Health Information Management FAQs

The HIM BAS Courses are offered 100% online.

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Qualified candidates will be admitted on space available basis. Typically, there are more applicants to the BAS program than there are available positions. Therefore, students are not guaranteed admission based solely on their completed application. Candidates will be considered based on several factors, including:

• advanced healthcare credentials (such as RHIT, CCS, RN, CPC, RRT, etc.)
• coursework completed in college level STEM classes
• college level GPA
• military status
• coursework completed in leadership, management, human relations, and communications
• work or volunteer experience in healthcare.

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Yes. Full or part-time enrollment options are available.

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Full-time students (students taking at least 10 credits in 300-400 level courses per quarter) will complete the degree in two years (six quarters). HIM courses are not offered during summer quarter. Completion for part-time students varies depending on how many credits they take each quarter. Degrees must be completed within 5 years.

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Yes. An RHIT credential is helpful, but is not required for admission to the program.

As long as you have an Associate Degree or equivalent credits you may apply for the program. If your Associate Degree did not include coursework in Healthcare Statistics, Data Analytics, Data Quality and Performance Improvement, Revenue Cycle and Medical Coding, you will need to take an individual study or courses in the HIT Associate Degree program (arrangements made through HIM Advisor). Included in, or in addition to, your Associate degree you need to have completed 5 credits of English Composition and 5 credits of Human Anatomy and Physiology.

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Yes. An RHIT credential is helpful, but is not required for admission to the program.

As long as you have an Associate Degree or equivalent credits you may apply for the program. If your Associate degree did not include coursework in Healthcare Statistics, Data Analytics, Data Quality and Performance Improvement, Revenue Cycle and Medical Coding, you will need to take an individual study or courses in the HIT Associate Degree program (arrangements made through HIM Advisor). Included in, or in addition to, your Associate degree you need to have completed 5 credits of English Composition and 5 credits of Human Anatomy and Physiology.

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Yes. An RHIT credential is helpful, but is not required for admission to the program.

As long as you have an Associate Degree, or equivalent credits you may apply for the program. If your Associate degree did not include coursework in Healthcare Statistics, Data Analytics, Data Quality and Performance Improvement, Revenue Cycle and Medical Coding, you will need to take an individual study or courses in the HIT Associate Degree program (arrangements made through HIM Advisor). Included in, or in addition to, your Associate degree you need to have completed 5 credits of English Composition and 5 credits of Human Anatomy and Physiology.

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It depends. If you already took the specific courses that are recommended, then you will not need to retake them. However if the courses you took were different, then you would need to take the recommended courses. Review specific course requirements on the college catalog.

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Most likely. These courses fulfill requirements for the entry level competencies for Baccalaureate students as specified by the American Health Information Management Association. If you took 300-400 level courses similar to those listed, please send the course outcomes to the program chair for review.

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Unfortunately, we are not able to honor the State Tuition Waiver for BAS programs.

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Yes. Students who attend credit courses at Tacoma Community College are eligible to apply for TCC Foundation Scholarships. This includes students who are pursing Bachelor of Applied Science degrees. Application requirements are on the TCC Foundation webpage. Find more information on financial aid by visiting TCC's Types of Aid webpage. 

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You will take a capstone class with a culminating project as well as a professional practice experience. Your professional practice experience will be tailored to your current situation and may include special projects.

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There are no 300-400 level courses offered in the summer at this time. You may use the summer quarter to catch up on any 100-200 level distribution courses that you may need.

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No. The application only requires an unofficial transcript. You do not have to submit your official transcript until you have been accepted into the HIM BAS program.

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Yes. But please note, the HIM BAS is designed to build on your professional experience. The courses are competency-based, which means the more job experience you have in the field, the better you will perform on the required projects for the degree. For this reason, applications are weighted with extra points for related work experience.

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Yes. The Health Information Management (HIM) program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management (CAHIIM).

Graduates are eligible to sit for the Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA) national accreditation examination.

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Yes. The Health Information Management (HIM) program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management (CAHIIM).

Graduates are eligible to sit for the Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA) national accreditation examination.

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Email bachelordegrees@tacomacc.edu

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Yes. After graduating with an associate degree, students continue to be eligible for financial aid and should continue to file a FAFSA. You can still be considered for a Pell Grant, as long as you meet all other criteria. After graduating with your first bachelor's degree, you are no longer eligible for a Pell Grant.

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No. As you prepare for potential acceptance into a BAS program you should complete your FAFSA application and submit all required documentation to the Financial Aid Office.

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Maybe. If you otherwise meet the requirements and are accepted into a BAS program than yes, you can finish up the required classes for an Associate Degree and take required classes for the BAS program at the same time.

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As soon as possible. You should submit your FAFSA as soon as you know you want to attend/apply at TCC. The FAFSA is available to complete October 1st of the year before you will be attending college and every October for subsequent years.

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Yes. Depending on which quarter you will start there is a deadline date to have a completed financial aid file.

Please check the upcoming File Completion Dates/Deadlines.

* After the priority deadline, some funds are limited and based on availability only

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It Depends. Registered student’s files are reviewed and awarded in order of file completion date. Make sure to check your TCC student email regularly for any updates or correspondence from the Financial Aid Advisor reviewing your file.

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Email. You will receive an award notification in your TCC student email. You will also be able to view/accept your awards on your ctcLink Student Homepage. Click on the Financial Aid tile then click on the year you wish to view.

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Disbursed through BankMobile. We have partnered with BankMobile to deliver your financial aid refund. Financial Aid funds are usually disbursed 3 business days before each quarter begins. Any outstanding tuition and fees are paid first and any remaining money is disbursed to you through your BankMobile preference. Learn more about BankMobile..

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12 credits. Full-time status for Financial Aid is always 12 or more credits.

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How the interest is paid. The federal government pays the interest for Direct Subsidized Loans while the student is in college or while the loan is in deferment. Interest begins accruing for Direct Unsubsidized Loans as soon as the loan is taken out.

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Contact your loan servicer. The following are loan servicers for loans that the U.S Department of Education (ED) owns. To find out who your loan servicer is, call the Federal Student Aid Information Center (FSAIC) at 1-800-433-3243.

Loan Servicer Contact

CornerStone 1-800-663-1662
FedLoan Servicing (PHEAA) 1-800-699-2908
Granite State – GSMR 1-888-556-0022
Great Lakes Educational Loan Services, Inc. 1-800-236-4300
HESC/Edfinancial 1-855-337-6884
MOHELA 1-888-866-4352
Navient 1-800-722-1300
Nelnet 1-888-486-4722
OSLA Servicing 1-866-264-9762
ECSI 1-866-313-3797
Default Resolution Group (also known as Maximus Federal Services, Inc.) 1-800-621-3115 (TTY: 1-877-825-9923 for the deaf or hard of hearing)

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