Continuing Education Units Now Offered for Select NVFC Online Health and Safety Courses

February 1, 2016

The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) is pleased to offer continuing education units (CEU), sometimes called continuing education credits (CEC), for 10 of its online health and safety courses. The credits are provided through Columbia Southern University (CSU).

The following courses are now eligible for CEUs. Click on the title to view full descriptions.

• Behavioral Health in the Fire and Emergency Services (.1 credit)
• Cancer in the Fire Service: A Growing Epidemic (.2 credit)
• Fireground Accountability: Daring Not to be a Statistic (.1 credit)
• Flawed Situational Awareness: The Stealth Killer of First Responders (.2 credit)
• Incident Safety Officer (ISO) Series (.3 credit)
• Is Your Department at its B.E.S.T.? (.2 credit)
• Obesity in the Fire Service (.1 credit)
• Overhaul: What’s the Worst that Could Happen? (.1 credits)
• Preventing and Coping with Suicide in the Fire and Emergency Services (.2 credit)
• What to Expect: Helping Your Family Adapt to the Volunteer Fire Service (.1 credit)

The courses are currently free. However, there is a $20 service fee from CSU to issue the CEU. The price is normally $25, but because the NVFC is a learning partner to CSU, NVFC students receive a five dollar discount.

How do you get your CEU?

• Take the eligible course for free in the NVFC Virtual Classroom. Refer to the list above to see which courses are approved for CEUs; it will also be noted in the course description.
• Once you’ve completed the course, the NVFC will submit your grade to CSU – nothing for you to do here!
• CSU will then contact you to explain the next steps you need to complete, which includes filling out an online Participant CEU Request form and paying the $20 service fee.
• Once these items are completed, CSU will mail you your CEU certificate within 7-10 business days.
• Please note that this process must be completed for each course for which you wish to obtain credit.

If you have recently completed one of the 10 courses, you are still eligible to receive credit. CSU will be contacting you with additional details.

“Education and training are critical to firefighter health and safety,” said NVFC CEO Heather Schafer. “We’re pleased to partner with Columbia Southern University to be able to provide CEUs to those who are working to expand their knowledge base and skills sets through the NVFC Virtual Classroom.”

Learn more about the NVFC Virtual Classroom.

About Columbia Southern University
Columbia Southern University (CSU) is an online university based in Orange Beach, AL, that strives to change and improve lives through higher education by enabling students to maximize their professional and personal potential. A subsidiary of Columbia Southern Education Group, CSU offers online degree programs at the associate, bachelor, and master degree levels in a multitude of areas such as occupational safety and health, fire administration, criminal justice, business administration, human resource management, health care administration, and more. CSU also features undergraduate and graduate certificate programs to provide focused training in specialized areas for adult learners. Learn more about CSU. As a learning partner, NVFC members receive a 10% discount on tuition to CSU.