Enrollment Up 78% For Rose State Emergency Management Program Published February 3, 2017

First Year Growth for Emerging Field

Midwest City, Okla. – Rose State College has seen a 78% increase in the number of students enrolled in its new Emergency Management program for spring 2017 compared to the same time last year.

“We’ve entered an era where Emergency Management is being recognized for the profession it has always been, instead of an additional duty for which to be assigned”, said Jackie Wright, Rose State Emergency Management Professor. “Our program is capturing the attention of a diverse crowd from those already in the first responder field to military personnel interested in looking at a second career.”

Rose State College offers an Associate in Science in Emergency Management within the Division of Business. The pilot program was rolled out in the spring of 2016 with 18 students enrolled through the support of Albert Ashwood, Director of the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management.

An Associate in Science in Emergency Management degree is a 63 hour program containing general education and emergency management courses. The option to take courses 100% online is also available, supplemented with interactive teleconference video (ITV), has proven highly attractive to working adults. Students can also opt to take evening courses in the classroom. A stand-alone Certificate in Emergency Planning and Preparedness is awarded upon completion of the 8 core emergency management courses. The Rose State program is 1 of only 12 programs of its kind in the country.

The role of an emergency manager focuses on four phases: preparation, response, mitigation, and recovery. Preparation can involve planning, training and exercises. Response includes resource coordination and communication, and Recovery focuses on returning to a safe and fully operational state. Mitigation involves efforts to reduce or eliminate hazards. Search-and-rescue efforts, re-opening schools and businesses and repairing critical infrastructure all fall under these phases of emergency management.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates a growth rate of 6 percent through 2024 for emergency management as an industry, on par with average growth rates. However, a 2016 Wall Street Journal article suggests that emergency management may be expanding more quickly – one of the top five expanding career fields in the country.

Contact Linda Pryor at 405-765-9232 or lpryor@rose.edu for enrollment information.