At Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield (ABCBS) in Little Rock, Natalie Cypert Roberts is known as a full-time registered nurse case manager. After work at her home in Conway, she is called mom by two sweet pre-school boys. But at the University of Arkansas’ Graduate School of Business in Fayetteville, Natalie is considered a Master of Healthcare Business Analytics student when she walks into class at the Sam M. Walton College of Business.
As an ABCBS employee, Roberts receives their in-house publication Blueprint magazine, which highlighted a new graduate degree focusing on business analytics in the healthcare industry in the Winter 2023 issue.
“I stumbled across the article talking about the new partnership between BCBS and the U of A. I was thrilled,” said Roberts. “I've always wanted to get my graduate degree but didn't really have as much interest in traditional graduate programs in nursing (nurse practitioner, educator, nursing admin) as I did in pursuing a business degree of some sort. When I saw it, and read about it, I knew it was the perfect fit for me. I started the application process almost immediately.”
On the road from Little Rock to Fayetteville, Roberts smoothly changes her focus from medical case management to business analytics. After all, both subjects focus on creating a more efficient and effective environment in the medical field.
Designed for working professionals like Roberts, the graduate program is delivered in a part-time format, requiring 30 credit hours over a two-year period. Classes are conducted in a flexible, blended format – both face-to-face and online – requiring approximately one Saturday per month on campus.
Roberts has years of nursing experience and is ready to advance her career with a business degree. For her, the degree is the perfect blend of her current work and future endeavors.
“The MHCBA (Master of Healthcare Business Analytics) program is going to benefit my career because it is going to give me the opportunity to marry my medical knowledge with the business analytics knowledge that I'm gaining in the program. I'm going to be able to take that and specialize in healthcare analytics to drive better patient and business outcomes in medicine. I've been a nurse for 14 years, and my whole career has been dedicated to helping people have good outcomes when it come to their health. This degree is going to allow me to change my trajectory a bit and be at the forefront of this emerging field of data analytics in healthcare, all the while still focusing on good outcomes for the patient and the business.”
Professor Susan Bristow, associate director of graduate programs for the Department of Information Systems, agrees with Roberts about the value of the program.
“The Master of Healthcare Business Analytics program provides value to a multitude of healthcare-related businesses such as hospital systems, providers, clinics, pharmaceuticals, retailers and much more,” said Bristow. “The program addresses the industry’s desired skill to capture, manage and interpret complex and vast data to make informed business decisions related to the business of healthcare.”
For Roberts, the program immediately jumped into analytical programs using real world data. It teaches students how to analyze data, recognize solutions and create solid business decisions.
“I've learned so much in this program. The first semester started out with classes geared towards programming knowledge with python and SQL to query and extract needed information from a database based on the business situation or business question being asked. We've used PowerBI and Tableau to create interactive visualizations of what we find in the data as well. I've also had the opportunity to dive into the statistical knowledge and techniques in SAS and SAS EM. We've used a lot of modeling for predictive analytics.”
“This (Spring ’24) semester, we are working on some real-world housing data projects to try and predict where housing prices will go using predictive modeling techniques. I've learned how to create and load relational databases, query them with SQL and how to create a star schema database and load with ETL. There is the study abroad opportunity in Ireland coming as well in the first summer term with our ERP course. I'll have international business knowledge to add to my resume. The beauty of this program is the amount of exposure you get to the software used in real-world job markets. When applying after graduation, I'm going to have extensive experience with python, SQL, PowerBI, Tableau, SAS, SAS EM and that knowledge is very valuable to prospective employers. The program sets you up for success.”
And while it is clear what drew her to the degree, the Walton College reputation drew her to campus.
“For me, it's such an honor to be a graduate student at Walton. So many great business leaders have come out of this program and this university. The program has an outstanding reputation in the professional world, and I think that's really going to pay dividends when it comes time to find a job in healthcare analytics. Also, I'm a HUGE razorback fan. I've been so passionate about the hogs since I was a young child so to be able to be Arkansas alum is going to be an absolute joy for me.”
“WPS and Go Hogs!”
Since 2013, Lori McLemore has served as the marketing and communications officer for
the Sam M. Walton College of Business. In this role, she writes press releases and
features articles to promote the work of students, faculty and staff. 
