Emergency Management – Field Placement Information

Introduction

Welcome to the Field Guide for the Emergency Management graduate certificate program. The instructions below will walk you through the process of preparing for fieldwork.

We advise all students to bookmark this page so you always have access to the most current placement information.

Program Overview

The final requirement of the Emergency Management graduate certificate program is an 84-hour Placement/Research Project course. This course is designed to provide you with an opportunity to apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that you have learned throughout the prerequisite courses.  

If you choose to complete the placement for this program, you are responsible for participating in 84 experience hours on-site at your assigned field placement agency. Please note that your hours can include a 15-minute break each day but do not include your lunch period. Field placement hours can be completed all at once or in varying time periods throughout the term. All placement hours must be completed by the final day of the term. 

If you choose to complete the research project for this program, all work will be completed through AC Brightspace and you are only required to complete all prerequisite courses and submit the Intent to Complete Placement form.  

Placement Deadlines

In order to complete the placement option for this program, students must:

Completing the documentation and securing a placement location can be a complicated process and students should start the preparations early. It may take 8-12 weeks to complete all placement requirements. You will be expected to complete the project-based course if you have been unable to secure a placement agency or meet the placement requirements by the semester start date.

Placement Eligibility

In order to be eligible for field placements, students must meet the following requirements prior to the deadlines:

1. Academic Clearance: students must successfully complete all theory courses prior to the placement course start date. This will be confirmed by the Student Advisor after the Intent to Complete Placement Form deadline.
2. EM Intent to Complete Placement/Research Project Form: this form must be submitted prior to the deadline to confirm if you plan to take placement or the project-based course. This form is completed entirely online in just a few minutes.
3. Secure an appropriate placement agency: it is the student’s responsibility to confirm their placement agency, dates, hours, etc.
4. EM Placement Confirmation and PRC Submission Form: this form must be submitted prior to the first day of your placement. While this form is completed entirely online in just a few minutes, in order to successfully complete the form you must be prepared to submit:
   1. Your placement agency information: including organization name, location, contact information, and main contact.
   2. Your placement schedule: including start/end date, days of the week, and hours per day.
      Note: you should plan to finish at least a week prior to the end of the semester in case you need to make up placement hours due to extenuating circumstances (illness, weather, etc.).
   3. Police Records Check (PRC): if you live in an area with high demand for police checks, it may take up to 12 weeks to receive this document. If your local police station requires a letter from the college, please complete the online request form.

How to Secure a Placement

Getting Started
Students in the Emergency Management program who choose to complete placement are responsible for finding and securing their placement location. In order to get started, students should:

1. Update your resume.
2. Determine your availability: be prepared to let the agency know exactly what your placement period will look like. Have your availability (working days and hours) as well as your preferred start and end dates defined before you contact agencies.
3. Research agencies in your area that you may be interested in working with. Some of the best resources to identify potential agencies include:
   1. Google Search
   2. LinkedIn
   3. Reaching out to personal contacts in the field

Contacting Potential Placement Agencies
We highly recommend that students reach out to their potential placement agency by phone and follow up with an email. Do not expect your agency to agree to host you for placement in your initial phone call, you should allow them time to review your request and get back to you with a final decision.

1. Contact your prospective agency by phone. Be prepared to summarize:
   1. Who you are: indicate your full name, and that you are an Algonquin College student studying in the Emergency Management graduate certificate program.
   2. What the purpose of your contact is: you are hoping to complete an 85-hour placement with the organization.
   3. When the placement period would be: indicate the start/end period and your availability (days per week and hours per day). Ask the agency if there is a particular person you should reach out to by phone or email to provide further details. They may refer you to HR, a hiring manager, or they may prefer that you send them the details to follow up with the appropriate contact.
      Ask the agency if there is a particular person you should reach out to by phone or email to provide further details. They may refer you to HR, a hiring manager, or they may prefer that you send them the details to follow up with the appropriate contact.
2. Send follow-up communication by email, including:
   1. Who you are
   2. If contacting the person you spoke to by phone, thank them for the time they have taken to speak with you and consideration of your request
   3. If contacting someone you have been referred to, indicate who has referred you, and the reason for your contact
   4. A brief summary of your request, including your objective and the key placement dates/hours
   5. Attach a copy of your resume
   6. Invite the agency to contact you for an interview or further information prior to making a decision
   7. Include a date for follow up, approximately one week after the initial contact.
3. After your date for follow up has passed, if you have not heard back from the agency, send a follow-up email asking for a final decision so you can determine your next steps.

Confirming Your Placement
After you receive confirmation from the placement agency, you will need to submit the EM Placement Confirmation and PRC Submission Form. This will need to include the agency information, your confirmed schedule, and a copy of your PRC.

Registration

Full-time Students
Eligible full-time students will be registered for placement by their Student Advisor automatically. Please confirm your registration in ACSIS and connect with your Student Advisor if you have any concerns regarding your course load.

Part-time Students
Online registration is not available for part-time placement courses. Part-time students will be provided with the next steps to register after the placement deadline has passed if they have submitted the EM Intent to Complete Placement/Research Project Form and have successfully completed all theory courses.

Please note registration does not guarantee placement; part-time students must have Field Placement Officer permission to register for all placement and seminar courses. Students will be expected to complete the project–based course if they have been unable to secure a placement agency or meet the placement requirements by the semester start date.