University News
IBHE Approves Two New Degrees at WIU
August 21, 2006
MACOMB, IL – The Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) recently approved Western Illinois University’s requests to offer an emergency management degree and a degree in telecommunications management.
WesternÂ’s Board of Trustees recommended a proposal in March 2006 by the College of Education and Human Services and department of health sciences to offer a bachelorÂ’s degree in emergency management to meet the growing state and national demand to address homeland security concerns and demands for emergency management personnel in public and private sector organizations that are responsible for health and safety issues, environmental concerns and hazardous material. The 120-semester hour program will in 2007. It is expected that the program will enroll 15 students in the first year and 55 students by the fifth year of the program.
The program, which takes an “all hazards” approach by providing coursework from a variety of departments such as law enforcement, health sciences, geography and chemistry, is the only undergraduate emergency management program in the state.
“Emergency management professionals must have a multidisciplinary education and be knowledgeable in various aspects of law enforcement, public and environmental health, science and technology of bio-defense, threat analysis, public administration and disaster response planning,” said Diane Hamilton-Hancock, health sciences chair
While developing the curriculum, Western faculty and staff worked closely with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials to ensure the program would address essential topics and issues.
“This new interdisciplinary degree emerged in part as a result of Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s and the IBHE’s Homeland Security initiative,” added College of Education and Human Services Dean Bonnie Smith-Skripps. “Students with this degree will be prepared to coordinate disaster response and crisis management activities, as well as provide disaster preparedness training. An increased demand exists for emergency management specialists in business and industry and federal and state agencies.”
The 120-semester hour program in telecommunications management, which was approved by WesternÂ’s Board in June 2006, was designed to meet a growing demand for network systems and data communications analysts. The program, housed in the department of computer science, will begin Spring 2007.
“The computer science department is pleased to offer this new degree program,” said Kathleen Neumann, computer science chair. “The program, which is a long-awaited complement to our existing traditional major in computer science, will be a valuable addition to our department, the College of Business and Technology and the University.”
WesternÂ’s bachelorÂ’s of science degree in telecommunications management is one of only three similar programs in the state. The primary objectives of WesternÂ’s program are to familiarize students with the theories, tools, technical expertise and management know-how required to be successful in planning, designing and managing a telecommunications management environment. It is expected that the program will enroll 20 students in the first year and 150 students by the fourth year of the program.
Posted By: Darcie Shinberger (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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