# Presentation: 135736

## Coordinating Higher Education  Programs in Emergency Management

- A Perspective from Emergency Administration and Planning (EADP) at the University of North Texas

## First Things First . . .

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## But Seriously . . .

- A brief introduction
- Disclaimer
- Questions and comments are invited

## Goals of the Presentation

- Provide background information about the EADP program
- Discuss the difficulties confronting emergency management programs (both generic and specific)
- Highlight what EADP has done/is doing to overcome them
- Explore future challenges/opportunities

## History of the Emergency Administration and Planning (EADP) Program

- An outgrowth of North Texas State University’s continuing education for the Federal Emergency Management Agency
- Proposed as an academic degree in 1983
- Became fully operational in Summer 1984
- The first to offer a Bachelor of Science in the field according to the Education Commission of the United States

## History of the EADP Program (cont.)

- Originally taught from a practitioner’s viewpoint
- Developed a strong academic orientation in the mid 1990s

## EADP Student Base

- Historically made up of practitioners seeking a career change or additional credentials and qualifications
- Now includes more traditional, pre-career students

## EADP Graduates

| Local and State Emergency Management Offices | FEMA | Other Federal Agencies (EPA, OFDA) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Foreign Governments | American Red Cross | International Organizations |
| Business Continuity
Companies | Transportation Firms | Other |

## EADP Faculty and Adjunct Instructors

- David McEntire, Ph.D.
- Terry Sullivan, Ph.D.
- Rich Weber, M.A.
- Jim Legrotte, M.S.
- Rob Holman, M.E.
- Kirk Driver, M.P.A.
- Others

## Generic Challenges for Emergency Management Programs

- Recruiting students
- Acquiring relevant information resources
- Integrating theoretical and applied approaches
- Providing the “big picture”
- Specialization

## Facilitating Student Recruitment

- Develop a logo

## Facilitating Student Recruitment

- Develop a logo
- Produce a brochure
- Send out an information kit
- Generate a news letter
- Get exposure on the web
- Educate prospective students
- Offer a new course to recruit students
- Provide social activities
- Acquire scholarship funds
- Maintain contact with degree advisors
- Improve course content and instruction

## Acquiring Relevant Information Resources

- Request FEMA/state/Red Cross training materials and publications
- Acquire FEMA’s Higher Education courses
- Obtain documents from local jurisdictions
- Order books related to emergency management
- Subscribe to scholarly journals

- <date/time>

## Providing a Strong Theoretical Foundation

- Origins of the field (Sociology of disaster)
- Definitions of hazards, disasters, vulnerability, etc.
- Goals of emergency management
- Four phases of emergency management
- Three sectors of emergency management
- 2 foundations of emergency management
- Popular concepts such as resistance, resilience, sustainable development, etc.

## The Need for an Applied Approach

- Would you want a doctor to operate on you who had no practical skills?
- Students desire both theory and practical application
- Prospective employers want people who will contribute with minimal training!
- Some practitioners are not getting the training they need

## Complementing Theory With:

- Practical knowledge, skills and abilities
- Field trips
- Internships
- Group projects

## Practical KSAs

- Recognizing important disaster terminology
- Understanding the legal basis of the field
- Assessing hazards and vulnerabilities
- Knowing what a mutual aid agreement is
- Writing and revising plans, developing resource lists
- Creating disaster exercise scenarios
- Involvement in disaster simulations
- Setting up an EOC
- Implementing ICS
- Spotting severe weather
- Using computer technology
- Comprehending recovery (DA, PA, IA, DRC)
- Public speaking
- Participating in group projects

## Field Trips

- FEMA Region VI Headquarters
- FEMA National Disaster Application Center
- Local Emergency Operations Centers
- Red Cross Chapters
- National Weather Service Office
- Corporations (Cura, Hulcher Services)
- Other (Airports, Hospitals, etc.)

## Internships

- Required as part of degree at UNT
- Reinforce theory
- Develop practical skills
- Provide networking opportunities
- Give real world experience
- Ease transition to a career
- Lead to employment

## Ideas for Internships

- FEMA
- Local emergency management offices
- Red Cross
- Airline companies/airports
- Hospitals
- Transportation companies
- Operation Lone Star
- Congressional offices
- International relief organizations
- Police and fire departments
- Other

## Managing Internships

- Seek internship opportunities
- Educate new students on the internship process
- Ensure students are ready for internship
- Select an internship based on student’s career objective
- Coordinate the internship
- Educate the internship host
- Follow up as needed
- Meet periodically as a class
- Conduct Evaluations

## Group Projects

- Assess hazards and vulnerabilities
- Revise emergency operations plans
- Participate in exercises
- Facilitate university preparedness
- Other

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## Providing the “BIG PICTURE”

- Required courses
- Guest lecturers
- Conferences
- Program accreditation
- Advisory Board

## Required Courses

- Geography or Geology
- Technical Writing
- Introduction to Emergency Management
- Hazard Mitigation
- Emergency Preparedness
- Disaster Response
- Disaster Recovery
- Leadership and Organizational Behavior
- Capstone Course in Emergency Management

## Guest Lecturers

- The role of FEMA
- Disaster response operations
- Disaster planning
- Warning systems
- Community education
- Emergency management grants
- The insurance industry
- Companies involved in recovery
- Terrorism
- Project Impact

## Guest Lecturers (cont.)

- Disaster exercises
- Careers in emergency management
- Business continuity planning
- Hazardous materials management
- Wind engineering
- Office of the Inspector General
- Flood plain management
- Red Cross organization and operations
- Hospital risk management
- University disaster preparedness
- Etc.

## Conferences

- Disaster Day
- Professional Development
- State Conferences
- Professional Associations
- Other

## Program Accreditation

- Internal/external reviewer committee
- Academic focus
- Identification of strengths and weaknesses
- Unintended but beneficial consequences

## Advisory Board

- Practitioner orientation
- Selection criteria
- All hazards, phases, and sectors/levels
- Annual meetings
- Review of progress
- Analysis of degree requirements
- Discussion of syllabi and course content
- Recommendations for the future

## Specialization

- Elective courses

## Elective Courses 

- Images of Natural and Technological Disasters in Film and Media
- Hazardous Materials Planning and Management
- Special Populations and Disasters
- Computers in Emergency Management
- International Disasters
- Private Sector Issues
- Terrorism and Emergency Management
- The Federal Government and Disasters
- Flood Plain Management

## Additional Electives

- Public Administration
- Public Management
- Financial Aspects of Government
- American Intergovernmental Relations
- Public Policy Analysis
- Collective Behavior
- Sociology of Disaster
- Meteorology
- Geographic Information Systems
- Risk Management
- Workplace Health and Safety

## Specialization (cont.)

- Elective courses
- Minor (required)
- Internship

## Future Opportunities for Emergency Management Programs

- Expand into the private sector
- Focus on the internationalization of the field
- Integrate technological applications into the degree
- Maintain balance between theory and practice
- Increase focus on mitigation and prevention
- Move towards holistic and multi-disciplinary approaches

## Future Opportunities for EADP

- Hire additional professors (with diverse areas of expertise)
- Restructure courses?
- Continue to expand course offerings (into hard sciences, engineering, chemistry, medicine, non-profit management, political science, tourism, social work, psychology, etc.)
- Develop student portfolios
- Have CCE manage internships

## Conclusion

- There are many challenges facing higher education programs in emergency management
- There are many creative ways to overcome these difficulties
- Forums such as this and networking will help us to better educate the future generation of emergency managers

## Questions or Comments?

- David A. McEntire, Ph.D.
- Emergency Administration and Planning
- Department of Public Administration
- University of North Texas
- P.O. Box 310617
- Denton, Tx  76203-0617
- _[Dmcentir@scs.cmm.unt.edu](mailto:Dmcentir@scs.cmm.unt.edu)_
- (940) 565-2996

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