wall of monitors in emergency management center

Bachelor of Applied Science in Homeland Security Emergency Management Degree

Program Outcomes

Homeland Security Emergency Management is a cross-functional industry that requires managers and leaders that have the ability to think through multiple systems, processes and relationships to analyze how various public and private organizations function. The BAS-HSEM degree is designed to prepare graduates with the specific leadership and management competencies that are modeled by successful HSEM professionals. Graduates who have earned a BAS-HSEM degree will be able to demonstrate competencies in the following areas:

Planning

  • Apply effective interpersonal communication, critical thinking and decision-making skills commensurate with a defined level of responsibility.
  • Prepare and implement response plans for multiple types of emergencies and disasters and adapt those plans to respond quickly, ethically and effectively to rapidly evolving situations.
  • Develop agency/organization specific tools to evaluate specific domestic security challenges for the 21st Century that face the United States and other industrialized nations.
  • Design and modify plans and programs at federal, state and/or local levels to address the evolving strategic policy issues associated with a statutory and presidential direction for homeland security.
  • Apply systems theory and logic models to define integrated outcomes, risk, and performance measures in multi-organizational settings.
  • Formulate and apply Business Continuity principles, processes, procedures, decisions and activities to increase disaster resilience in public and private organizations.
  • Formulate and apply the principles of effective homeland security/emergency management training and exercise planning.
  • Identify and educate appropriate constituencies and concerned parties (the public, supervisors, team members, colleagues, private sector, military and other officials) through communications plans targeted to their specific needs.

Research

  • Review and interpret ethical and legal issues that impact emergency management and homeland security.
  • Identify and interpret fundamental local, state, federal and international rules and regulations to ensure ethical and legal responses to emergencies and disasters.
  • Recognize how to access and disseminate information through multiple agencies in order to assess and forecast the risks, types and orders of magnitude of terrorist threats most likely to impact organizations.
  • Define the interdisciplinary nature of Homeland Security/Emergency Management functions and be able to assess and integrate various functional areas.
  • Develop policies, procedures and protocols to allow seamless organization integration from prevention to incident response through to the recovery phase.
  • Research and analyze the evolution of existing homeland security/emergency management systems, structures and functionalities, including local, state, federal, volunteer and private organizations.
  • Analyze and assess historical responses to emergencies and disasters and formulate informed, well-reasoned and professional recommendations for both preventive measures and future responses.

Decision Making

  • Apply a solid foundation of knowledge and skills to assume leadership roles in emergency management, homeland security and/or public policy.
  • Apply basic business principles related to process, function and strategies.
  • Model and apply ethical leadership, management, and effective critical decision-making principles.
  • Make critical decisions under extreme pressure in a rapidly evolving environment.
  • Develop and operate financial and budget systems within the structure of Homeland Security and Emergency Management fields, including fiscal oversight and funding mechanisms available for resource development.

Teamwork

  • Formulate, coordinate and implement—in a team environment—an immediate and effective emergency management response plan.
  • Participate in employer-directed training for performance enhancement and career advancement.

Assessment

  • Compare and contrast the strategies of homeland defense and civil support, including international and national coalitions.
  • Articulate the emphasis on the nation’s strategies for critical infrastructure protection and securing cyberspace.
  • Assess and interpret risk factors and strategies of deployment for Weapons of Mass Destruction.
  • Recognize and implement ways to manage a scalable workforce that include both paid staff and volunteer staff to accomplish response and recovery tasks.

Fundamental Areas of Knowledge and Core Abilities Outcomes

General Education at Pierce College prepares graduates to live and work in a dynamically changing world by emphasizing whole student development through fundamental areas of knowledge and the college five core abilities.