FEMA Course Question?

[marianne202]

Hey All!

I'm wanting to do the FEMA courses. I won't be able to use them for my EC degree but I would like to have them in my portfolio. How long does it take to complete the entire program? Do you get individual certificates for each course or just one once you complete all the courses? Has anyone used these for employment purposes? I think they will compliment my degree and background. Has any EC student had these added on their transcript even though they don't count towards the degree? I didn't know if EC would even add them to the transcript or if they just don't acknowledge them all. Thanks for your assistance!

[annegirl]

You get a certificate for each class. They don't all build up to one big certificate, unless you take the Professional Development Series. Each class stands on it's own and touches a different aspect of emergency response. From what I've heard from other EC students, you cannot add these classes to your transcript directly from FEMA. You must transcript them through another college first. I'm not sure what it would prove to go to the work and expense of getting them put on your evaluation if you don't intend to use them for your degree. I hope you enjoy the classes! I think they are something every citizen should go through so they have a basic understanding of how emergency response works. It helps to know what to expect and what steps you need to take to be prepared for emergencies. (Sorry....I get kinda passionate about personal preparedness. *shrug* It's my passion/field of work)

[P00057870]

as I feel just as passionate. It is not my field but living in Florida, I'm always amazed that people choose not to be informed. There is so much information available, put out by the state and each county, each spring before hurricane season each local TV station reports on this ad nauseum, and people still don't pay enough attention and then they want to scream at the government for not taking care of them.

I'm thinking about taking these courses, just like Marianne202, even if they don't count, just to be even more prepared and more aware of the effects these events may have on the community and how to protect my loved ones.

You may find this interesting, in general. As a native Floridian, with the family having moved to S. Florida in 1919, generations have lived through many hurricanes, as well as my uncle talking about "the day the water rose," which I later found out the mud dikes/barriers around Lake Okeechobee broke and in Miami (going back to the 30s or 40s) they did not know what happened due to lack of communications, only that it flooded. Also, the land that is now considered prime, water-front or beach front property, we were raised that only "crazy northerners" would ever live there. I hope that by now you have a smile on your face. This meant that over the years, the crazy northerners got rich and we stayed safe. Sometimes you wonder who was correct, until you lived through a Hurricane Andrew and when you went down to S. Miami where it hit, and saw the office buildings and condominiums as just skeletons with nothing left in them, homes with trees sticking out of them, forests that then looked like a giant kid poked large tooth picks in the ground -- then you realize safety wins.

Judy

[annegirl]

Haha Loved the post!

Having responded to 5 national disasters with the Red Cross (Hur. Katrina, Rita, Ernesto. San Diego Fires, Wells NV earthquake) I have come across *many* people that are unprepared for disasters. I am blown away by how many people don't prepare and then proceed to live in the direct path of frequently occurring disasters (like hurricanes). Taking some of the basic FEMA classes (they're really fun and addictive!), gathering a 72 hour kit and having a basic family emergency plan can do wonders for your preparedness.

Back to the original topic of the thread....I would highly recommend FEMA classes for everyone. They're as addictive as CLEPs!

[creationstory]

you can use them for EC, but....

they have to be sent from Fredericksberg CC first .. at 60 bucks a credit...

Home - Free Content Management System

its more expensive than clep but cheaper than... excelsior exams.

overall its cheaper than typical brick and morter colleges which may charge like 150 a credit easy!

[P00057870]

I remember reading through a long thread that covered the history to current events for the FEMA credits and they found out you can go directly to ACE or to Fort Hays for much less money.

Check it out. You may find all of your answers there.

Judy

[peace123]

The only fema credits that can go through ACE are the ones where you actually physically attend the course work at their training center (see the ACE National Guide for the list). In regards to FHSU, are you thinking of Straighterline ? I have never read anything about FEMA credits going through FHSU, they can be run through Fredricks CC, at a cost of $60 per credit for the ones on their list.

[marianne202]

I'm thinking about the FEMA courses because I have a long background in EMS and the school I work at is just starting to do disaster preparedness, mostly for a school shooting incident. I think it can't hurt to have this knowledge when you are responsible for a classroom of students, even if they are adults. Funny story about preparedness - we moved to NC from AZ 7 yrs ago. We moved here in July the first week of Dec we had a crippling ice storm and were without power for 5 days. Being new I listened and did what the news stations said. I had food, water, gas, propane & money etc. We didn't have a generator or fireplaces that worked well, we knew they needed repaired when we moved in, but hadn't got around to fixing them. We live in a small rural town in a small neighborhood of 15 houses. We were the only ones who stayed. Everyone else left after 24 hrs to go to friends, family or their beach houses or farms where they could live more comfortable. We stuck it out with constant fires, living in one room and "camping" out in the house. I filled every container and ziplock I had with ice/snow and filled every crevice of my fridge and freezers. We only lost bakery items and ice cream! All our other food stayed fine! The neighbors would call and ask us to check on their houses, pipes etc. A neighbor who left on day 2 left us his little generator and that helped as we cycled running the fridge and freezers for little while each day. So who would have thought that the newbies from AZ would fair better in an ICE storm than the natives! We were surprised as were the neighbors. We now have wood burning inserts & a nice generator as well as emergency kits and I always prepare like it the event will happen. It may be overkill, but we survived in a house for 5 days that was only at 34 degrees inside even with our best efforts ( we didn't think about tenting off a few rooms to keep the heat in!) but overall I think we desert rats did a good job...because I listened! I wish everyone would! We may get tired of hearing the warnings every year, but the majority don't listen and as long as people get hurt or die as a result of not preparing they will continue to do it. Thank goodness. My neighbors laughed at me "going overboard" my family survived because I did! I will always take all the free training or advice I can get, you never know when I may need it!

[NAP]

Since you won't need it for your degree, would there be a way to get it on a second transcript through FEMA, ACE, credit bank, or somewhere else? I don't know the answer, but if you could, then you'd have it if you need it.

[P00057870]

Guess I'm having FEMA thread overload. I tried to go back and there were years of postings on FEMA, originally they were banking them at TESC and later submitting to EC, then EC came through with a posting that only accepted from 2 RA colleges. One of them already mentioned here.

Wondering if anyone has done anything recently in this regard.

Somewhere in my old memory bank, I thought I had seen something somewhere about ACE but could not find it today. I know that ACE has been converting ALEKS credits and that they are not a face-to-face classes.


Any more recent input available out there in IC land?

I think I will check in with my B&M community college and see what kind of feedback I can get.

Judy