportive Services for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs.

In 2003, the leaders of UMass Boston’s Gerontology program approached the Division of Corporate, Continuing and Distance Education (CCDE) about developing the track in the M.S. program. CCDE hired Massachusetts’ former Secretary of Elder Affairs Lillian Glickman, and Assistant Secretary of Elder Affairs Ellen Birchander, to co-direct the program and develop the curriculum with gerontology faculty of the McCormack Graduate School. Topics including service delivery issues, chronic disease management, financing, marketing, and human resources were developed into courses that complemented existing courses in the M.S. curriculum. The first full cohort of seven students began taking courses in the fall of 2004; the program now serves 48 matriculated students and generates 176 enrollments annually.

Approximately 80 percent of the coursework in the program is offered online, and the program draws upon the technical resources of UMassOnline as well as campus-based resources in I.T., instructional design, video production, and interactive conferencing. Instruction is delivered by full-time University faculty, the co-directors of the program, and qualified professionals in the field. The McCormack School and the Department of Gerontology provide academic oversight, while CCDE provides marketing, purchasing and payroll, scheduling, registration and record keeping. The curriculum is organized so that students can complete the 30-credit program in a two-year time period.