Healthcare Finance vs Principles of Finance: which one should you take?

Pick by your program. Healthcare Finance and Budgeting (Health 301) is built around healthcare: insurance and reimbursement, coding, costs, the revenue cycle and staffing, and NCCRS recommends it at upper division. Principles of Finance (Finance 201) is general finance, from financial statements to valuation and the CAPM; it carries ACE and NCCRS recommendations at lower division.

Principles of Finance (Finance 201): ACE recommends 3 semester hours in Finance, ACE ID UPIS-0016, and NCCRS recommends 3 as well. Healthcare Finance and Budgeting (Health 301) carries an NCCRS recommendation only: 3 semester hours in Allied Health, Healthcare Management, Introduction to Healthcare, Finance, Hospital Administration or Human Services.

In part. Both syllabi cover financial statements, financial ratios, projected cash flows, forecasting, and capital decisions with risk. Most of each course is different, so ask your college whether it counts both.

Healthcare Finance and Budgeting: NCCRS recommends 3 semester hours, upper division, in Allied Health among other subjects. Principles of Finance: NCCRS recommends 3 semester hours, lower division, in Finance among other subjects; ACE recommends 3 (ACE ID UPIS-0016).

Healthcare Finance and Budgeting: Allied Health, Healthcare Management, Introduction to Healthcare, Finance, Hospital Administration, or Human Services. Principles of Finance: Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, Marketing, Management, or Economics. Your college decides which requirement each one fills.

Principles of Finance is longer by its syllabus. Healthcare Finance and Budgeting: 16 chapters and 57.5 instructional hours. Principles of Finance: 15 chapters and 65 instructional hours. Both are self-paced, so you finish as fast or as slow as you want.

Neither syllabus lists a prerequisite, so you can start with any of them.

Healthcare Finance and Budgeting: 100 multiple-choice questions, 25% of the grade. Principles of Finance: 100 multiple-choice questions, 50% of the grade.

Healthcare Finance and Budgeting: Harrison, Carlene, William P. Harrison, and Carol Taylor. Introduction to Health Care Finance and Accounting. 2nd ed., Cengage Learning, 2024. ISBN 9780357622049 (optional), with other references. Principles of Finance: Dahlquist, Julie, et al. Principles of Finance. OpenStax, 2022, with other references.

Financial Management. In the “Economics and finance” order on the Business courses page, it follows Principles of Finance. Your program may set its own order.

UPI Study sends it for you. Once Healthcare Finance and Budgeting shows 100% complete, pay the $20 transcript on your Student Dashboard (www.upistudy.com/enrollments, "Get your transcript"); the dashboard then takes you straight to the transcript request, where you enter your college's address, and UPI Study emails it to them. Check spam for the confirmation email.

Its NCCRS recommendation runs five years; UPI Study renews listings as they end, and credit you have earned stays valid for 10 years.

ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities. Search your school in Find My College and ask your registrar which courses Health 301 and Finance 201 would count as. It helps to name the subject: NCCRS recommends Healthcare Finance and Budgeting in Allied Health and Principles of Finance in Finance.