Course Syllabus Spring2015

EADP 3055 EOC Design and Operations

Instructor:Dr. Ron Timmons
Office: CH 204H
Phone:940-565-2213
Email:
Office Hours: 2PM-4PMWednesdays at CH 204H / Course Number: EADP 3055
Section: 001
Day: Wednesday
Time:6:00 PM to 8:50 PM
Location: East Classroom Bldg. ECB:120

Course Description

Emphasizes the principles of the design and operation of Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs). In addition to standard EOC functions established in the scholarly literature, course material covers the selection and arrangement of suitable space and equipment, the acquisition and deployment of appropriate communications and information-management technology, crisis decision-making, and the integration of multiple organizations into an emergency management system.

Course Objectives

  • To gain a comprehensive understanding of incident management systems and EOC design and operations in order to be successful in the field of emergency management
  • Incorporate theories and concepts into real world applications associated with disaster management
  • Familiarize with crisis information management technologies
  • Enhance understanding of the challenges and opportunities that disaster management presents to emergency management professionals

Course Text and Reference Materials

There is no assigned textbook for this course. Required readings will be available on the course Blackboard site. Readings have been selected from various professional journals and government publications. Students should be prepared to discuss the materials during class.

A portion of class will be dedicated to the discussion of current events related to the field of emergency management. Students should monitor the media and come prepared to discuss relevant events.

Lectures: Lectures will cover a variety of material including the assigned readings. If you miss a class you are responsible for obtaining missed notes from your classmates.

GENERAL COURSE POLICIES

Syllabus Changes:This syllabus may be modified as needed to enhance the learning process.Students will be given advanced notice of the changes.

Course Structure, Requirements, and Grading Criteria: A combination of lecture, discussion, and classroom activities will be utilized for the class sessions. The course will be as action-oriented as possible and thus will rely a great deal on student involvement. Pertinent subject matter will be introducedand tiedwith the various readings on a topic, but you will be expected to actively participate in discussion. You are expected to complete all required reading assignments prior to attending class.

Reading Assignments: Reading assignments should be completed in advance and class members should be prepared to participate in class discussions. Material from reading assignments will be incorporated into exams even if the material is not directly covered during a lecture.

Assignments:All assignments will be submitted at the beginning of the class on the assigned due date.Assignments submitted after the due date will be reduced by one letter grade per day for a maximum of four days.Individual exceptions to this policy may be considered, but only if an exception is requested in advance, is legitimate, and is well documented.

Attendance and Promptness: Students are expected to attend class and participate in course discussions. Attendance includes arriving on time and remaining for the entire class period. Students are expected to be prepared for class to begin at the appointed time. Regular attendance and active participation will provide the margin of difference for students on the borderline between grades.

Email Communications: All email correspondence should be directed to theinstructor’s primary email address ().Information regarding grades may only be sent via a UNT email address. Blackboard messaging will be used to disseminate information but not for routine or time sensitive email communication.

Blackboard: The course Blackboard site will be used to post the syllabus, course materials, readings, and changes in class schedule. Students are encouraged to check the Blackboard website on a regular basis. The Blackboard email tool will be used for official class announcements.

Respect for fellow students, the field, and the instructor: Although some of the issues covered can be controversial and may evoke an emotional response, please treat other students respectfully. When a lecture is underway or a student question is being addressed, your full attention is expected. This means no talking with other students or in any way distracting the class from the lecture/discussion. Please wait your turn if you would like to contribute to the discussion. Do not carry on side conversations with others in the class or you may be asked to leave the classroom.

Computers and Electronic Devices:Technology use must enhance our classroom experience and not distract from it. Use of a computer or other personal wireless device during class must be restricted to taking notes or following the posted presentation.Please do not surf the web,update your Facebook status, tweet,answer emails, or view entertainment programs or sporting events during class. This conduct is verydistractive to other students. Violations of this policy will result in the student being restricted from using a computer during class and/or a grade deduction.

This course will utilize computers in the classroom and emergency management software. It is expected that students will not provide access to the software to non-class participants. Students shall not utilize the computers during class time for non-class related purposes (playing games, surfing the web, personal e-mail, etc.) Classroom computers will be used for class related activities only.Utilization of the computers for non-class related purposes will result in a verbal warning the first time, written warning the second time, and a one-half letter grade reduction for each additional violation.

Foodand beverages: Please do not bring food into the classroom. Drinksare allowed but must be in closed containers. If you spill something please clean it up immediately.

East Classroom Building Policy: The East Classroom Building (ECB) is managed by the Professional Development Institute. As such, the building is occasionally utilized by other entities. However, use of the EOC lab room is controlled by the EADP program. The building is normally not occupied and is locked and alarmed. The professor will make efforts to arrive and unlock the building and/or room approximately thirty minutes prior to start of class.

  • Evacuation Procedures: In the event it is necessary to rapidly vacate the building due a threat (i.e. fire, bomb threat, weather, etc.) students will immediately evacuate the building and move to the parking lot to the north of the building (between the ECB and the Speech and Hearing Clinic Building).
  • Severe Weather Procedure: As emergency management students you should be inherently aware of the risk of staying in the ECB during severe weather. In the event that a warning is issued for severe weather (i.e. thunderstorm or tornado) or the outdoor warning sirens are activated, student will immediately evacuate the building. You should leave the classroom through the east emergency exit. The student seated at station 21 (closest to the classroom door) will lock the deadbolt on the main door. The class will proceed to the south faculty staff entrance to the Speech and Hearing Clinic and rooms 154, 156 and 158 (sound booths) until cleared by the instructor to return to the ECB.

GRADING STRUCTURE

The weighting of the course elements for the semester grade is as follows:

  • Class Attendance and Participation10 pts
  • FEMA Independent Study and Briefings20 pts
  • Quiz(zes)10 pts
  • Mid-Term Exam 20 pts
  • Final Exam20 pts
  • Exercise Design Project20 pts

Total 100 pts

A point scale will be used for grading (i.e. 90-100 = A; 80- 89 = B; 70- 79 = C; 60- 69 = D; 59 and below = F). The right to alter this grading scheme is reserved should the need arise. Any alterations will however be discussed with the class.

Specific Course Requirements

  1. Attendance and Participation:Attendance is mandatory and may be monitored by classsign-in sheetand/or quizzes. Students are to advise the instructor by email during the first four weeks of the semester regarded anticipated, unavoidable, planned absences for the whole semester. Unexcused absences will result in the reduction of points for attendance.
  1. Exams: AMid-Term Exam and a FinalExamwill be administered during the course. The time of the final exam is listed on the schedule. The exams questions will be based upon material and information that is introduced during lectures, readings, and assigned reference materials.The exams may include true/false, multiple choices, short answer, and essay questions. Make-up examinations will only be approved under emergency circumstances.If you must miss an exam due to an emergency, the instructor must be notified by email or phone prior to the exam. Make-up exams will be composed of questions different from the regular exam.
  1. FEMA Independent StudyCertifications and Briefings

You will be required to complete two FEMA online independent study courses during this semester. Certificates of completion must be submitted by the dates indicated. The student will deliver a five minute oral briefing to the class; presentations lasting less than five minutes (excluding questions) will be subject to penalty. The selection of the two online classes will be at the discretion of the student, following areas of personal interest, applicable to the course scope. Students will be expected to explain how the course selected ties into the principles of this EOC class. Details on this assignment will be discussed in class.

  1. EOC Site Visit:

An effort must be made to visit the EOC site location tours unless otherwise excused by the instructor.

  1. EOC Project:

Each student will design an EOC layout with given information anddeliver a ten minute class presentation. The project will be done in Microsoft PowerPoint. The student will provide the instructor an electronic copy as well as a paper copy to turn in.

Due April 15, at the start of class. Late submission will be penalized.

You are to prepare a written proposal and presentation justifying why the University of North Texas needs a functional EOC. The justification section of the proposal must besix to seven pages, double spaced. The overall packet must be at least ten pages, including the cover page and bibliography. The written proposal is to be submitted via email and also delivered in hard copy, stapled, no hard cover.

Written proposal – For the written proposal, you are to assume that UNT does not have an EOC. The written proposal should contain three elements:

  1. Justification – Why should UNT have a functional EOC? The report should address the risk, issues and problems facing the university without an EOC and how the EOC would benefit the university. Include appropriate benchmarking with other institutions. This portion of the report should convince decision-makers that UNT does indeed need a functioning EOC. This portion of the report must be at least six pages. You must cite at least five external sources for the concepts, facts and/or figures used in the justification. Professional journals and books must be the source of at least three of the required five references.
  1. Design – This should be completed as an appendix to the justification report. You will use the footprint of the East Classroom Building for your design. You are to design how you would configure the building to function as an EOC. This appendix should only be one or two pages providing a visual representation of the one or two designs you would suggest. This portion does not count toward the six page minimum justification section.
  1. Preliminary Budget – This should be completed as an appendix to the justification report. Assume that you would have sufficient budget for remodeling of the facility, networking and back-up power. Prepare a preliminary budget to equip your EOC. Assume you have no furnishings or equipment. The prepared budget should only consist of furnishings and equipment. There is no need to prepare a budget for infrastructure (plumbing, wiring, etc), construction or general office supplies – just the equipment and furnishings. For example, you should estimate costs of desks, chairs, computers, visual displays, radios, etc. but not the cost to build walls, install plumbing or wiring to support technology. A one to two page table or spreadsheet will suffice. This portion does not count toward the six page minimum justification section.

Presentation – Assume you are giving a presentation on your proposal to university administration that has the authority to approve or decline your proposal (This means prepare, act and dress in the manner you would if you were a professional giving this presentation). You will have ten minutes to make your “sales pitch.” You are limited to eight PowerPoint slides if you opt to give a PowerPoint presentation. You must provide the instructor two hard copies of your presentation. (You may provide the hard copy as a handout with three slides per page). Include your budget figures in the presentation.

Approach this project from the perspective that you have ten minutes of the university president and his advisors’ attention to convince them that UNT needs a functional EOC. You want to convince them that it is a critical need and that they should take a serious look at your written proposal. Focus your presentation on the justification but then be prepared to provide them an answer to the following two questions. 1 – What would this potential EOC look like from a layout perspective? 2 – What would be a rough estimate of the monetary needs to equip this space if we moved forward with your idea? Remember that this would be but one of numerous pitches being made for time, space and money for proposed needs by various departments on campus.

Grading will be based on the completeness and quality of your written justification and oral presentation.

Writing Requirements

1)Use Standard English, write professionally. Use 12 point Times New Roman font. Double space the paper using 1 inch margins.

2)Avoid long passages of quotations from other sources. No more than 20% of the content is to be verbatim from other sources.

3)Proofread your papers. This doesn’t simply mean spell check. Words that otherwise exist but do not belong in the context of a passage are common errors. Also, ask someone else to proofread your paper before you hand it in.

4)Acronyms, and there are a bunch of them in our field – spell out the first time used followed by the acronym in parenthesis. You can then use the acronym in the remainder of the paper.

5)Too much capitalization. Emergency management should not be capitalized. Titles are not capitalized unless used before a name. Ex. President Bush created the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) following 9/11 would be correct. This restructuring meant that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was placed under DHS and no longer reported directly to the president as a cabinet agency.

6)In general, single digit numbers such as one should be spelled out. Larger numbers such as 22 do not need to be spelled out. There are variations to this such as consistency within a sentence. For example: FEMA was only one of twenty-two agencies placed within DHS.

7)Refereed journals provide the best sources– that means it is from a scholarly journal that is peer reviewed before articles are published. Periodicals such as news magazines, newspapers, and blogs are not refereed journals.

8)Use of web sites – much of the same principle applies as that with refereed journals. Official government websites can provide information but there are many websites out there that have no quality control mechanisms in place for material that is on the site. Be wary of using such sites and limit them in your bibliography. You must provide the specific web address for the material you are using as a reference. Make sure it works. The reader should be able to type in the address and find the same page(s) you were looking at for the information for your paper.

9)Cite references within the text, using the (author, date) style of referencing. Page numbers are not necessary for a reference in the text unless it is a quote. At a minimum be consistent in the referencing style you use. If you need examples of citation styles, use an emergency management journal to provide examples.

10)Alphabetize the bibliography as a separate page(s) at the end of your paper.

11)Include a title page with your name on it. Do not use headers or footers in the paper other than for page numbers. Do not number the title page; the first page of text begins with 1. Put the page numbers at the bottom of the page, center or right margin.

Class Schedule and Lectures (May be adjusted as needed)

January 21 / Welcome & Introductions
Class requirements and expectations
AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps
January 28 / Reading Assignment:
1)Chapter 10: EOC Management and Operations. Principles of Emergency Management and Emergency Operations Centers
byMichael J Fagel
Overview of EOC purpose and Operational Framework
February 4 / Reading Assignments:
1)Chapter 5: The Emergency Operations Center. Disaster Operations and Decision Making, including Appendix to Ch. 5 FEMA EOC Checklist
2)EOC Design Considerations (Holdeman, Eric)
EOC Physical Features and Design Requirements
College Research Overview
February 11 / Reading Assignment:
1)Design Components of a Modern Emergency Operations Center for the City of Clearwater, Florida (Welker, Terry)
2)Equipping and Arranging an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) for Miami township (Jirka, Glenn)
EOC Physical Features and Technologies (Continued)
February 18 / Reading Assignment:
1)Information Flow During Crisis Management: Challenges to Coordination in the Emergency Operations Center (Militello, Laura)
2)Ten Criteria for Evaluating the Management of Community Disasters (Quarantelli, E. L.)
EOC Staffing, Roles, and Responsibilities
February 25 / 1st Set of FEMA Independent StudyCertifications and Briefings
Mid Term Review
Certificate of completion due, five minute oral briefing to the class
March 4 / EOC Site Visit – City of Plano EOC – 4125 W. Parker Road
WebEOC Demonstration

March 11
March 18 / Mid Term Exam
Spring Break
March 25 / 1st Set of FEMA Independent StudyBriefings, continued
April 1 / Reading Assignment:
Chapter 11: ICS/EOC Interface. Principles of Emergency Management and Emergency Operations Center (Fagel, Michael)
Coordinating multi-organisational responses to disaster: Lessons from the March 28, 2000, Fort Worth tornado, McEntire, David A
EOC – ICS Interface, ESF Considerations
April 8 / 2nd Set of FEMA Independent StudyCertifications and Briefings
Certificate of completion due, five minute oral briefing to the class
April 15 / EOC Project Assignment
Presentations
April 22 / EOC Site Visit – FEMA Region VI, Regional Response Coordination Center (RRCC)
800 North Loop 288, Denton, TX76201
April 29 / Interpersonal Dynamics, Media Relations, Social Media
EOC Assignment Presentations, continued
May 6 / EOC – ICS Interface, ESF Considerations
May 13 / Final Exam, ECB 120

University of North Texas