Degree Programs - Core Courses

KY Virtual University - Firefighter Training and Kentucky Certification

KCTCS Course Descriptions of Fire programs

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Update: AED Training

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This is just a short note to bring you up to date on the status of the Firefighter Degree Program.  As you may remember in June the KCTCS Board of Regents approved the (2 year AAS) Associate of Applied Science Degree in Fire/Rescue Science Technology.  At that point the degree was established.  The next step is to get the degree accredited.  The accrediting institution for the Technical College System is the Council on Occupational Education (COE).  The process for going through that organization is long and tedious but suffice it to say we are on our way.  That dose not mean everything has been accomplished.  It merely means that we have crossed another hurdle in our quest to offer credit toward a college degree.  We still have several steps too take including accreditation from the International Fire Service Accreditation Congress.  We anticipate having all steps completed by some time in late spring or early summer.  It is our intent to have all details worked out in the not too distant future.  Keep posted for additional information.

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KENTUCKY COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE SYSTEM

 COMMISSION ON FIRE PROTECTION PERSONNEL STANDARDS AND EDUCATION

 STATE FIRE RESCUE TRAINING

ASSOCIATE OF APPLIED SCIENCE

FIRE RESCUE SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY 

PURPOSE OF THE DEGREE PROGRAM:  The AAS in Fire Rescue Science Technology will validate training currently being delivered to the fire service of Kentucky by State Fire Rescue Training as well as enhancing future educational opportunities for the fire service of Kentucky. 

  DEGREE GRANTING ORGANIZATION:  Fire Rescue Training has worked diligently to develop a degree program that is approved by both the Fire Commission and the Kentucky Community and Technical College System. While the Fire Commission oversees this degree, the degree granting organization is KCTCS and the degree granting institution will be the technical college in your region. Fire Rescue Training appreciates the assistance received from various departments within KCTCS and the Fire Commission during this development process. 

GENERAL AREAS OF STUDY:  The curriculum is organized to provide a solid base level of knowledge and skills that the firefighter of the 21st century must possess to be a part of an effective emergency response team that projects his/her community. 

The graduate will possess the knowledge and skills that meet or exceed NFPA Firefighter I and II standards as well as meeting or exceeding all Kentucky Fire Commission training requirements at the career level. 

The graduate will have the knowledge and skills necessary to provide emergency medical services, meeting the requirements to be certified as a Kentucky Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). 

The graduate will be a competent to respond to hazardous materials incidents, meeting OSHA 1910.120 at the Hazardous Materials Awareness, Operations and Technician Levels. 

The graduate will be a capable leader, having a basic understanding of company officer leadership including the Incident Command System (ICS). 

As with all degree level programs, the Fire/Rescue Science graduate will have at least 16 hours in general education areas including communications, math, and science. 

THE DEGREE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS:  The staff of The State Fire Commission/Rescue Training have worked throughout the past four years toward the reality of providing college level credit for the training now being provided to the firefighters of Kentucky. 

The Board of Regents of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) has approved this degree program. The Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) has approved this degree program.  

Accreditation will be requested through the Council on Occupational Education (COE).  This accreditation request will be submitted through each of the participating 14 Technical Colleges. All 14 Areas are in the process of this accreditation process. This is an extensive process that best relates to an ISO review of a fire department. 

WHERE WILL CLASSES BE HELD:  Kentucky has always benefited from delivery of fire service training direct into the fire stations of each community. Our goal is to always continue and enhance this process. 

Most of the degree classes may be delivered direct to firefighters in their fire station. One of the exceptions will be when a firefighter needs a specific course and may have to travel to obtain that specific course. Another exception is obtaining the general education courses, which normally will be provided at a community college. 

PARTICIPATION IN THE DEGREE PROGRAM IS OPTIONAL: Firefighters are not required to participate in the degree program, it simply is an option that is believed to be a good benefit for many of Kentucky�s emergency responders. For those that choose not to participate, they will attend classes as they always have and their training hours will be submitted by their fire department to the Fire Commission as has been done in the past. 

All firefighters will continue to participate in the Firefighter Certification Program of the Kentucky Fire Commission. 

COURSE LENGTH:  The courses required for the Fire/Rescue Science Degree have been broken down into small segments, using the new KCTCS fractional credit system. A typical college course takes 45 clock hours to complete. Many firefighters may have difficulty committing to this many hours during a short time span, so the curriculum has been divided into smaller classes. 

Some of these classes will be as few as one clock hour(s), which will allow these classes to fit within the normal training schedule of most fire departments. For each of these smaller classes completed, the student will receive a fraction of a college credit. These fractional credits are tracked within the KCTCS transcript system. 

COURSES ARE THE SAME, CREDIT IS THE DIFFERENCE:  State Fire Rescue Training has long prided itself on delivering quality training programs that while serving the needs of firefighters meet all of the standards and regulations required for training. All of these programs have now been correlated into a progressive curriculum that allows for college credit to be awarded upon completion of these programs. 

While training programs are always under development or being upgraded to meet current needs and standards, the classes included in this degree program are from the classes currently being delivered by Fire Rescue Training. 

EVALUATION OF LEARNING:  Accreditation bodies require all college level classes have an evaluation process that allows a student to demonstrate the retained knowledge and skills provided in the course. This can be done through skills demonstrations and written evaluation instruments.  

Fire Rescue Training is in the education business and not the testing business. At the same time Fire Rescue Training must meet the requirements of the accreditation agency.  

Skills check off sheets for basic firefighting courses will be the existing forms being used in the Firefighter I and II certification program. For knowledge tests, test banks will be used that produce multiple-choice questions.

Again, the objective is to award college credit for your firefighters and the evaluation process will be as simple and concise as possible. 

TUITION FOR DEGREE COURSES:  One of the objectives within this program is to validate training that is already being delivered without cost to the fire service. If the class in question is typically delivered without cost, the awarding of college credit will not result in a tuition charge.  

For the past several years firefighters have been paying for the cost of EMT courses and Hazardous Materials Technician courses and this will continue until funds are available to subsidize this training.  

There will be tuition costs for the general education classes. 

APPLICATION PROCESS:   KCTCS  intends for the enrollment process to be simple, but many details are yet to be finalized. Firefighters will initially be entered into the KCTCS transcript system as a non-declared student, which allows for college credit to be awarded without any application or entrance requirements.  

All colleges have an application process and entrance requirements mandated by the Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE). KCTCS and Fire Commission/Rescue Training is working to define any application or entrance requirements once a firefighter declares he is working toward a degree.  

KCTCS and Fire Commission/Fire Rescue Training staff have completed the transfer of data including firefighters names and firefighter ID numbers from the Fire Commission computer system to the KCTCS computer system, which will eliminate firefighters having to provide basic information a second time. 

CREDIT FOR PAST EXPERIENCE AND TRAINING:  Firefighters who have ten years fire service experience and 1,000 hours within the Fire Commission Certification System will be granted 3 college credit hours. The specific course is FRS 101, Introduction to Fire Service. 

The focus during the degree development process has been to develop a program that will provide documentation leading to a degree for training that will occur in the future. The thought was �we must start somewhere or in ten years we will still not have firefighters earning college credit for the quality programs that they are participating in�. Much work remains to develop systems for award credit for past educational experiences that will comply with the requirements of the accreditation agency. 

A process for awarding college credit for classes covered by the IFSAC / Fire Commission/Fire Rescue Training Firefighter I and II evaluation program is under development. 

A process for awarding transfer credit for those fire science classes completed within other accredited institutions such as our community colleges is under development. 

AAS PROGRAM TRANSFER TO A FOUR YEAR INSTITUTION:  Fire Commission/Fire Rescue Training has made every effort to have a quality program capable of being transferred to a four year institution. This is one reason why the accreditation issue is so important. Once the accreditation process is complete discussions will begin on the transfer of credit.  

ACCREDITATION:  Educational programs offered by the technical colleges of KCTCS are accredited by the Council on Occupational Education (COE). Accreditation for the AAS Fire Rescue Science Technology Degree will be requested from COE through each of the 14 technical colleges.  All 14 Areas are in the process of this accreditation process. This is an extensive process that best relates to an ISO review of a fire department.