CEM Corner: Baccalaureate Degree Becomes Mandatory Requirement
for CEM® Credential Applicants Effective Jan. 1, 2010
By Brian V. Bovyn, CEM, CEM® Commissioner,
Emergency Services Supervisor, Manchester, New Hampshire Police Department
There are a few considerations; first, make sure the college or university is accredited by one of the six U.S. Department of Education recognized accrediting bodies (or their equivalent in other countries). Additional decisions may be based upon cost, ease of access, distance learning, or the availability of a particular major such as emergency management. A student may start out with a two-year college and continue on to a four-year college, or they may start with a four-year college at the outset.
There are many fine colleges and universities out there, some traditional and some more contemporary, designed specifically for busy adult learners who bring a broad range of knowledge and experience. One college that specializes in distance education is Thomas Edison State College in Trenton, N.J., a college designed specifically for degree completion, offering a wide variety of credit options. Thomas Edison is but one of many state-run colleges, but it has an international population due to its many distance education options.
A student might wish to begin at a local community college, such as Frederick Community College in Frederick, Md. FCC offers a combination of traditional classroom-based courses, online education, and testing. Also, FCC has agreements with American Public University, University of Maryland College, and Charter Oaks State College to accept their two-year emergency management degree students into a four-year degree program at those institutions, creating an easy two plus two transition. Frederick Community College utilizes a combination of FEMA Independent Study Courses and general education courses to meet the 60-64 credit requirements. The A.A.S. degree in emergency management at FCC is entirely online, although some general education courses may be taken through classroom based instruction in Frederick, Md.
If a student chooses to utilize FEMA Independent Study courses toward a degree, the student will pay a 75.00 per course credit fee to have the courses transcripted through Frederick Community College (FEMA’s independent contractor for awarding college credit for successful independent study courses taken). Students can apply them in a college-based associates degree curriculum at Frederick Community College, or the student may be able to apply the FEMA Independent Study Program credits (which have been transcripted through FCC) to another outside college or university. The actual acceptance of any and all course credits is up to the discretion of the new college or university.
While Frederick Community College is an excellent ramp agent toward completing one’s associate’s degree, there are many other fine colleges out there in many states and territories that offer similar services toward the student’s ultimate goal of achieving his or her baccalaureate degree – the new requirement for formal education in meeting the IAEM Certified Emergency Manager® requirement as of Jan. 1, 2010.
Many of the FEMA independent study program courses have been reviewed for college credit equivalency by the American Council on Education, an independent organization “representing presidents and chancellors of all types of U.S. accredited degree granting intuitions.” ACE reviews college level learning courses, such as FEMA Independent Study Courses, and makes recommendation for the award of college level credits. These credits then may be applied to a college curriculum in support of a candidate’s degree program. These credits would be applied by the college as advanced placement credits toward a degree. However, acceptance of these credits are always at the discretion of the degree-granting institution.
Which route a student takes to achieve his or her bachelor’s degree to meet the IAEM CEM® requirement standard is up to that individual student. This article is not designed to be a formal endorsement of any particular institution by IAEM, but rather a potential strategy for informational purposes only. If you’re looking for a great college or university to attend that specializes specifically in emergency management or homeland security, FEMA maintains a list of programs offering certificates and associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s and doctoral degrees on their FEMA Higher Education Project Web Site.
The author offers special thanks to Daryl Spiewak, CEM, TEM, TCFM, for contributing to this article.
November 2009, IAEM Bulletin
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