The Hamilton County Emergency Management & Homeland Security Agency (EMHSA) administers an emergency management training program that offers a variety of courses for students. EMHSA facilitates trainings provided by FEMA's Emergency Management Institute, FEMA's National Domestic Preparedness Consortium, and Rural Domestic Preparedness Consortium, and Ohio Emergency Management Agency.
Course Registration
For all courses that EMHSA provides or facilitates, students must have their FEMA SID prior to registration for the course. Students may obtain their FEMA SID by visiting: https://cdp.dhs.gov/FEMASID. Students must also have completed all prerequisites as requested. All prospective applicants may be subject to agency/organizational verification of employment. Any person who knowingly submits false registration information will be denied from attending the registered course and any future courses offered.
To register for an Ohio EMA course or to see a current list of available courses, a prospective student should visit the Ohio EMA training website, https://webeoctraining.dps.ohio.gov/TrainingAndExercise/courselist.aspx. Students may view the course listings without creating a profile, however when registering for a course, students must request a new user profile by emailing: [email protected] or calling the Department of Public Safety Training Campus (PSTC) Help Desk at (614) 752-6487. Once a profile is created students may log on to the training campus and register at: https://learning.dps.ohio.gov/PSTC/. Students experiencing difficulties accessing the website, creating an account or registering for training should call the PSTC Help Desk.
Course registration will generally close 7-10 working days prior to the course start date.
To allow a first come, first serve basis, agencies will no longer be able to make "blanket registrations." For example, an agency will not be permitted to request a certain amount slots without knowing who the attendees are prior to registration for a course. However, there is no capacity limit for an agency to submit for registration. If the requesting agency has all the attendee's registering information, they then will be allowed to submit as many registrations as they request.
Course Cancellation
It is EMHSA's intent to bring all courses that are promoted to the County. However, when the registration numbers are lower than the minimal threshold, the Instructing Agency may cancel the class. Attendance numbers are presented to the Instructing Agency 14 business days prior to start date of the course. If the Instructing Agency cancels a course, the Agency will contact those students via the applicant's registered contact information.
Eligibility
Most courses are available to anyone involved in emergency management, or response at the local, state, or federal levels. Other eligible attendees include policy makers, response partners, communications, hazardous materials, healthcare, and public works. Some courses may have a specific primary audience. In this case, secondary audiences will be considered, upon the availability of open seats.
Due to the sensitive topics of courses offered by EMHSA, students will be deemed ineligible for courses if they are a part of an active criminal investigation, in a probation period, or on parole.
Attendance Policy
EMHSA expects students to arrive on time and attend all sessions or blocks of instruction for the course. Selective attendance and late arrival is a deterrent to individual learning and a disruption to other students. EMHSA may dismiss students from the course for late arrival or any absence from the class. The EMHSA will not provide credit to students who do not attend a course in its entirety.
EMHSA will monitor student and organizational attendance. If an organization is found to have an attendance record below 70%, a formal letter will be sent to that organization. The organization collectively, may be put on a one-year probation from applying to courses facilitated by EMHSA at the Director's discretion.
Student No Shows
Most courses are offered at no cost to the student. However, these courses are funded through federal grants, and it takes considerable resources to plan and arrange logistics to bring courses to the County. When class attendance is less than the registration roster, it reflects poorly on the student, the student's organization, and the County. This puts EMHSA at risk of not being able to retain Instructing Agencies for future courses. If a student misses two classes without notifying the EMHSA Training & Exercise Specialist prior to the course start date, they will not be permitted to register for future courses without a written letter of support from the student's supervisor explaining the absences of the student.
Registration Cancellation
If you find that you cannot attend the course, notify the EMHSA Training & Exercise Specialist no later than two weeks prior to the start of class. If two weeks' notice is not possible, contact the Training & Exercise Specialist before 24 hours of the course start. Applicants who cancel within 24 hours of the start of class will be given the opportunity to submit documentation to the Training & Exercise Specialist for acceptable excusal. If no documentation is submitted within 72 hours of the last day of class, the student will be classified as a "No Show," thus Student No Show policies will be applied. Our goal is to ensure that all those wanting to attend training are afforded the opportunity and to let those individuals on the wait list fill available seats in a timely manner.
Student Conduct
EMHSA expects students to conduct themselves in a professional manner at all times while in class. EMHSA may dismiss students from the course that engage in disruptive behavior or arrive in nonprofessional appearance (business casual or uniform). EMHSA may ban those in violation of this policy from attendance at any future trainings EMHSA facilitates. The EMHSA Director will have final discretion on such situations.
Conduct that is documented by regional training partners, Ohio EMA, or consortium agencies as inappropriate or disruptive, may be considered by the EMHSA Director as grounds to ban a student from enrollment in courses that are facilitated by EMHSA.
Student Classroom Accommodations
It is the goal of EMHSA to ensure that all students have the tools necessary to successfully complete the courses offered. If students require additional accommodations when attending trainings, they should let the EMHSA Training & Exercise Specialist know, in order to meet reasonable requests. If a course is offered by the Ohio EMA, OEMA can arrange to provide interpretation services. Students may elect to have tests read to them or arrange for extra time. All facilities that host trainings funded by Ohio EMA, are accessible by wheelchair.
If a student has a service animal, accommodations can be made for the student and their service animal. However, if the animal is not a service animal, or otherwise related to a documented medical need, the animal will not be permitted to enter. Students who bring a service animal should notify the EMHSA Training & Exercise Specialist prior to the start of the course.
Weapons in Class
Weapons of any type are not permitted in classrooms, unless the student is a sworn peace officer. For trainings held at the Regional Operations Center, sworn peace officers will need to show a badge and proper identification at the front desk when signing in.
Tobacco Use
Smoking and chewing tobacco in classrooms, regardless of location, is strictly prohibited.
Cell Phones and Electronic Devices
Students are expected to be respectful of other students as well as the instructors. The use of cell phones and other electronic devices should be limited during class time. If a student must check emails or make phone calls they should excuse themselves from the class or use electronic devices during breaks. However, some classes will require the use of such devices as a learning tool.
Lodging and Meals
Meals, Per Diem, and all other travel expenses are the responsibility of the student or the parent organization. Refreshments are not a requirement by EMHSA in order to facilitate training. Students should bring refreshments in accordance with the hosting location's refreshments policies.
Training Records and Transcripts
EMHSA will maintain registrations, sign-in sheets, and certificates by trainings that are taught by Hamilton County Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency staff and partners. Attendance at all Ohio EMA courses is recorded in the Ohio EMA training database and records of all training, including course attendance rosters, are maintained on file for seven years. Students can access their transcript by logging on to the Department of Public Safety Training Campus website and accessing the transcript link. Students may also request a copy of their transcript by sending a written request to the Ohio EMA training section. National Domestic Preparedness Consortium agencies will issue certificates to students via the student's registered contact information. Students who wish to receive transcripts or certificates will need to contact the Instructing Agency.
Types of Courses
There are a number of different prefaces that identify trainings offered. A breakdown of courses offered are:
- AWR - Awareness level training offered by consortium partners.
- E - Resident courses held at the EMI National Emergency Training Campus.
- G - FEMA Emergency Management Institute (EMI) courses offered in a classroom setting.
- IS - Independent study FEMA courses available online: https://training.fema.gov/is/crslist.aspx.
- L - A mobile delivery of an EMI course that is locates away from the EMI campus and taught by FEMA Certified Instructors.
- MGT - Management level training offered by consortium partners.
- OH - Courses that are tailored to the state of Ohio.
- PER - Performance level courses for those who perform tasks during the initial response to a certain incident.