TWELVE QUESTION YOU MAY NEED TO ANSWER FOR POTENTIAL STUDENTS.

TWELVE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS ABOUT
EXTERNAL QUALITY REVIEW
Reprinted with permission from the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (www.chea.org)

If you are considering enrolling in a course of study or program at a higher education institution, you may find it useful to inquire about the external quality review of the course, program, or institution.
1. Is the course, program or institution accredited?
2. What are the standards of quality? Is there an available summary of the last review?
3. If the course, program, or institution is not accredited, is it certified for quality by another organization?
4. What external quality review is performed by this other organization and what are the standards? Is there a
summary of the last review?
5. How can the organization that accredits or provides other types of external quality reviews be contacted?

You may address these and similar questions to:
• The institution or provider under consideration for enrollment
• Certifying organization, if necessary

If you are considering enrolling in an initial course of study or program at one institution and may want to enroll in a further course of study or program at another higher education institution in the future, you may find it useful to inquire about transferability of credits and courses.
6. Will other institutions accept the credits and courses earned?
7. Will other institutions count the credits and courses toward a degree?
8. Will graduate schools accept the credits and courses for admission?
9. Who decides toward what the credits or courses count? How can they be contacted?

You may address these and similar questions to:
• The institution or provider under consideration for enrollment
• The institution or provider under consideration for transfer

If you intend to use a course of study or program for employment purposes or would like your employer to
provide tuition assistance, you may find it useful to inquire about acceptance of credits and courses by
employers.
10. Will employers accept the credits and courses earned?
11. Will employers acknowledge the credits and courses for upgrading, retraining and additional compensation?
12. Who should be contacted to learn what courses and credits an employer may accept?

* Note: The FEMA Emergency Management Higher Education Project does not endorse any specific course of study, program or institution, but does encourage careful examination of materials, commitments and claims of all providers of higher education.

Enhancing Public Safety Higher Education.

                   APEX  

This week in Monterey, Calf. the 2015 Alumni Professional Exchange Education Workshop (APEX) offered a treasure-trove of instructional assets for addressing complex threats to the public welfare. Apex is an annual workshop for graduates of the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS), Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CDHS).  Retired Rear Admiral “Rose” LeVitre, a national intelligence executive with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), and Boston’s Police Commissioner “Billy” Evans are just two examples of the diverse and distinguished speakers. Topics discussed encompassed:

• Intelligence Sharing in the U.S.
• Artic Security Issues
• Civil Unrest Strategies
• Water Supply Risk
• Cyber-Crime
• Isis

While the common theme was building relationships across agencies to collaboratively solve problems, the most valuable take-aways may be:

• Get to know your local military top brass to understand the resources available in an emergency that may overwhelm your agency.
• The more information we have, the more capability we have to solve complex problems, and whether it’s ISIS, pandemics, or natural disasters, the key word is “we.”
• While the shrinking Artic Ice Cap may be or may not be man-made, it is real and creating several growing threats to North America.
• Although “Negotiated Management” may be the latest buzzword in civil unrest mitigation, Max Geron’s thesis and Billy Even’s experience indicate soft skills strategies works best when addressing unruly mobs.
• The growing human, industrial, and agricultural demand for fresh water is creating significant national and local vulnerabilities with serious challenges that must be addressed soon.
• The ISIS issue mirrors the early Al Qaeda development, and although their objective is to create an Islamic state in the Middle East, their activity generates other threats to the rest of the world that require global solutions.
• CHDS has numerous educational programs and tools available to public safety/homeland security professionals

The most valuable information for Public Safety Higher Education at the workshop may have come from CHDS Director Glen Woodbury and Stan Supinski, Co-Director of the University and Agency Partnership Initiative (UAPI). Glen gave an overview of the various CHDS programs provided to public and private sector partners and sponsors, while Stan explained the resources available to higher education institutions.  The programs range from a free master’s degree in homeland security with research focused on practical application, a digital homeland security library, an executive leadership programs for public service directors like mayors, council members, fire/police chiefs and commissioners.The UAPI offers fully developed curriculum and more to colleges and universities interested in offering homeland security courses. Stan is Partnering with Valencia College to hold a UAPI summit in Orlando, Florida next September. The most incredible part is all these resources are available at no cost.

The CDHS mission and curriculum embrace critical thinking, interagency cooperation and complex problem solving.  APEX supports that mission by giving program graduates a platform to explore emerging fronts, share lessons learned and strengthen their networks. The alumni association recently formed a 401c3 corporation to support the center and regional alumni engagement. There are currently seven regional chapters but none in the southeast. Hopefully, we can correct that soon.

Hello world!

This Blog is about helping institutions that provide public safety higher education enhance their programs. One of the biggest problems I have in my Fire science program is locating components that better enable students to engage and assimulate learning objectives. I hope this media will motivate readers to share things they discovered or created in that regard.