EM 301 Introduction to Disaster Management (3)
Overview of issues related to disaster management including a history of the field, key legislation impacting the field, comprehensive emergency management and integrated emergency management, and current issues in the field.

EM 305 Introduction to Homeland Security (3)
An overview of the administrative, legislative, and operational elements of homeland security programs and processes including a review of homeland security history, policies, and programs.

EM 309 Emergency Response to WMD Event (3)
This course will focus on the potential use of Weapons of Mass Destruction by terrorist and the proper preparedness and response by communities and jurisdictions. Specifically this course will provide a historical and current overview of the terrorist threat, the composition and types of Weapons of Mass Destruction, emergency actions at the scene, integration of Federal assets into the overall response, and incident management. This course is appropriate for members of the emergency response community, emergency management, and members of the general population desiring knowledge about the real and ever-present danger of terrorist activity within the United States.

EM 321 Disaster Mitigation & Preparedness (3)
Prerequisite: EM 301 Introduction to Disaster Management. Methods and techniques used to lessen the potential impact of disasters. Approaches related to policy, sustainability, public education, disaster exercises, programming, and the built environment are all considered.

EM 325 Management of Information Security (3)
Study of information security and digital forensics using practical case studies. Emphasis is on developing security policies, security management and practices, utilization of digital forensic tools and techniques, risk management, security project management, and protection mechanisms. Major components of the course are hands-on projects on digital forensic investigation and security management case studies.

EM 331 Populations at Risk (3)
Prerequisite: EM 301 Introduction to Disaster. Documents and analyzes the social construction of vulnerabilities to disaster. Methods to reduce vulnerabilities and build local capacity are covered.

EM 341 Legal Fundamentals in Emergency Management and Homeland Security (3)
Introduction to the legislative underpinnings of domestic homeland security and emergency management processes. Significant legislation will be reviewed with special consideration for the concepts that define legal duties and consequences for first responders and emergency managers.

EM 345 WMD Incident Response (3)
An in-depth study of the potential use of Weapons of Mass Destruction by terrorists and the proper preparedness and response by federal, state and local jurisdictions. WMD incident response both from the management and performance levels will be addressed, including chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive threats; the current international and domestic threat; managing a WMD scene; determining terrorist threat; determining the breadth of a WMD incident area; risk communications; and dealing with the media after a WMD incident.

Students will be required to complete the CDP resident course PER-260 at the Center for Domestic Preparedness prior to the completion of the term. Prior to enrollment n this course, students should verify that they meet the eligibility requirements for PER-260.

EM 351 Introduction to Terrorism (3)
Prerequisite: EM 301 Prerequisites, Introduction to Disaster. The history, methods, and philosophy of terrorism are reviewed. Case studies of terrorist activities, and implications of emergency response issues are also covered.

EM 361 Hazardous Materials in Emergency Management (3)
Prerequisite: EM 301 Prerequisite Introduction to Disaster Management. Looks at key legislation regarding storage, handling, and transportation of hazardous materials, and reviews how the emergency management community plans, responds, and recovers when hazardous material incidents occurs.

EM 365 Public Information and Policy (3)
A review of the skills needed to effectively deal with the public and media before, during, and after an emergency event. Topics will include: role and responsibilities of the Public Information Officer, understanding the roles and responsibilities of the media, conducting awareness campaigns, writing news releases, public speaking, granting interviews, media management, and dealing with high-profile incidents.

EM 371 Public Administration, Policy, in Emergency Management (3)
Prerequisite, Introduction to Disaster Management. Focuses upon the role of local, state and federal government in time of disaster. A history of key legislation related to disasters, and how it has impacted the emerging profession is provided.

EM 381 Social Dimensions of Disaster (3)
Open to all majors across the disciplines. Overview of how individuals, groups, families, organizations, communities, and countries handle disasters before, during, and after they occur.

EM 385 Incident Command for a Mass Casualty Event (3)
An in-depth review of the entire spectrum of command of a large scale event involving either natural or manmade hazards including the complexities of operational considerations and actions of command at a large scale event. Students will be required to complete the ODP resident course MGT-360 at the Center for Domestic Preparedness prior to the completion of the term. Prior to enrollment in this course students should verify that they can schedule MGT-360 during the semester.

EM 401 Economics of Disaster (3)
Prerequisite: EM 301 Introduction to Disaster Management. The costs of natural and man made disasters around the world, the existing policy frameworks for mitigating these costs in the industrialized world, and the ways in which these policies might be adapted for the developing world.

EM 411 Disaster Response & Recovery (3)
Prerequisite: EM 301 Introduction to Disaster. Covers how people, groups, organizations, communities and governments manage disaster in the immediate aftermath and long-term including social, physical, business, and infrastructure problems as well as intra and inter-organizational issues.

EM 415 Information Technology in EM (3)
The role of technology in the support of emergency planning, response, recovery and mitigation efforts. Application of current and emerging web based technologies. Topics include: GIS, GPS, simulation and modeling software, decision support and the application of current and emerging web based technologies.

EM 420 Exercise Design & Evaluation (3)
Introduction to the fundamentals of exercise design, development and implementation. Includes a review of the different types of exercises, how they are used, and how they are conducted. Provides students with the knowledge and skills necessary to develop and conduct disaster exercises that test a community's emergency response plan and capabilities.


EM 421 Medical Disaster and Emergency Management (3)
Prerequisite: EM 301. Reviews structure and functions of health care delivery systems in mass ive casualty situations with specific attention to intra- and inter-organizational management, ranging from emergency response triage to inter-organizational system ic management issues.

EM 430 Introduction to Cyberterrorism (3)
Introduction to the history and evolution of cyber terror, including a review of real and perceived threats of cyberterrorism, the protection of critical infrastructure information, and the effectiveness of response actions. Considerations will be made for the protection of sensitive and high value business and individual information and future requirements to obviate disaster.

EM 431 Transportation Security (3)
Assessment of challenges and threats relating to national and international transportation security frameworks. Laws, regulations, policies, conventions, organizations, procedures, and technologies intended to ensure freedom of movement of people and commerce by ground, air, sea, and water will be reviewed. Analytical concepts and methods are applied to case studies with an emphasis on vulnerability and risk reduction.

EM 441 Field Trips (3)
Prerequisite: EM 301. Students will visit various disaster management sites, emergency operating centers, and other locations related to disaster planning, response, recovery, and/or mitigation.

EM 450 Management Systems in Disaster (3)
Integration of emergency functions, response structures, technology use, information management, and decision-making. The National Response Plan and the National Incident Management System will be addressed.

EM 451 Disaster Planning (3)
Prerequisite Introduction to Disaster Management. Reviews and critiques actual plans and engages students in components of effective disaster planning within and across various jurisdictions.

EM 461 Critical Infrastructures (3)
Identifies what constitutes critical infrastructure including cyber as well as physical infrastructure. Evaluation of strategies for promoting vulnerability assessments and risk reduction, and protection of critical infrastructures will be examined.

EM 465 Intro to Biodefense (3)
Introduction to biological agents and the threat they pose to society. A review of global concerns for biosecurity including the history of biological warfare, bioterrorism, concerns for agroterrorism and current initiatives in biodefense. Included will be a cursory review of specific agents, the diseases they cause, detection methods, and consequence management considerations.

EM 471 Emergency Management Capstone course (3)
Prerequisite Senior Standing in Program. Integrates prior coursework in an applied and experiential framework through case studies, exercises, applied research, and analytical activities. Elective Courses

EM 475 Current Issues in Homeland Security (3)
The examination of current issues and concerns with Homeland Security including upcoming National Special Security Events that mandate comprehensive security planning and response capabilities. Challenges of implementing and maintaining homeland security will be covered.

EM 481 Research in Disasters and Emergency Management (3)
Overview of how research is done and how to understand scholarly work including reading, understanding and applying studies from the field of disaster research.

EM 483 Planning and Preparedness for Homeland Security (3)
Introduction to the process of assessing and enhancing preparedness for terrorism for organizations and communities. Topics include technical and organizational requirements, risk and vulnerability assessments, continuity of operations, communication and information management, capacity building needs, funding strategies, and recovery systems. Particular attention is given to coordination requirements for incident management for first responder agencies, healthcare systems, and public and private sector response systems.

EM 485 Military Support of Disaster Relief (3)
Prerequisite EM 301: A detailed review of military support for disaster relief including an overview of military assets, organizations, relevant legislation, recent case studies and look at the possible expanding role of the military in future natural disasters and CBRN events.

EM 491 Leadership in Emergency Management and Related Disciplines (3)
Open to all majors across the disciplines. Covers research on leadership styles including topics such as communication, team work, strategic planning, intra and interorganizational coordination, and working with diverse groups.

EM 496 Directed Studies for Emergency Management (3)
Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor and approval of the department head.

EM 497 Internship (3)
Prerequisite Introduction to Disaster Management Permission of the instructor and Internship Coordinator. Provides direct experience and application of principles, concepts and theories acquired in coursework to a real-world setting.

Public Safety Telecommunications (PST) Course Descriptions

PST 110 Introduction to Public Safety Communications (3)
An introduction to telephone and radio communications skills, interpersonal communications, and basics of call handling, legal issues in public safety communications and technologies for th e telecommunicator. This course will provide the information necessary to understand the job of a public safety telecommunicator and is the foundation to begin working in police, fire, EMS or combined service communications center.

In order to register for PST110 you must have departmental clearance through the IEP. These classes are a partnership between JSU and GSCC in the IEP. You must have a current admission application on file at GSCC before you can register for this course. This will not affect your status at JSU. Please contact Mrs. Chris Isom cisom@gadsdenstate.edu

PST 115 Emergency Medical Dispatching (3)
Preparation needed to receive a call requesting assistance for emergency medical services (EMS) and allocate community resources in response to such request. Upon course completion, the individual should be qualified to provide pre-arrival medical instructions to the caller, and post-dispatch information to the responding agencies.

In order to register for PST115 you must have departmental clearance through the IEP. These classes are a partnership between JSU and GSCC in the IEP. You must have a current admission application on file at GSCC before you can register for this course. This will not affect your status at JSU. Please contact Mrs. Chris Isom cisom@gadsdenstate.edu

PST 221 Role in Hostage Negotiations (3)
The principles required for critical thinking to deal with a hostage situation until a highly trained negotiator assumes control.

In order to register for PST 221 you must have departmental clearance through the IEP. These classes are a partnership between JSU and GSCC in the IEP. You must have a current admission application on file at GSCC before you can register for this course. This will not affect your status at JSU. Please contact Mrs. Chris Isom cisom@gadsdenstate.edu

PST 222 Handling of Hazardous Materials Event (3)
The knowledge necessary in handling events involving hazardous material(s). Upon course completion, the individual should have basic knowledge in communication management of special circumstances involving chemical, biological and radiological hazardous events.

In order to register for PST 222 you must have departmental clearance through the IEP. These classes are a partnership between JSU and GSCC in the IEP. You must have a current admission application on file at GSCC before you can register for this course. This will not affect your status at JSU. Please contact Mrs. Chris Isom cisom@gadsdenstate.edu

PST 226 Advanced Public Safety Communications (3)
An in-depth study of the operations of telecommunication centers.

In order to register for PST 226 you must have departmental clearance through the IEP. These classes are a partnership between JSU and GSCC in the IEP. You must have a current admission application on file at GSCC before you can register for this course. This will not affect your status at JSU. Please contact Mrs. Chris Isom cisom@gadsdenstate.edu

PST 311 Interpersonal Communications (3)
Introduction to the basic concepts of interpersonal communications and oral communications necessary for the public safety telecommunicator to interact with public safety personnel and citizens of the community. Techniques to overcoming barriers, achieving effective communications, handling difficult callers, listening effectively and resolving conflicts will be addressed.

PST 312 Legal Issues in Public Safety Communications (3)
An overview of legal issues impacting the public safety communication and telecommunication industry. The course will present a series of case studies which present a rational prospective of the liability exposure of the public safety telecommunicator. The course shall provide the legal principles and processes that when adhered to should guide toward minimizing liability exposure.

PST 313 Introduction to Crisis Intervention (3)
The critical principles in support of crisis intervention, and techniques for handling domestic violence, potential suicide, hostage and civil unrest situations as public safety communicator.

PST 314 Introduction to Weapons of Mass Destruction (3)
The basic principles needed to respond to a Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) event. The course will present the role and responsibilities of the public safety telecommunicator in recognizing and dispatching assistance for aid while maintaining documentation of calls for assistance resulting from a WMD incident.

PST 320 Technologies in Public Safety Communication and 911 (3)
An overview of the rapidly advancing technology in public safety communications. Computer aided dispatch, radio and telephony advances, mapping and GPS technology, and information management technology keynote this course.

PST 323 Human Resource Management in Public Safety Communications (3)
An overview of Human Resource Management issues including principles of human resources, federal employee regulations, and Americans with Disabilities Act.

PST 324 Financial Management in Public Safety Communications (3)
An overview of financial management procedures including budgeting, purchasing, bid process, internal control, audit, and reporting.

PST 325 Management Principles in Public Safety Communications (3)
An overview of basic management principles including organizational theory, operational models, supervision, evaluations, and steps for effective leadership.

PST 327 Location Identification (3)
An overview in the rapidly advancing technology of location identification as it related to telecommunication operations.

PST 328 Technical Writing for Public Safety Communicators (3)
An introduction to the basic concepts for professional writing. Emphasis on writing skills necessary for the preparation of standard operating procedures, training documents, and related materials.