C-CERT Train-the-Trainer Program Completed

Federal grant funding for the C-CERT Train-the-Trainer Program ended March 31, 2010.  During the overall program, including the original 2005 grant award and 2008 continuation grant award, MSU staff instructed 28 C-Cert Train-the-Trainer classes nationwide from August 2006 - December 2009.  Nearly 1,000 campus and local public safety personnel completed this training.  They in turn formed dozens of new Campus CERT teams, and trained hundreds of faculty, staff, and students as C-CERT volunteers at their respective institutions.

This web site will remain accessible as a resource for the remainder of 2010.  Further information and new materials for the updated versions of the basic CERT curriculum and national standard CERT Train-the-Trainer program will eventually become available at the national CERT web site at http://www.citizencorps.gov/cert.  Please also check the FEMA Emergency Management Institute (EMI) Courses & Schedules web site at http://training.fema.gov/EMICourses for offerings of the new national standard CERT Program Manager course (E-427) and CERT Train-the-Trainer course (E-428) at EMI in Emmittsburg, MD, which will begin during the Fall of 2010.

Thank you for your continued, enthusiastic support of enhancing preparedness at campus communities through the Campus CERT program.

Dr. Phil Schertzing
C-CERT Program Manager

C-CERT Goals:

• Enhance the preparedness of citizens and first responders in campus communities nationwide for all hazards, including natural disasters and terrorist attacks involving weapons of mass destruction (WMD)
• Expand implementation of the national Citizen Corps and CERT programs in all types and sizes of institutions of higher education
• Institutionalize citizen preparedness within these high profile, multicultural, educational communities

• Prepare campus police, fire service, public safety or other appropriate personnel to recruit, train and lead sustainable campus CERT teams
• Maximize networking and sharing of best practices or other resources through the C-CERT Web site and other sources
• Provide Web-based refresher, specialized or supplementary C-CERT training modules and exercise templates to C-CERT trainers
• Provide guidance for establishing campus Citizen Corps councils
• Provide guidelines and sample syllabi for establishing CERT as an accredited academic course

View the National Terrorism Prevention Institute Live Response broadcast on the Campus CERT Train-the-Trainer Program at the following link:

• Campus police, public safety, fire service, emergency management, or EMS officials
• Campus security, safety, community relations, or environmental health and safety officers
• Residence hall managers or other physical plant, facility management, maintenance or custodial personnel
• Campus risk managers, legal counsel or other administrative staff
• Faculty, including adjunct faculty and teaching assistants
• State or local (i.e., municipal, tribal, township or county) police, public safety, fire service, EMS, 9-1-1 emergency dispatch, homeland security or emergency management personnel who provide services to colleges or universities in their respective jurisdictions
• Current CERT trainers from any local organization
• Disaster services officials, training staff or volunteer personnel from local American Red Cross chapters and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs)

• Complete IS-100 Introduction to Incident Command System (ICS) and IS-700 National Incident Management System (NIMS):  An Introduction.  Both of these online independent study courses are accessible through the Federal Emergency Management Agency Emergency Management Institute (FEMA-EMI) at http://training.fema.gov/IS/crslist.asp.
• Complete Basic CERT training, or be a current CERT instructor.  This is preferred, but participants will be accepted if they have at least completed the online independent study course IS-317 Introduction to Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) accessible through FEMA-EMI at http://training.fema.gov/IS/crslist.asp.

• Employ an effective training philosophy and educational methodology for adult learners
• Identify both common and unique campus hazards, risks and vulnerabilities
• Prepare for and conduct training for C-CERT members according to the standard CERT Instructor Guide and curriculum
• Develop action plans or “toolboxes” for implementing CERT in a campus setting
• Explore alternatives for seeking administrative and financial support for sustaining C-CERT programs on a long-term basis
• Integrate C-CERT with campus and local emergency response or crisis management plans

• Welcome, introductions, orientation and pre-test
• Overview of adult learning and educational methodology

• Presentation of the Campus Annex to the CERT Instructor Guide
• C-CERT issues and implementation

• Overview of the CERT Instructor Guide and CERT curriculum
• Tips for teaching CERT in the classroom

• Demonstration and practice of CERT disaster simulation exercises
• Tips for setting up and facilitating disaster simulation exercises

• Participant “teach-back” of CERT curriculum (lecture)

• Participant “teach-back” of CERT disaster simulation exercises
• Final course review, evaluations and post-test