Distance Education Technology Empowers The Fire Service: A Hybrid Approach

Due to increasing demands, professional requirements, emergent technologies and new threats to public safety, fire service professionals have ever-increasing needs for access to higher education. To aid in this quest, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte has initiated distance education classes as a part of the Fire and Safety Engineering Technology program. Distance Education enables the fire science degree-seeking student to access upper level college fire classes in the fire station or in the comfort of their own home. This paper describes the need for such a program, the strategies and technologies involved at UNC Charlotte, and the favorable outcomes that have resulted from the institution of this program. Distance Education and the Fire Service Professional On September 11, 2001, the world changed. In no other profession was this impact greater than in the United States Fire Service. In the past century, the fire service has evolved from primarily fighting fires to the title of “homeland defender”, responding to a wide variety of emergencies. More than ever, new emerging focus areas continue to necessitate a bettereducated fire service. Unfortunately, due to their long work shifts and geographic constraints, opportunities for fire service professionals to further their education in a traditional University setting are sometimes challenging. The Fire Service would greatly benefit by increased opportunities for Distance Education, however such opportunities at this time are limited. According to our own investigations, currently less than eight accredited four-year institutions P ge 967.1 Proceedings of the 2004 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2004, American Society for Engineering Education offer a degree in Fire Safety Engineering Technology. Of these, only a few institutions offer fire safety engineering classes via the web. A 2000 survey of metropolitan fire departments by Sturtevant indicates that approximately three-quarters of fire service professionals currently possess some type of 2-year degree, and that less than 25% of the same group has a four-year degree 1 . However, many of these professionals feel the pressure to obtain a four-year degree in order to increase their opportunities for career advancement. For instance, Deputy Chief Hannan of the Charlotte Fire Department has stipulated that a four year degree is mandatory beginning 2005 for advancement to a chief officer 2 . Distance Education at the University of North Carolina In the spring of 1999, the North Carolina State legislature provided funding for formation of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte Fire Safety Engineering Technology (FSET) program. The intent of the program was to provide an increased opportunity for North Carolina’s approximately fifty thousand firefighters to obtain an advanced fire science degree. As a rule, firefighters do not work a normal 40-hour workweek schedule. A typical “shift” involves 24 hours of continuous duty, then 48 hours off. Additionally, many firefighters hold a second job. The aforementioned schedule is not conducive to traditional college class offerings. To address this problem, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte currently offers all upper level fire classes via their FSET distance education program, in addition to their traditional classroom offerings. The UNC Charlotte FSET distance education program effectively accommodates the educational needs, scheduling difficulties and geographic constraints of firefighters seeking career advancement. The distance education classes are designed to be one third synchronous (live) and two thirds asynchronous (non-live), and 100% web-based. The live component is achieved via Centra live conferencing software, and the asynchronous component is offered via the WebCT course management system. To date, this combination has achieved positive results according to student feedback and evaluations. The FSET program is located within the College of Engineering, at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The program is presently designed as a “2 plus 2” program, where graduates of a two-year Associate’s fire science degree program can continue their education and ultimately obtain a Bachelors of Science degree in Fire Safety Engineering Technology. Due to the success of this program, two full four-year fire administration and industrial safety program proposals have been submitted and are currently being considered for adoption by the university. Educational Impact to Management of the Modern Fire Service The emerging fire service leader of tomorrow will need management skills comparable to those of the average CEO. Modern fire service management is not a static event. Diminishing funds, changes in demographics and growing responsibilities have greatly increased demands P ge 967.2 Proceedings of the 2004 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2004, American Society for Engineering Education upon fire service leaders. Although funding predictions are made based on previous records, calculating necessary funds for the unforeseen is a tricky business. Administrative concerns such as recruiting diverse and qualified applicants, employee retention and enhancement programs, and many other dynamics of personnel management also present on-going challenges to fire service leadership. Additionally, there are multiple generations currently in the workplace. Old-time management theory based on authoritarian leadership is no longer effective in the modern fire service. In his 2000 text Fire Service Personnel Management, Steven Edwards states: “Today’s workforce doesn’t look, think, or act like the workforce of the past, nor does it have the same values, experiences, or expectations” (p.19) 3 . He further summarizes by noting that if your fire service personnel management practices are based upon what worked well in the past, and then your organization is in for some serious confrontations. Long term strategic planning must take place in a proactive fire department. Proactive futuring, a term coined by Mark Wallace in his 1998 book, Fire Department Strategic Planning – Creating Future Excellence 4 essentially means that for the fire service, which is relied upon to anticipate accurately and plan accordingly, the future is right now. Today’s world does not allow the luxury of learning “by the seat of your pants”. Proactive strategies fostered by higher education will allow the emerging fire service leader to deal with a multitude of ever-changing and increasingly challenging problems. Management classes via distance education, with its networking potential and threaded discussions, will connect fire service leaders across the nation and be a valuable tool in the preparation of these future leaders by increasing opportunities to share planning strategies. Application to Non-degree Seeking Members of the Fire Service The overall mission of the United States fire service has noticed a gradual shift in recent past decades. Once, the primary mission was to fight fires only. Nationwide, municipal budget constraints gradually forced the inclusion of emergency medical services. In recent years, fire prevention has become a major focus of proactive departments. The terrorist attacks of September 2001 left an indelible mark within the fire service, calling for a complete refocus on how tactical operations will be managed. Fire department responses run the gamut from the routine emergency medical call to an incident of mass destruction. When an incident occurs, the fire department will be first on the scene, and is expected to effectively handle whatever it encounters. Current education and training has always been paramount to the success of any organization, and this is also true of the fire service. Each emerging responsibility or refocusing of tactical methodology has perpetuated a need for re-training and a presentation of updated educational concepts. Delivery of modern educational concepts is an ever-present challenge to educators, especially to those in the United States Fire Service. Subsequently, the delivery methodology of these educational concepts is a critical element of the modern fire service. The majority of fire departments utilize the training officer concept. Courses are prepared and traditionally delivered at departmental or regional training centers. Site-specific P ge 967.3 Proceedings of the 2004 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2004, American Society for Engineering Education delivered training creates many logistical demands upon the fire department, and due to company displacement, can possibly increase incident response times. During training, engine, truck and rescue companies are routinely taken out of service, or expected to respond from their training session. As a result, maintaining adequate staffing while fulfilling the mandatory fire service annual training requirements presents a major challenge to most departments. Technological Innovations for Distance Education Modern fire stations are now equipped with (or have the capability for) internet access or some type of a municipal networking capability. WebCT is the web-based Course Management System (CMS) chosen by UNC Charlotte to provide the bulk of the FSET course delivery via the Internet, providing course access directly to firefighters in their stations or their homes. WebCT provides both student management and content management in a secure environment. This tool offers unlimited opportunity in the delivery of modern educational concepts via the internet, including information delivery, student tracking, quizzing and surveys, email, live chat and threaded discussion forums. Centra is the live conferencing tool used by the FSET program in order to provide a synchronous virtual classroom experience while maintainin