The following snapshot below of the three emergency management industry credentials provides a summary of each level, the requirements for certification at the noted level and the progression from Team Member, to Team Leader, and to Management Trainer.

Instructions & Information for Credential Candidates

The three levels of credentialing have been developed with, and endorsed by, leading industry employers and the International Association of Emergency Managers (the largest USA-based emergency management industry representative body in the world). The process of development was:

1. Review of over 130 Emergency Management jobs advertised on Indeed, FEMA, Governmentjobs.com and Seek
2. Focus group discussions with senior emergency managers & comparison to hiring policies, job scopes and procedures in large emergency management organizations
3. Feedback from NATO training organization, International Association of Emergency Managers, FEMA trainers, Certified Emergency Managers (CEM), and health-case coalition and Subject Matter Experts
4. Creation of three levels of credentials – team member, team leader, team trainer
5. Final review by emergency managers, receipt of support & endorsement letters

Each level reflects the task, knowledge, and aptitude requirements of jobs advertised at each level for a team member, team leader, and trainer roles in emergency management across the USA and internationally. Each level’s competencies have been reviewed, contributed to, and endorsed by some of the largest employers in emergency management in the USA as noted below.

Endorsement by:

 

 

Become an Authorised Training Partner:

UARD has developed and quality-assured the credentialing exams with industry input for the three levels of the credentials. UARD enthusiastically receives applications from suitable training partners who deliver the training required to enable the successful award of each credential.

Suitable training providers will have a proven history in the following training areas:

• FEMA Incident Command System, NIMS and/or EMI courses, and,
• Training adults in emergency management occupations such as fire safety command, a first responder on-scene commander, etc., and,
• International Association of Emergency Managers certification curriculum provision, and,
• Preparation for industry change for those moving from one profession to another, from military to civilian careers, or reintegration into civilian society after incarceration.

UARD provides course materials to authorized training providers via the online course materials listed below. Authorized training providers may use the UARD content, develop their own content, and use training materials owned by the authorized partner that is already prepared for each level or a combination of these approaches.

To apply for authorization as a training provider, please complete this application form and we will contact you within 5 working days to discuss your proven history.

Credential Preparation Courses – ATP

The following three preparation courses provide those interested in working in, and leading, the emergency management industry with an example curriculum of the outcomes required at each level for the successful award of the Emergency Team Member, Emergency Team Leader, and Emergency Management Trainer credentials.

Please note:

• a preparation course is not required to attain a credential at level 1, 2 or 3. If the entry requirements are met by a candidate to sit the exam, and the exam is successfully completed, the appropriate credential is awarded regardless of the candidate taking or not taking a preparation course
• credentialing exams must be re-taken every three years (‘recertification’) to retain the credential and each candidate will pay the full, current price at the time of taking the exam

Access to the preparation courses and credential examination support will be gained through an Authorised Training Partner (ATP).

The credentialing exam fees noted below include:

1. Review of candidate application materials (ensuring each candidate is a suitable person for the emergency management industry)
2. Exam access
3. Award of the credential to successful candidates
4. Listing on the UARD Emergency Management Credential database for successful candidates

All fees are paid directly to UARD.

Exam Administration Procedures

The majority of candidates we test will likely have no intention of cheating. However, we still implement a number of anti-cheating measures to protect our users and the integrity of our platform.

These are some of the automated tactics built into our exam platform:

• We disable copy/paste during an exam. This reduces the risk of test questions being shared online.
• Question items are cycled for each test. Every time a candidate takes a test, they receive a small subset of questions that come from a much larger set constructed specifically for that test. Our algorithm rotates these questions while simultaneously making sure each test is equal in difficulty and length.
• Questions within a test have an ultimate exposure count. Once each inquiry has been shown to a certain number of candidates, it’s substituted. This keeps the questions new.
• Contenders won’t know beforehand which question items are in their assessment. At that start, a timer begins and a candidate won’t be able to leave the assessment without you knowing.
• We observe and prevent candidates from registering as new clients so they can’t rehearse tests ahead of your assessment.
• For the same reason, the actual test questions are not available to ATPs.
• Tests are timed and come with an amount of time pressure, allowing zero time to look up answers.
• We use an anti-cheating monitor during the examination:
  • We record the approximate location of the candidate using their IP address.
  • We see if a candidate is using a second email address to take an assessment again.
  • We catch if they exit full-screen mode at any time during the examination.
  • We also detect if their mouse leaves the examination window; for example, to browse the internet on a double screen.
  • We take shots every 30 seconds using a contender camera. This is done to confirm that the candidate is the one taking the examination, without any extraneous help.

Our anti-cheating monitor will alert you if we detect any red flags as a candidate. If there are, it doesn’t necessarily mean the candidate is cheating – so we use careful judgment and have human proctors on hand to respond and investigate.

Since the privacy of our users is extremely important to us, we also make sure that each contender explicitly knows and consents to the terms before commencing an examination. Each candidate is made known that they will be photographed.

Lastly, our software adheres to the highest cybersecurity standards and is regularly tested to make sure all information is kept safe.

For detailed exam administration, preparation, hardware requirements etc. download this document.

For more information contact us using the form below or review our policies including complaints and Reasonable Adjustments Application if you need special support during your credentialling.

Alternatively, you can contact our Credentialling Manager:

Mark Bauer, M.P.A., C S.

Phone on 254-423-1312

Email directly credential@uard.university

Credential Preparation Courses

 The course (if needed) are offered for free.

The credential exam fees:. 

Level one exam fee is $2000

Level two  exam fee is $2000

Level three exam fee is $4000

Should a candidate be approved to not require the course, they may complete the exam immediately and reduce the time needed to gain the credential.