Academic Achievement Award

In Memory of Zetra Kennedy, Linda Culp and Betty Payne

The Academic Achievement Award is designed to provide scholarships to students who achieved academic excellence and demonstrate the potential to be future leaders in Health Information Management and Health Informatics.  The Academic Achievement Award provides financial assistance to qualified WVHIMA members and students in HIM programs who wish to take any of the examinations offered by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA). These examinations can be found on their website: http://www.ahima.org/certification. 

Other credentialing examinations may also be considered if funding is available, and they align with the mission and vision of AHIMA and WVHIMA. The number of awards given each year will be determined by the WVHIMA board based on the organization’s financial situation for that year. Individuals are limited to one award per association year (July 1st to June 30th).

Academic Achievement Award Criteria

The qualifications for recipients of the Academic Achievement Award(s) will be determined by the WVHIMA Board of Directors based on recommendations from the Academic Achievement and Professional Development Committee. For academic applicants to be considered valid, they must provide proof of an overall program GPA of 3.2 or higher.

There are no specific eligibility requirements or prior education needed to apply for a Microcredential. If you are competent in the subject, you may sit for the assessment.

Procedure for Selecting an Award Winner

1. Applicants must be WVHIMA members in good standing to receive examination member pricing. They must complete an online application form on the WVHIMA website at least 45 days prior to the Annual Convention meeting. Applications should be submitted online at WVHIMA.org. 
2. Applications will be scored based on the completed application for each of the four core competencies for consideration with a maximum score of twenty (20):
   1. Professional Goals (4 points)
   2. Accomplishments (4 points)
   3. Volunteer and Service to HIM Profession (4 points)
   4. Leadership (4 points)
   5. Final Comments (4 points) 
3. The applicant(s) with the highest scoring out of twenty (20) total points awarded will be considered to receive a prepaid certification examination fee to assist them in sitting for the exam of their choice:
   1. Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT)
   2. Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA)
   3. Certified Coding Associate (CCA)
   4. Certified Coding Specialist (CCS)
   5. Certified Coding Specialist Physician Based (CCS-P)
   6. Certified Documentation Integrity Practitioner (CDIP)
   7. Certified Health Data Analyst (CHDA)
   8. Certified in Healthcare Privacy and Security (CHPS)
   9. Auditing: Inpatient Coding Microcredential
   10. Auditing: Outpatient Coding Microcredential
   11. Health Data Literacy Microcredential
   12. Outpatient Clinical Documentation Integrity (CDI) Microcredential
   13. Patient Identification & Matching Microcredential
   14. Release of Information (ROI) Microcredential
   15. Risk Adjustment Coding (RAC) Microcredential 
4. WVHIMA will cover the cost of the awarded member rate for the exam of choice fee (as listed on www.ahima.org/certification, not to exceed $300). This amount may be adjusted annually based on AHIMA’s fee to take the exam. 
5. Each recipient will receive notification of the award prior to the announcement on the website. Award recipients will be asked to submit a biography, photo, and statement about why the credential examination is important to them for posting on the WVHIMA website. 
6. The award recipients will be asked to email their completed examination application and related documents to the Treasurer. 
7. The Treasurer will process their applications and prepaid examination fee within ten (10) business days of receipt of the examination application and documents. 
8. The deadline to sit for the exam will be deferred to the criteria on www.ahima.org/certification.

Up to three awards may be awarded each year. The number of awards for that year will be determined by the WVHIMA board based on the financial situation of the organization for that year.

Qualifications of the recipient(s) of such award(s) will be determined by academic achievement.