Mike Fisher doesn’t like to use the word “students.”

When referring to the people who populate his classes at Regis University, he prefers the word “peers” – and that’s exactly what they are.

Fisher is a professor and lead faculty member for the Health Systems Management and Health Industry Leadership Master of Business Administration programs at Regis University. The students in these programs range from 20-something young professionals to 60-something businessmen looking for a career change. Most have years of experience in the health care industry.

Each of those students brings a perspective to the classroom that makes discussions lively and interesting.

“That is really what I like about teaching here – I’m not really teaching,” Fisher says. “I’m facilitating. I’m directing. I’m making certain that the objectives are met.”

The MBA program at Regis offers a number of other specializations as well, including finance and accounting, management, marketing, operations management and strategic management. The health systems management and health industry leadership programs are aimed at students taking leadership positions related to the health care industry.

The health industry leadership MBA is grounded in business, Fisher says, and is attractive to just about anyone who deals with health care.

“It could be an engineer, an IT person, a marketing person, bankers, regulatory people, pharmaceutical folks – it could be on and on and on,” Fisher says. “It’s anyone that interacts with this $3 trillion health care sector that we have in this country.”

The health systems management MBA is aimed more at those nurse managers and department directors who need a business education with clinical overtones.

“There’s There are certain hospitals and hospital systems around that prefer to have nurse managers and department directors with an MBA, but to have an MBA with a clinical feel to it,” Fisher says.

As mentioned earlier, mostAll of the students in the health care MBA programs at Regis – and many all of the students in the College for Professional Studies as a whole – are working busy adults who benefit greatly from the flexible class schedules the university offers.

The MBA program consists of 12 courses, six of which are core courses that can be taken online or at any of the school’s campuses. The other six courses are specialized, and all of the health care courses are offered online and in classrooms on the Denver campus. The school is beginning to offer its health care courses at the Colorado Springs campus as well.

For those who choose to attend classes on campus, the school has structured the classes to be work-friendly. Classes meet just one night per week, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Fisher says the school is also experimenting with blended classes in which students attend a few of the classes on campus and the rest online.

While it follows a normal schedule, with classes in the spring, summer and fall semesters, each semester is divided into an eight-week session. Students at the graduate level are considered full-time when they take two classes per semester, which translates to one class per sessionterm. Students can enroll at the start of any sessionterm.

“You’re never more than eight weeks away from either starting up again, or starting (your education),” Fisher says.

Like every department at Regis University, the College for Professional Studies has a strong grounding in the school’s Jesuit Catholic tradition. That doesn’t mean the professors will lecture about religion; it means they infuse a strong sense of morality and social responsibility into the curriculum.

“We certainly, in the MBA, look at the bottom line,” Fisher says. “But we also look at the consequences of that bottom line.”

The faculty in the MBA program, as a rule, have strong professional backgrounds. Many, including Fisher, continue to consult in their fields outside of the classroom, which enhances their ability to effectively teach.

“Talk about a larceny,” Fisher says. “I take from what I learn at Regis and I apply it to what I do on the outside. I take what I do on the outside and bring it back to Regis.”

In the health care industry in particular, the ability to stay current is critical.

“It would be very difficult for us to be legitimate presenters in the classroom and not be out there where the rubber hits the road every day, because it is just changing so fast,” Fisher says.

Regis University also offers tutoring, advising, lifetime career services, math help, writing help and more. Financial aid is available, and active-duty military members and their spouses are eligible for preferred tuition rates.

The Colorado Springs campus of Regis University is located off Interstate 25 at 7450 Campus Drive, Suite 100. For more information about Regis University College for Professional Studies and its programs, visit CPS.regis.edu/SCIS or call 800-419-8308.