Course Syllabus

Course Description

A progressive primer for students who want more knowledge about fire and emergency services administration. The course demonstrates the importance of the following skills necessary to manage and lead a fire and emergency services department through the challenges and changes of the 21st century: Persuasion and influence; accountable budgeting; anticipation of challenges; the need for change; and using specific management tools for analyzing and solving problems.

Course Textbook(s)

Purchase, D. J. (2017). Chief officer: Principles and practice (2nd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Course Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:

1. Assess the importance of positively influencing community leaders by demonstrating effective leadership. 2. Analyze the concept of change and the need to be aware of future trends in fire management. 3. Outline the priorities of a budget planning document while anticipating the diverse needs of a community. 4. Develop a clear understanding of the national assessment models and their respective approaches to certification. 5. Discuss the elements of effective departmental organization. 6. Analyze the value of a community-related approach to risk reduction. 7. Classify what training and skills are needed to establish departmental organization. 8. Report on the importance of communications technology, fire service networks, and the Internet when conducting

problem-solving analysis and managing trends.

Prerequisite(s)

No prerequisite courses are required by CSU for enrollment in this course.

Credits

Upon completion of this course, the students will earn 3 hours of college credit.

Course Structure

1. Study Guide: Course units contain a Study Guide that provides students with the learning outcomes, unit lesson, required reading assignments, and supplemental resources.

2. Learning Outcomes: Each unit contains Learning Outcomes that specify the measurable skills and knowledge students should gain upon completion of the unit.

3. Unit Lesson: Unit Lessons, which are located in the Study Guide, discuss lesson material. 4. Reading Assignments: Units contain Reading Assignments from one or more chapters from the textbook and/or

outside resources. 5. Suggested Reading: Suggested Readings are listed within the Study Guide. Students are encouraged to read the

resources listed if the opportunity arises, but they will not be tested on their knowledge of the Suggested Readings. 6. Learning Activities (Non-Graded): Non-Graded Learning Activities are provided to aid students in their course of

study. 7. Discussion Boards: Discussion Boards are part of all CSU Term courses. More information and specifications can

be found in the Student Resources link listed in the Course Menu bar.

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8. Unit Assignments: Students are required to submit for grading Unit Assignments. Specific information and instructions regarding these assignments are provided below. Grading rubrics are included with each assignment. Specific information about accessing these rubrics is provided below.

9. Ask the Professor: This communication forum provides students with an opportunity to ask their professor general questions or questions related to course content.

10. Student Break Room: This communication forum allows for casual conversation with other classmates.

CSU Online Library

The CSU Online Library is available to support your courses and programs. The online library includes databases, journals, e-books, and research guides. These resources are always accessible and can be reached through the library webpage. To access the library, log into the myCSU Student Portal, and click on “CSU Online Library.” You can also access the CSU Online Library from the “My Library” button on the course menu for each course in Blackboard.

The CSU Online Library offers several reference services. E-mail (library@columbiasouthern.edu) and telephone (1.877.268.8046) assistance is available Monday – Thursday from 8 am to 5 pm and Friday from 8 am to 3 pm. The library’s chat reference service, Ask a Librarian, is available 24/7; look for the chat box on the online library page.

Librarians can help you develop your research plan or assist you in finding relevant, appropriate, and timely information. Reference requests can include customized keyword search strategies, links to articles, database help, and other services.

Unit Assignments

Unit I Scholarly Activity

Department Organization and Structure

The University City Fire/Rescue Department is writing a new handbook specifically for chief fire officers. You have been assigned to complete the section of the handbook that addresses fire department organization and structure.

Your assignment must include the following items:

Include an introductory paragraph to introduce organization and structure. Explain structure, process, behavior/culture, vision, mission, goals, and objectives. Explain the purpose of training, education, and credentialing as it pertains to department organization. Describe how the implementation of Incident Action Plans, the Incident Management System, and data collection contributes to effective fire department organization. Further, correlate how this data can and will assist in trending and future planning for the agency. Describe the University City Fire/Rescue Department’s role in emergency management and how the leadership of the agency influences decisions of community leaders. Include an overview of the strategic planning process. Include an organizational structure chart for the University City, IA, Fire/Rescue Department. (Click here to access a PDF of the University City Fire/Rescue information document.)

This assignment should be at least three full pages, not including the title and reference pages, and meet the following requirements:

You are expected to use information you learned from this course. You are also encouraged to supplement with your personal experience. Your assignment must be written using the APA format, including citations and references. The assignment must be double-spaced.

Information about accessing the grading rubric for this assignment is provided below.

Unit II Project

Annual Report Assignment

The University City Fire/Rescue Department is presenting their annual report to the city council at the next council meeting. You, as the fire chief have to complete the annual report that addresses fire department organization and structure, divisions, and responses. You will utilize the University City Fire/Rescue Department PDF located here. This assignment will not be graded on APA formatting. This should be a final product to publish to the entire council. You may utilize your own photographs and/or other items to finalize the product, including charts, graphs, etc.

Your assignment must include the following items:

contain a chief’s message about the annual report; arrange an introduction to introduce organization and structure; explain structure, process, behavior, vision, mission, goals, and objectives; define department divisions and how it contributes to the overall operations and goals of the organization; include your organizational structure chart created in Unit I for University City to introduce the organization and structure to the city council; and

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contribute charts and graphs to identify responses and provide a baseline for projecting trends in emergency and non- emergency service calls.

Make sure that you have a minimum of two and a maximum of four charts, graphs, or images per page throughout your assignment. All information for charts and graphs will come from the information provided.

This assignment should be a complete annual report for the agency with the provided information, it should be at least six full pages (not including title page, the organization chart, and response data).

You are expected to use information you learned from this course. You are also encouraged to supplement from your personal experience. Your assignment must be double-spaced. Write this as if you are the fire chief creating the document of your organization.

Information about accessing the grading rubric for this assignment is provided below.

Unit III Project

Community Risk Reduction Assignment

As the chief of University City Fire Rescue, during a review of annual data, you identified the reoccurring trend of emergency service calls for a large number of incidents involving the items below. In order to curb the increased risk to the community and the citizens from these incidents, you will need to draft a community reduction plan that identifies the problem and the path that you propose, along with actions to reduce these calls.

Your plan will be presented at the next University City Council meeting. Choose one of the following for your community risk reduction plan.

bicycle safety, carbon monoxide, dog bites, use of seat belts, ingested poisonings, childhood drowning, boating safety, fireworks safety, elderly fall safety, and cooking fire prevention.

Your plan should address the following items:

Identify the role fire department should have in the risk reduction process. Interpret the principles of community risk reduction. Identify who within the department is the lead representative of the risk reduction plan and his/her responsibilities. Identify the risks faced by the community and its residents and solutions to address these risks.

Your assignment should be at least three pages, not including your reference page. You must reference the CSU Online Library for at least one resource. Be sure to follow APA guidelines throughout the assignment.

Information about accessing the grading rubric for this assignment is provided below.

Unit IV Scholarly Activity

Job description and education/training plan

As a chief officer, part of your role and responsibility could be hiring new staff for your station. For this assignment, you are to create a job description and an education/training plan for a new deputy chief’s position within the University City Fire/Rescue Department.

Your job description must identify the position within the bureau, responsibilities of the position, including span of control. Next, explain the training and higher education requirements for this position’s line of work.

Your education/training plan must also correlate data towards trending and future planning.

Your job description and education/training plan must each be a total of at least one page in length and combined into one file with each being on separate pages.

You should reference your University City Fire/Rescue Department information document, which was used in both Unit I and II Assignments, to assist you on this assignment.

You may refer to this unit’s required reading to guide you with the information needing for each of these plans. Also, there is not a specific format to follow when creating these. If you need assistance, your instructor is available to assist you.

Information about accessing the grading rubric for this assignment is provided below.

Unit V Case Study

Title VII and Ricci v. DeStefano

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Review Title VII (the Civil Rights Act) and the following case: Ricci v. DeStefano, 557 U.S. 557 docket numbers 07-1428 and 08-328 found in your required reading section. From your review, you will analyze the case and report on its findings/outcome to your fire station.

You will construct a three- to five-page (not including title page and reference page) APA formatted essay on the following:

Identify question(s) that were presented in the case. Identify issue(s) of the case. Identify facts that were presented by both sides. Discuss the implications of the ruling. Articulate the necessity of communication among members of the fire service based on your review of the case. Compare and contrast methods used in the case to that of your fire department. Apply an analysis of the case to the need for awareness within your fire station.

If you need assistance, your instructor is available to assist you.

Information about accessing the grading rubric for this assignment is provided below.

Unit VI Scholarly Activity

Line-item budget

As the chief of University City Fire Rescue, your agency has expanded to where span of control is no longer met for you as the fire chief. Your intention is to present a new deputy chief position as part of the budget preparation process.

For this position, you will need to review the job description for the deputy chief position from Unit IV that identifies the skills and training needed.

The information provided in the University City Fire Rescue packet is geared to help you construct the budget items for this new position. Your budget format and layout should be in a line-item concept. Click here for an example of a line-item budget that has been created to help as a guide to constructing your own for the University City Fire Rescue Department.

In addition to your line-item budget, you will need to identify how budgets affect the local government and taxpayers, along with how they reflect the goals of the community (This explanation is usually considered a budget justification by city managers and administrators.)

Your budget and explanation (justification) of the budget to the community should each be at least one page in length, for a total of at least two pages for this assignment.

To submit the assignment:

You may use Microsoft Word and/or Excel to create the budget. If you choose to use Excel for budget and Word for the explanation, you must upload both files at the same time in Blackboard. In doing so, you will be uploading two files for this assignment. Be sure both files are uploaded before you push submit.

OR

You may use Microsoft Word to create both the budget and explanation. Ensure that each are on separate pages within the same Word document.

If you need assistance, your instructor is available to assist you.

Information about accessing the grading rubric for this assignment is provided below.

Unit VII Project

Emergency Support Functions

The University City Fire Rescue has been tasked with updating the emergency operations plan (EOP) for the community. Your assignment is to draft one of the 16 emergency support functions (ESFs) for the EOP.

Your ESF assignment should be a minimum of one page, but no more than three pages. It must pertain to one of the 16 ESFs identified by FEMA. In addition, you must explain the role the fire service has within the EFS you choose, while including the different primary and supporting agency roles as well. Finally, be sure to identify and summarize requirements for ESF development and operations.

To assist you in drafting the ESF, click here for the demographics of the University City Fire and Rescue, as well as here for the ERP for Hazardous Material. After opening the ERP for Hazardous Material and reading through it, you will begin creating your own chosen ESF.

When creating your ESF, be sure that it is unique to your chosen requirement.

If you have any questions regarding the assignment, your instructor is available.

Information about accessing the grading rubric for this assignment is provided below.

Unit VIII Project

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Understanding IFSAC and PROBOARD PowerPoint Presentation

As the president of your state’s fire chiefs’ association, you have been tasked with presenting a program on training agencies. Your presentation should be designed to help problem-solve and manage the latest trends, which are voluntary certification and accreditation. However, there are some fire chiefs who have expressed that the services provided by both organizations yield great benefits to all fire departments.

This presentation should be based upon your research, utilizing the existing state training specialists of your state, the Internet and other chief officers to help create and move a group discussion that addresses the following:

The title of your presentation is “Understanding IFSAC and PROBOARD and their Value to the Fire Service.”

Your presentation must include the following items:

Include 16-20 slides (not counting the title and reference slides). Include title and reference slides. Include an introduction. Explain both organizations’ approach to certification and issuing of certificates. Explain both organizations’ concept of accreditation. Identify your state fire training agency’s accredited courses and levels (if any). Identify at least five state agencies and their accredited PROBOARD courses and levels. Identify at least five state agencies and their accredited IFSAC courses and levels. Identify at least two non-state agencies and their accredited PROBOARD courses and levels. Identify at least two non-state agencies and their accredited IFSAC courses and levels. Explain the return on investments for organization which affiliate with PROBOARD and IFSAC. Express how career and volunteer fire departments will likely be impacted by their state fire training agency’s affiliation with PROBOARD and IFSAC.

In addition, explain how networking through these affiliations can impact your department’s ability to problem-solve and manage trends within the field.

Elaborate on the importance communication (technology, networking, and the Internet) to help problem-solve and manage the latest trends.

Do you feel that communication today has or has not helped the fire service problem-solve and manage trends?

Although not required, you may enhance your presentation by including photographs and other graphics.

All sources must be referenced and follow APA guidelines throughout.

Information about accessing the grading rubric for this assignment is provided below.

APA Guidelines

The application of the APA writing style shall be practical, functional, and appropriate to each academic level, with the primary purpose being the documentation (citation) of sources. CSU requires that students use APA style for certain papers and projects. Students should always carefully read and follow assignment directions and review the associated grading rubric when available. Students can find CSU’s Citation Guide by clicking here. This document includes examples and sample papers and provides information on how to contact the CSU Success Center.

Grading Rubrics

This course utilizes analytic grading rubrics as tools for your professor in assigning grades for all learning activities. Each rubric serves as a guide that communicates the expectations of the learning activity and describes the criteria for each level of achievement. In addition, a rubric is a reference tool that lists evaluation criteria and can help you organize your efforts to meet the requirements of that learning activity. It is imperative for you to familiarize yourself with these rubrics because these are the primary tools your professor uses for assessing learning activities.

Rubric categories include: (1) Discussion Board, (2) Assessment (Written Response), and (3) Assignment. However, it is possible that not all of the listed rubric types will be used in a single course (e.g., some courses may not have Assessments).

The Discussion Board rubric can be found within Unit I’s Discussion Board submission instructions.

The Assessment (Written Response) rubric can be found embedded in a link within the directions for each Unit Assessment. However, these rubrics will only be used when written-response questions appear within the Assessment.

Each Assignment type (e.g., article critique, case study, research paper) will have its own rubric. The Assignment rubrics are built into Blackboard, allowing students to review them prior to beginning the Assignment and again once the Assignment has been scored. This rubric can be accessed via the Assignment link located within the unit where it is to be submitted. Students may also access the rubric through the course menu by selecting “Tools” and then “My Grades.”

Again, it is vitally important for you to become familiar with these rubrics because their application to your Discussion Boards, Assessments, and Assignments is the method by which your instructor assigns all grades.

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Communication Forums

These are non-graded discussion forums that allow you to communicate with your professor and other students. Participation in these discussion forums is encouraged, but not required. You can access these forums with the buttons in the Course Menu.

Click here for instructions on how to subscribe/unsubscribe and post to the Communication Forums.

Ask the Professor

This communication forum provides you with an opportunity to ask your professor general or course content questions. Questions may focus on Blackboard locations of online course components, textbook or course content elaboration, additional guidance on assessment requirements, or general advice from other students.

Questions that are specific in nature, such as inquiries regarding assessment/assignment grades or personal accommodation requests, are NOT to be posted on this forum. If you have questions, comments, or concerns of a non- public nature, please feel free to e-mail your professor. Responses to your post will be addressed or e-mailed by the professor within 48 hours.

Before posting, please ensure that you have read all relevant course documentation, including the syllabus, assessment/assignment instructions, faculty feedback, and other important information.

Student Break Room

This communication forum allows for casual conversation with your classmates. Communication on this forum should always maintain a standard of appropriateness and respect for your fellow classmates. This forum should NOT be used to share assessment answers.

Schedule/Grading

The following pages contain a printable Course Schedule to assist you through this course. By following this schedule, you will be assured that you will complete the course within the time allotted.

Unit I Introduction to the Fire and Emergency Services Administration [ Weight: 14% ]

Read/View: Unit I Study Guide Chapter 1: Leadership Chapter 2: Personal and Professional Development

Discuss: Unit I Discussion Board 2%

Submit: Unit I Scholarly Activity 12%

Unit II Communications [ Weight: 14% ]

Read/View: Unit II Study Guide Chapter 3: Communications, pp. 49-66 Reading Assignments (3 articles): See Study Guide

Discuss: Unit II Discussion Board 2%

Submit: Unit II Project 12%

Unit III Intergovernmental/Community Relations and Risk Reduction [ Weight: 14% ]

Read/View: Unit III Study Guide Chapter 6: Intergovernmental Relations, pp. 145-159 Chapter 9: Working in the Community, pp. 209-226 Chapter 10: Managing the Code Enforcement Process, pp. 231-249

Discuss: Unit III Discussion Board 2%

Submit: Unit III Project 12%

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Unit IV Human Resource Management/Professional Development [ Weight: 10% ]

Read/View: Unit IV Study Guide Chapter 5: Human Resources

Discuss: Unit IV Discussion Board 2%

Submit: Unit IV Scholarly Activity 8%

Unit V Legal Concerns and the Chief Administrator [ Weight: 14% ]

Read/View: Unit V Study Guide Chapter 4: Legal Issues Reading Assignments (2 articles): See Study Guide

Discuss: Unit V Discussion Board 2%

Submit: Unit V Case Study 12%

Unit VI Budgeting [ Weight: 11% ]

Read/View: Unit VI Study Guide Chapter 7: Budget and Finance Issues Chapter 8: Strategic Planning

Discuss: Unit VI Discussion Board 2%

Submit: Unit VI Scholarly Activity 9%

Unit VII Emergency Planning [ Weight: 10% ]

Read/View: Unit VII Study Guide Chapter 11: Emergency Management and Response Planning Reading Assignments (1 article): See Study Guide

Discuss: Unit VII Discussion Board 2%

Submit: Unit VII Project 8%

Unit VIII The Need for Certification/Accreditation [ Weight: 13% ]

Read/View: Unit VIII Study Guide Reading Assignment (8 articles): See Study Guide

Discuss: Unit VIII Discussion Board 2%

Submit: Unit VIII Project 11%

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