Emergency Management Student Survey The survey addressed the following areas: basic program information, program evaluation, general faculty evaluation, job placement and internship opportunities, distance learning, and student demographics. Data Analyzed by William McPeck, MSW, Jill Garcia & Randal Fote Survey created by William McPeck, MSW, Jill Garcia, Randal Fote, Carol Cwiak, B.S.L., J.D. & Shaun Ohlms

NOAA Student Surveys (Mid-April to Mid-May) 50 Colleges and Universities 4 International Universities 13 International Surveys 25% Traditional Students 75% Returning Students

Top Five Schools for Response California State University - Long Beach81 University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill56 University of North Texas43 Jacksonville State University40 St. Joseph’s University28 Type of Program *************************** Traditional Distance LearningCombination

3 did not answer

Academic Department Public Safety 71 Planning and Mgmt63 Public Health55 Management51 Other49 Fire Science/Admin.39 Public Policy/Admin.36 Engineering27 Environmental Studies23 Sociology22 Other, Social Science6 Planning4 Medicine3 Geography2 Unknown1 N = 452

What Students Would Change About the Courses Specifically to Improve Them 203More Case Studies 103Better Reading Material 58Course Descriptions that Match Course Content 52More Knowledgeable Professor 41More Reading Material 29Less Work Assigned Comments include a need for more “hands-on” material/coursework. Programs need to focus on actual job related tasks and situations.

What Students Would Change About the Courses Offerings 181More Frequent Offerings of Core Courses 177More Diverse Course Selection 75Distance Learning Opportunities 69Adding or Enhancing the Number of Night and Weekend Courses

What Students Would Like to See Their Program Improve Internship Opportunities In… 232Federal Government 197Private Industry 194State Government 189Local Government 120Non Profit Organization 50mixed comments that internships are not applicable and/or all of the above

Emergency Management Student Survey What Distance Education Students Said

Distance Education Students 1. Programs using a combination of in- person and distance ed formats N=140 respondents 2. Programs using a distance ed format alone N=123 respondents 263 (58.2%) respondents out of a total of 452 respondents

Schools Represented 31 schools representing combination and distance education programs Schools with the largest responses included:  California State University–Long Beach – 81  University of North Carolina Chapel Hill – 56  Jacksonville State University – 40  Arkansas Technical University – 24  American Public University System - 18

Data Issues Concern - Several schools were listed as both combination and distant education only programs. For example:  University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill  California State University – Long Beach  Jacksonville State University Database needs cleaning up

Q2 – Why Did You Choose the Specific Program You Did? Combination  Location – 69 (32.7%)  Reputation – 38 (18%)  Program Focus-38 (18%)  Cost – 36 (17.1%)  Classes – 16 (7.6%)  Admin Policies– 2 (0.9%)  Other – 12 (5.7%) N = 211 Total Reflects More Than One Choice Distance Ed Only  Location – 45 (20.8%)  Distance Format– 41 (19%)  Reputation – 39 (18.1%)  Cost – 34 (15.74%)  Program Focus – 32 (14.8%)  Classes – 9 (4.2%)  Other – 9 (4.2%) N = 216 Total Reflects More Than One Choice

Q3 – Degree or Certificate Level Represented Combination  Degrees Associate – 1 (0.8%) Bachelor - 69 (56%) Masters – 33 (27%) Doctorate – 4 (3.3%)  Certificates Undergrad – 0 Graduate – 12 (9.8%) Stand Alone-4 (3.3%) Distance Ed Only  Degrees Associate – 6 (4.3%) Bachelor-54 (38.6%) Masters – 48 (34.3%) Doctorate – 0  Certificates Undergrad-3 (2.1%) Graduate-24 (17.1%) Stand Alone-5 (3.6%)

Q5 – Student Status Combination  Traditional – 21 (17.1%)  Returning – 102 (82.9%) N = 123 Distance Ed Only  Traditional – 19 (13.6%)  Returning – 121 (86.4%) N = 140

Q8 – Employment Status Combination  Unemployed – 6 (4.9%)  Part-time – 13 (10.6%)  Full-time – 104 (84.6%) < 30 hrs = Part-time N = 123 Distance Ed Only  Unemployed – 11 (7.9%)  Part-time – 9 (6.4%)  Full-time – 120 (85.7%) < 30 hrs = Part-time N = 140

Q10 – Primary Job Title Combination  Fire Service – 29 (25%)  Law Enf – 22 (19%)  Emergency Mgt – 10 (8.6%)  Healthcare – 10 (8.6%)  EMS – 3 (2.6%) Top 5 Categories N = 116 Distance Ed Only  Fire Service – 16 (12.6%)  Emergency Mgt – 12 (9.4%)  Healthcare – 11 (8.7%)  Law Enf – 9 (7.1%)  Military – 9 (7.1%) Top 5 Categories N = 127

Q11 – Does Work Pay for Your Education? Combination Completely – 17 (13.8%) Partially – 44 (35.8%) Not At All – 53 (43.1%) Not Applicable – 9 (7.3%) N = 123 Distance Ed Only Completely – 19 (13.6%) Partially – 52 (37.1%) Not At All – 54 (38.6%) Not Applicable – 15 (10.7%) N = 140

Q12 – Why Did You Enroll in the Program? Combination  Professional Development – 84 (69.4%)  Mandated – 0  Interested in EM - 26 (21.5%)  Other -11 (9.1%) N = 121 Distance Ed Only  Professional Development – 100 (71.4%)  Mandated – 1 (0.7%)  Interested in EM – 30 (21.4%)  Other – 9 (6.4%) N = 140

Questions Specific for Distance Education Students For the following six questions, the Combination Program and Distance Ed Program subsets were combined to reflect all the distance education students.

Q33 – The Use of Technology to Deliver Course Work Interfered with my ability to learn – 12 (4.6%) Enhanced my ability to learn – 165 (62.7%) Had no effect on my ability to learn– 65 (24.7%) No Opinion – 21 (8%) N = 263

Q34 – I Received Timely Feedback from Faculty Members  Strongly Agree – 94 (35.7%)  Agree – 113 (43.0%)  Neutral – 22 (8.4%)  Disagree – 17 (6.5%)  Strongly Disagree – 6 (2.3%)  No Opinion – 11 (4.2%) N = 263

Q35 – I Received Adequate Feedback From Faculty Members  Strongly Agree – 87 (33.1%)  Agree – 122 (46.4%)  Neutral – 20 (7.6%)  Disagree – 17 (6.5%)  Strongly Disagree - 5 (1.9%)  No Opinion – 12 (4.6%) N = 263

Q36 – I Received Timely Notice of Grades  Strongly Agree – 95 (36.1%)  Agree – 102 (38.8%)  Neutral – 25 (9.5%)  Disagree – 17 (6.5%)  Strongly Disagree – 8 (3.0%)  No Opinion – 16 (6.1%) N = 263

Q37 – My Courses Encouraged Collaboration With My Fellow Students  Strongly Agree – 93 (35.4%)  Agree – 124 (47.1%)  Neutral – 23 (8.8%)  Disagree – 8 (3.0%)  Strongly Disagree - 5 (1.9%)  No Opinion – 10 (3.8%) N = 263

Q38 – My Courses Provided Ample Opportunities To Learn From My Fellow Students  Strongly Agree – 81 (30.8%)  Agree – 117 (44.5%)  Neutral – 36 (13.7%)  Disagree – 14 (5.3%)  Strongly Disagree - 5 (1.9%)  No Opinion – 10 (3.8%) N = 263