U of F Fire and Emergency Services Bachelors Degree

[GFPD2005]

Hello there.

Does anyone have any experience with this distance learning degree? I already have a B.A. and from their eval of my transcript they said I can start with a junior standing and complete the Fire and ES courses and get a Bachelors from them.

Any good or bad, experiences in general for the program? Its a deal for me because Illinois (my state) and Florida have made some agreement and I get Florida in-state tuition. Id like to start my first course in Jan 08.

Take care. Anyone want to do an exchange program and come up here for the snow and ice? haha

[ColdFireJT]

It's a good program if you're looking to advance your education in the prublic safety arena. Whether you're already an officer or not, the classes that make up the major are very useful if you're looking to be in an upper-management position, whether it be in the fire service specifically or Emergency Management in general. Obviously you know that the entire program is online, which could be good or bad, depending on how well you handle independent studying and writing. THe instructors are usually readily available though and can help you with whatever you need while you're taking the classes. Another benefit is that the classes roll over from semester to semester so you can go at your own pace. (Or at least, they used to... It's been a few years since I was in the program)

The major downside for me was the tuition. It's one of the only programs at a Florida public university that has no distinction between in-state and out-of-state - they simply took the average of the two and charge a flat rate per credit. Now obviously, you're getting the better part of the deal since you're from out-of-state - but for us Floridians, it's not so great.

Overall though, it's a good program if you can afford it. If you decide to go forward with it, let me be the first to welcome you to the Gator Nation. Take care!

[GFPD2005]

Thanks for the info. For me this is cheaper than Western Illinois University Fire Degree In-state tuition! Looks like a great program. Ive been paid on call for 2.5 yrs and will be starting full time next friday. I was looking at Masters programs but they are all almost 3x the tuition. Im thinking this will work out nicely.

I guess I gotta get this straight...I grew up an Illini fan, went to Iowa State University and became a Cyclone, and now Im going to be a Gator?! Well at least I can say Ive been to Florida a few times.

Thanks for the reply.