Associate of Applied Science (AAS) in Emergency Management Degree, Fall 2015, my AAR

[Life Long Learning]

Associate of Applied Science (AAS) in Emergency Management Degree
After Action Report (AAR)
Non-traditional Adult Student, Fall 2015

•Associate of Applied Science (AAS) in Emergency Management Degree, 2015
Clackamas Community College (CCC), Oregon City, Oregon

Definition of CLACKAMAS: Indian people of the Clackamas river valley of northwestern Oregon.
-----------Merriam Webster Dictionary

There is over 300+ Emergency Management (EM) and Homeland Security (HLS) degrees these days. There is no U.S. National standard. The real U.S. National emergency management doctrine and emergency management principles really comes from places like the National Emergency Training Center (NETC); Emergency Management Institute (EMI), National Fire Academy (NFA), and the Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP) etc., and not from colleges or universities.
https://training.fema.gov/hiedu/collegelist/
Emergency Management Degree Programs

I wanted a degree that uses current U.S. National doctrine (Emergency Management Framework, The National Incident Management System (NIMS), Incident Command System (ICS), etc., and not some academic interpretation. If I could use emergency management courses that I have completed from the Federal Government, State Emergency Management, and to a lesser extent the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium (NDPC), as that would be huge. I looked into every Emergency Management (EM) and Homeland Security (HLS) degree that I could find online. I wish FEMA/EMI would start their own college like the USAF did in 1972 (CCAF), but that does not exist.

My personal conclusion was that the Clackamas Community College Associate of Applied Science (AAS) in Emergency Management was the best fit for a first emergency management degree for an adult non-tradition working student. I had past experience, but this would update my emergency management and homeland security knowledge to current standards. It was also the least expensive and most practical for a full-time professional in an allied field. Emergency management is my collateral duty.

The Emergency Management Institute (EMI) developed the prototype curriculum for associate degrees, but these do not currently exist.
https://training.fema.gov/hiedu/highnews.aspx

I do have a bias towards emergency management and not towards homeland security degrees. I have other reasons for my preference for emergency management, but this online article has a few more.

Dueling Degrees: Emergency Management vs. Homeland Security
Dueling Degrees: Emergency Management vs. Homeland Security

Completing FEMA EMI Independent Study (IS) FREE courses and using them for Clackamas college credit at $40 per course (1-3 credits = same price) is a true bargain in the World of overpriced education. Most EM courses are 1 credit at CCC. FEMA courses meet CCC residency requirements at Clackamas and this is huge!

The Clackamas Emergency Management Associate of Applied Science Degree was approved by the Oregon Department of Education on 4/23/99. Partnerships have been formed with Oregon, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, and the United States Coast Guard.

Lifelong learning the second time around about 30-years later and starting with Clackamas has been great overall. I wish Clackamas was my local community college so I could take real brick & mortar (B&M) classes when I really retire if I ever do. The CCC (six course) Wilderness Survival Certificate just flat out looks cool. Some of my Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) professors I found to be academically fascinating. I would love to meet a few like Dr. Robert W. Keeler one day.

Having taken classes at other colleges the “myClackamas” student login website is the best (easy and simple to use) of the five colleges websites that I have experience in and access to.

When substitutions or waivers were asked for at Clackamas I did not receive everything I asked for (I am not shy), but I did receive many common sense substitutions. There is some intellectual flexibility in this degree in a few small items. The key is to communicate with the Clackamas folks below and have a fair and honest proposal.

My first waiver request was when FEMA discontinued two Independent Study (IS) courses and CCC still allowed me to submit 3 of the 4 required IS courses each for EM 201 and EM 204.
EM-201 (IS-704 was discontinued).
EM-204 (IS-552 was discontinued).

•EM-109 Public Information Officer (3-4 credits). I transferred in COMM-111 (Speech) from my younger days (1983) at first and it was accepted as transfer credit (*TE). This does not show up on my official CCC transcript nor is transferable. I then requested that a different resident EMI Public Information Officer (PIO) course as a substitute that I had completed. This was not required by CCC, but was granted by the OEM advisor. I was then able to pay officially CCC for EM-109, so I could add an additional EM course on my official CCC transcript. This was not needed, but I am happy that I did.

•EM-112 EM Skillbuilder (2 credits). This is a State EM Conference (3 or 4 days), but I was allowed (substitute) to attend The International Emergency Management Society - TIEMS 2015

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USA Conference. I joined both to learn. I will give up TIEMS as it was great exposure, but at the 90,000 foot level. I will stay a member of my State emergency management association.

•EM-280 Emergency Management/CWE (6 credits). Volunteer 180+ hours in emergency management. This is a great way to make connections. I was able to strike a substitution to write an Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) for my public health employer. This was more time consuming (I put in more than 240+ hours) than I ever envisioned (175-pages), but it was a great learning experience. I know full time emergency managers who have not done this. I was a plans officer in the Army and this is a very similar skill set.

•EM-111 CERT - Field (3 credits) The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). I attended with my local city. CERT training is FREE. My local CERT basic course was 30 hours. Having three combat tours I dreaded having to attend, but quickly I learned a few things and I had fun. Over 2,200 CERTs in the USA.
Citizen Corps - Search CERT Programs By Zip Code
A great bonus is that by being CERT qualified it opens up new doors of future FEMA/DHS funded FREE training.

•EM-146 ICS: Applications/Management (3 Credits) is really ICS-300 and ICS-400 resident courses. This was not required in the 2015 degree plan, but I need one credit. These two courses are FREE. Check online on your State Emergency Management training calendar. This is basically a modern civilianized Prussian military staff system. For a military staff it’s really basically the same thing rebranded to a civilian all-hazard approach.

Over 46 students have graduated in the last 10 years. My four point of contacts (POC) for the Clackamas AAS-EM degree were the below. All four were 100% professional. The Emergency Management Department Head Yvonne Smith is a very busy person (she has many departments under her and emergency management is just one of them), but she or Lizz Norrander her assistant always got back to me by email. Lizz became my main POC. Yvonne second. Jodi Stapleton (CCC advisor) helped a few times and so did Kelly Jo Craigmiles (EM technical advisor from OEM). Clackamas is planning to hire a new full-time faculty that has experience in EM to take over the lead on this program.

Yvonne Smith, Department Chairman
Public Services Department
Criminal Justice/Emergency Management
(503) 594-3207
yvonnes@clackamas.edu
Clackamas Community College :: Human Services : Emergency Management

Lizz Norrander, Administrative Assistant/Emergency Management
503-594-3203
lizzn@clackamas.edu
Clackamas Community College :: Human Services : Contact Us

Jodi Stapleton, Academic Advisor, CCC Career Technical Programs
jodis@clackamas.edu
Jodi Stapleton
Clackamas Community College
(503) 594-3857

Kelly Jo Craigmiles, State (OEM) Advisor to EM Program
Oregon Emergency Management (OEM)
Exercise Training Officer
503-378-2911 Ext. 22246
Kelly.Jo.Craigmiles@state.or.us

I found one huge benefit of enrolling with Clackamas that I did not know of when I enrolled as a seasoned (aka older) non-traditional adult into the AAS-EM degree program. The Clackamas Community College “Credit for Prior Learning (CPL)” is a great deal at $10 per credit. If you are middle-aged (I am retired Army) and have experience in other college subjects apply for CPL. The worse they can say is no. I did and found 85% of the CCC professors were open to it when I applied. The requirement does vary based on you proving this “learning.” I have found some great professors at Clackamas that are truly helpful for older non-traditional adults. I found the science department not so progressive, but that was the exception. Most CPL are pass/no-pass, but a few courses I received real letter grades. The credits showed up on my official transcript like this:

HE-252 First Aid/CPR/AED (CPL) 3.00 A
FRP-243 Survivor I: Maps, Compass, GPS (CPL) 2.00 A
HUM-241 American Military Conflict: Global War (CPL) 4.00 P
PE-294A Philosophy of Coaching (CPL) 2.00 A
WR-227 Technical Report Writing (CPL) 4.00 P

A benefit of enrolling into a college emergency management degree program is that this profession has its own professional honor society. I applied as an outsider and was granted membership into the Epsilon Pi Phi (EPP) Emergency Management Honor Society (ΕΠΦ with a 4.00 gpa (3.5 gpa needed).

The Epsilon Pi Phi folks were great to work with and do not discriminate against AAS degrees like many National Honor Societies. They did know of the Clackamas CC AAS-EM degree program. Dorothy L. Miller, CEMÂ, MEP, Director, Epsilon Pi Phi National Honor Society was great! She was a great help overall.
Epsilon Pi Phi

After being an Epsilon Pi Phi member for one college term, I applied for the Epsilon Pi Phi (EPP) Silver Level Achievement. The Clackamas Community College curriculum 100% totally set me up to achieve this next level.

Clackamas Community College at this time does not list the Epsilon Pi Phi Emergency Management National Honor Society on a CCC transcript! Maybe one day?

Date: Mon, 30 Mar 2015
Subject: Additional recognition on transcript.
An email was forwarded to me from you inquiring about having your "Epsilon Pi Phi" honors listed on your transcript. Unfortunately we are unable to list additional honors/recognitions on our transcript. Right now the only recognitions that we place onto a Clackamas Community College transcript is PTK or President's/Honor roll.
Chris Sweet, CCC Registrar/Enrollment Services Operations Manager

[Life Long Learning]

Degree Results!

•Associate of Applied Science (AAS) Emergency Management Degree (Fall 2015)
Clackamas Community College, Oregon City, Oregon

•FEMA Emergency Management Institute (EMI) Transcript, 1/1/2015 to Present
79 FEMA Certificates, 39.0 IACET CEUs (390 Hours).
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), EMI, Emmitsburg, Maryland

•Epsilon Pi Phi (EPP) Emergency Management Honor Society, ΕΠΦ, 2015
Clackamas Community College, Oregon City, Oregon

•Epsilon Pi Phi (EPP) Silver Level Achievement, 7/30/2015
Epsilon Pi Phi (EPP) Emergency Management Honor Society, Richardson, TX

•Emergency Management Intern: 220 Hours, 30 March to 13 June 2015
Wrote 175-page Emergency Operations Plan (EOP).
Emergency Management Agency, YourTown, YourState, USA

•Certified CERT Volunteer, 30-Hour Basis Course, 1/7/2015 to Present
Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), YourTown, YourState, USA

•TIEMS 2015 USA Conference, 3 Days/24 Hours, June 23 - 25, 2015
The International Emergency Management Society (TIEMS)
Portland State University, Portland, Oregon, USA

•Professional Development Series (PDS) Certificate, 1 October 2015
Courses (7), 3.8 IACET CEUs (38 Hours)
Emergency Management Institute (EMI), Emmitsburg, MD

•Level 1 - Professional Continuity Practitioner Certificate, 1 Oct 2015
15 Courses, 65.25 Hours, (6.5 CEUs)
FEMA National Continuity Programs Directorate (NCP), Washington, DC

•Basic Applied Practices Series (BAPS) Certificate, 1 Oct 2015
Oregon Emergency Management (OEM), Salem, Oregon, 11 Courses, 77 Hours (7.7 CEUs)

****My personal FREE electives below, but may not be another CCC EM students electives****

•Advanced Command and General Staff-Complex Incidents (ICS-400) MGT-905
•Intermediate Incident Command Systems(ICS) for Expanding Incidents (ICS-300) MGT-904
National Emergency Response and Rescue Training Center (NERRTC)
Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX), College Station, Texas

•Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation (HSEEP) Course (L-146)
16 Hours/2 Days (11-12 May 2015), 1.6 IACET CEU, Certificate of Completion, YourState, USA

•ICS All Hazards Safety Officer Course, Certificate of Completion (L-954)
32 Hours/4 Days (27-30 April 2015), 2 SH LL, 3.2 IACET CEU, YourState, USA

[Life Long Learning]

Summary

The Clackamas AAS-EM degree program was an excellent program for me. Hopefully Clackamas in the future will accept American Council on Education (ACE) credits from resident NETC/EMI/NFA/TEEX emergency management courses. EMI alone now has 46 American Council on Education (ACE) accredited courses. Clackamas is the best AAS-EM program in the Nation that truly follows current National emergency management doctrine.

Completing this degree you will accumulated many emergency management credentials that no other college or university will set you up with. The AAS-Emergency Management degree with an official Clackamas Community College transcript is the main credential. As collateral credentials you will also have FREE Emergency Management Institute official transcripts in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Two FEMA National Certificates (above) and one maybe one State Certificate earned directly from the curriculum from Clackamas. The EPP Honor Society is based 100% on your effort and is quite achievable.

AAS degrees in general are terminal degrees and not easy to transfer into the next level (BA/BS degrees), but I will find a way with the well-known aka “Big 3”….Excelsior College (NY), Thomas Edison State College (TESC) in New Jersey, and or Charter Oak State College (COSC) in Connecticut. These three regionally accredited colleges for non-traditional adults all take non-traditional credits (ACE, DSST, CLEP, JST, CPL, and CBA) that most colleges extremely limit or flat out refuse to accept. Excelsior (EM minor) is coming out with a real emergency management BS degree (EM major) in 2016, says Scott Kemble of Excelsior College. TESC has a BS in HLS degree, but the BSHS in Emergency Disaster Services looks more useful. COSC only has a BGS Individualized Study degree with a concentration in emergency management.

These three are the only real regionally accredited colleges that truly allow non-traditional students to transfer in 117 of the 120 SH needed for a BS degree. Thomas Edison State College of New Jersey even has the “Arnold Fletcher Award” for students who have earned a minimum total of 90 credits from nontraditional learning.

According to President Obama’s new U.S. DOE college website (College Scorecard) these three college graduates on average make more money than the University of Oregon graduates where my daughter goes…..go figure!
https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/search/?...ntage:desc

I would do this all again in a heartbeat and I am not done with Clackamas Community College. In the future, I will get a second degree from Clackamas just for lifelong learning.

Respectfully,


AAS-EM Student, Graduating Fall 2015


References:

Top 10 colleges with the highest paid liberal arts graduates By Carly Stockwell August 8, 2014
#9. Excelsior College: Albany, N.Y. at Excelsior, and graduates have high starting salaries of $50,000 a year and midcareer salaries of $77,000.
Colleges with the highest paid liberal arts graduates | USA TODAY College

Post-graduation medium salary (Excelsior) $51,700
Post-graduation medium salary (TESC) $50,000
Post-graduation medium salary (COSC) $43,800
Post-graduation medium salary University of Oregon (UO) $40,500
Charter Oak State College vs Thomas Edison State College vs Excelsior College vs...

Salary after attending: (Excelsior) *not listed
Salary after attending: (TESC) $49.100
Salary after attending: University of Oregon (UofO) $41,600
Salary after attending: (COSC) $38,800
US Department of Education Scorecard
https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/search/?...ntage:desc

[Life Long Learning]

You need to read these in order as in Post 1, 2, 3, 4 to understand!

[Saharapost]

Congratulations cheersmate

[Life Long Learning]

Two of the Clackamas POC's so far have read this and said it was 100% correct.cheersmate

[High_Order1]

I saw this, and got excited!
I have a lot of haz mat certifications.

I got an initial response, but no response to my followup questions, one of which is that I am in Tennessee. I am guessing TEMA courses won't count?

Have you tried to apply this degree to a Bachelors' program anywhere?

[Life Long Learning]

I have applied to EC, COSC, and TESC. I sent an email just this week to the ASU BAS program.

Excelsior has a CJ degree with EM minor (not for me). EC claims they are coming out with a real EM degree this year. Excelsior did accept all my Clackamas AAS credits and my upper level TEEX, EMI, NFA credits. COSC will let me do an individualized studies degree using FEMA/EMI/NFA/TEEX credits and taking 3 or 4 Public Service courses from them. TESU wants a whole extra year.hilarious Waste of my time.

That being said I really like all the Big 3. They are all quite different on using Clackamas CC courses; TEEX, EMI, NFA, ACE accredited upper level courses; and the online FEMA IS courses.

Waiting for ASU reply to their BAS in Emergency Management program.

I saw this, and got excited!
I have a lot of haz mat certifications.

I got an initial response, but no response to my followup questions, one of which is that I am in Tennessee. I am guessing TEMA courses won't count?

Have you tried to apply this degree to a Bachelors' program anywhere?

[Life Long Learning]

I bet they will. The official emergency management advisor is from OEM and very practical. She understands FEMA/TEEX/EMI/NFA course well and training. I took some and they did a substitute. I still apply even after graduating for substitutes or credit by prior learning (CPL) as both count as I continue to take tons of FEMA/EMI/NFA/TEEX/CDP courses. I am still adding credits to my transcript. They are all considered "resident" credits at Clackamas. You just have to email the advisor to see and if she agrees and its done! You still have the certificates? How about the manual or course outline? Its all great proof.

I saw this, and got excited!
I have a lot of haz mat certifications.

I got an initial response, but no response to my followup questions, one of which is that I am in Tennessee. I am guessing TEMA courses won't count?

Have you tried to apply this degree to a Bachelors' program anywhere?