School of Public Health, Director of Master of Health Administration (MHA)
France Weaver, PhD
"To succeed in my classes, students must be curious, eager to learn, and get their ‘hands dirty’ by practicing the concepts and utilizing their skills."
France Weaver decided to study Health Economics because it allows her to combine her two interests: the rigor of the field of economics and figuring out the complexity of human behaviors.
"The field of health services administration offers me the opportunity to do research in health economics and transfer my expertise to and mentor future health administrators," she says.
In her classes, she makes sure her students embrace the subject matter and she helps them take ownership of their learning.
"I am a strong believer in students sharing their understanding and building each other up," she says. "I make sure they stay on the right track and learn all that they need to learn, while encouraging them to work together and learn from each other."
France does not see much difference between teaching on campus versus online.
"In both modes, I emphasize the importance of developing skills through applications. I supply diverse avenues to learn and apply the materials, because some students are visual, while others are auditory, hands-on, or reading/writing learners," she says.
Her classes include hands-on activities, guest speakers, videos, exercises, real-world case analyses, articles, and slides.
"To succeed in my classes, students must be curious, eager to learn, and get their ‘hands dirty’ by practicing the concepts and utilizing their skills," she says.
What technology do you use in the classroom?
"Our online courses are provided through the course management platform SOLE. It is easy for the students to navigate and use. In addition to the standard texts, emails, and discussion boards, the students and I use Zoom, Teams, Google Drive, YouTube, Canva, and/or ChatGPT, among others."
"I make sure to rely on the same tools that health organizations use, to best prepare my students for their next step after graduation."
How would you describe your teaching style?
"My teaching style is highly engaging."
How do you mentor students?
"Mentoring is what I value the most as a faculty. I personally benefited, and I am still benefiting, from the support of outstanding mentors and I know that mentoring is key to students’ development and success."
What is the difference between online teaching vs on-campus?
"I see one concrete difference between on-campus and online teaching. When teaching asynchronously online, I do not see students’ reactions when they work on the materials. It is therefore crucial to encourage students to interact with me and their peers, by asking questions, sharing their understanding, and providing feedback."
What is the key to student success in your classes?
"Every week, I provide a structure list of activities students must complete. If they go through those activities, engage with me and their peers, and ask questions, they have no difficulty being successful in my classes."
Inside WVU
France became Director of the Master of Health Administration (MHA) program and Associate Professor of Health Policy, Management, and Leadership at the WVU School of Public Health in 2022.
Outside WVU
Her scholarship focuses on the determinants of the demand for health services, with a particular interest in the impact of aging on these services.
She holds a M.S. in economics from University of Lausanne in Switzerland and a PhD in health policy and administration, with a concentration in Health Economics, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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