Higher Education

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In cooperation with the National Fire Academy (NFA) and a Group of Stakeholder from Virginia's Community College System and Private Colleges Virginia Department of FIre Programs has lead the charge to assist Virginia Fire Fighters in excelling in higher education opportunities.

As a result of this group's work, a general consensus was agreed upon to be the pioneers in accepting the NFA model for higher education. On the attached links you will find various colleges in the Commonwealth that offer Fire Science degree programs to assists Virginia's Fire Service community with furthering their goals and objectives.

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VIRGINIA WESTERN
The Community's College


Virginia Department of Fire Programs (VDFP) joins a select number of organizations that have added value to their training courses through college credit recommendations as a result of a review conducted on November 30 and December 1, 2005 by the American Council on Education's (ACE) College Credit Recommendation Service. The 20 VDFP courses total 52 semester hours of college credit in four (4) areas; Vocational Certificate, Lower Division Baccalaureate/Associate, Upper Division Baccalaureate, and Graduate Level course offerings. The 20 NFA courses submitted for review were accepted as presented for equivalency semesters hours being offered by NFA.

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Fall 2009 - Fire Science Technology Courses

Phoenix

VDFP is pleased to announce an articulation agreement with the University Of Phoenix (UOP). This agreement can reduce the cost and time required to earn a UOP degree by awarding college credit for many of the Virginia Department of Fire Programs courses. Although UOP is widely known for its online classes, it also offers traditional classroom instruction at four (and soon five) locations in Virginia. The fifth campus will open in Manassas in October 2009.

  • Northern Virginia Campus Locations

    Arlington Learning Center - Arlington - Virginia
    1800 South Bell Street, Suite 100
    Arlington, Virginia 22202
    571.227.7075 Local

    Fairfax Learning Center - Fairfax - Virginia
    8270 Willow Oaks Corporate Drive, Suite 200
    Fairfax, Virginia 22031
    703.245.4118 Local

    Northern Virginia Campus - Reston - Virginia
    11730 Plaza America Drive, Suite 200
    Reston, Virginia 20190
    703.376.6100 Local

  • Richmond Campus Locations

    Richmond Campus - Richmond - Virginia
    6600 West Broad Street, Suite 200
    Richmond, Virginia 23230
    804.281.3900 Local

To view the Agreement click here
To view a list of the courses UOP will consider click here.

FAQ's relating to the UOP articulation agreement:

  1. Will credit granted for articulated courses apply to any undergraduate program? Yes.
  2. May I apply credits from other colleges and articulated credits toward my degree program? Yes.
  3. When will I learn which certifications will lead to credit through articulation? Like transferred college credits, the university reviews and awards articulated credits enrollment.
  4. How can I maximize the degree cost and time savings by using articulated credits and/or previous college credits? Apply previous college credits toward the UOP degree first, these transfer at no cost. Then, apply articulated credits to the UOP degree program. There are fees, but they are significantly less than tuition.
  5. Will all firefighters apply the same number of articulated VDFP credits to a UOP degree program? No. Consider three possible scenarios, firefighters with:
    1. No previous college credit. This student benefits most from the articulation agreement in that the largest number of articulated courses can be applied to his/her degree program. This student will enjoy the greatest cost and time savings.
    2. Some previous college credit. This student will first apply his/her existing college credits, college-to-college transfers are "no cost." Articulated credits follow to fill remaining program allowances.
    3. Significant college credit. This student may find that he/she can apply only a few or no articulated credits to a degree program. This limitation exists for both college-to-college credit transfer and articulated courses.

ACE Recommendations

To view the ACE College Credit Recommendation Service review completed in November 2005 and a copy of the Media Release in December 2005, click on the links below.

ACE College Credit Recommendation Service in PPT

ACE Media release in .pdf format

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