Going To The National Fire Academy (NFA) For The First Time?

Admissions Process

The admissions process at the National Emergency Training Center (NETC) begins with the development and distribution of the course materials such as catalogs and brochures. Separate materials are developed by NFA and EMI and distributed using prescribed mailing lists. State fire and emergency management training agencies also develop and distribute NFA and EMI training materials. Course catalogs are also available on the Internet. The admissions process support not only EMI and NFA classes conducted at NETC but also classes offered at the Mount Weather Educational Assistance Center (MWEAC) as well as anywhere else in the United States, either directly or indirectly by EMI or NFA. 

In order to get a better understanding of the admissions process, it is important to understand the various methods of course delivery utilized by EMI and NFA since the delivery method has a direct relationship to the manner in which a course is supported by the admissions system. The nine general methods of course delivery are:

• Direct delivery, both on-campus and MN off-campus courses
• Executive Fire Officer Program (EFOP)
• Volunteer Incentive Program (VIP)
  
• Invitation only delivery
• Delivery in conjunction with a state training agency
• Delivery at the local level by local trained instructors
• On-line courses at EMI
• To access all National Fire Academy online courses 
• Virtual Campus at EMI
  
• Self Study Courses at NFA
  

Tuition:

There are no tuition fees for NFA courses. All instruction and course materials are provided at no cost. Transportation costs and lodging for students who represent career or volunteer fire departments or rescue squads or State/local governments attending on-campus courses are currently provided as part of funding for the student stipend reimbursement program. Students from other countries, other Federal agencies, private industry, or contractors of State/local fire departments or government entities must pay their own transportation and lodging fees. All students are responsible for the cost of the cafeteria meals provided and for personal, incidental expenses. Incidental expenses may include items such as class picture, class shirts, and class donations.

Student Stipend

An element of the admissions system is the student stipend reimbursement program. A stipend reimbursement payment, which is to offset a portion of the expense of attendance, is made to eligible individuals (representatives of state or local government or volunteer organizations) attending courses in the resident delivery, EFOP, and invitation only delivery. The stipend reimbursement is in the form of reimbursement for transportation. The admissions system generates a student stipend contract form for eligible individuals. These forms are completed and submitted at the time of registration along with accompanying documentation. Information on the stipend reimbursement forms is verified, the payment information entered into the admissions system, and the payment processed through the Treasury Electronic Certification System.

Stipend reimbursement is limited to one trip for each student per fiscal year. Therefore, you will not be considered for another course during the same fiscal year without notifying us in advance that you understand that your second trip will be at your expense entirely. You must purchase a 21-day prepurchased, nonrefundable ticket for round-trip transportation by common carrier (economy coach class or less). First class and business class airline tickets will not be reimbursed. If you are notified in enough time to purchase the 21-day ticket and do not do so, your reimbursement will be limited to the State ceiling as established by the NETC. If you choose to drive, you will be reimbursed the current Privately Owned Vehicle (POV) Federal mileage allowance, or the State ceiling, whichever is less. POV mileage is subject to validation.

Reimbursement will be made by direct deposit to an account bearing the student's name, identified by the student. We request that each student provide a copy of a check (NOT a deposit slip). If appropriate bank information is not supplied, reimbursement shall be denied.

If you have questions about your eligibility to receive a stipend, please call (301) 447-1035.

Housing

Housing is another element of the admissions system. Housing is automatically reserved for individuals accepted to attend courses at NETC. A list is generated for individuals attending classes at the MWEAC so that housing can be assigned there. Delivery methods include resident on-campus courses, the EFOP, invitation only deliveries, and State Weekend Program deliveries in conjunction with a state training agency. Individuals that are eligible to participate in the student stipend reimbursement program are provided lodging at no cost while others, with the exception of FEMA personnel, must pay for lodging. If the student count exceeds the number of single rooms available, students may have to share a room. Please do not call to request a single room. All lodging rooms are nonsmoking rooms and are randomly assigned once approved for a course. Because of the random assignments of rooms, classmates may not be lodged together.

Meals:

Individuals using campus housing for more than one night must purchase a meal ticket at the time of registration. Meal ticket listings are provided to the food service contractor for each course so that meal tickets can be issued at time of registration. There are no refunds for meals missed. All students residing on campus must purchase meal tickets. Any student who does not purchase a meal ticket must move off campus for the duration of the course at personal expense. Additionally, these students not staying on campus must pay for refreshments served during class breaks.

IAW with FEMA Instruction 6200.3 section 7, paragraph e all persons staying on campus for more than 1 day are required to purchase a meal ticket. Student rates apply to FEMA employees attending NETC courses. Non-student rates apply to FEMA employees attending conferences and other types of meetings. If a FEMA employee is staying off campus, meals may be purchased at the "single meal" price and a break ticket ($2/day) must be purchased. Dinner on the night of arrival and lunch or dinner on the day of departure may be optional. It will be the guest's responsibility to notify the Food Service Provider in advance of purchasing the meal ticket if those meals will not be taken. If it is not identified in advance, the guest will be required to pay the full meal ticket amount. You may notify them by phone 301 447-1551 or in writing via e-mail (netc-cafeteria@dhs.gov).

Transportation

Ground transportation is provided to students accepted to attend resident on-campus courses at NETC or MWEAC and who are traveling by air. Transportation includes round trip shuttle service between NETC or the MWEAC and the DC area airports (Ronald Reagan National and Baltimore Washington International for NETC, and Dulles International for MWEAC) at scheduled times. Individuals requiring ground transportation must notify the Housing Office at least 7 days in advance. The admissions system generates a report listing which students will arrive from which airport at which time.

Curriculum Management

Curriculum management is the hub of the admissions system. It contains the assigned course code and official title of a course. Also part of course management is the offering section that contains the individual dates, locations, and offering-specific information of each offering of a course in curriculum. If a course has not been entered into curriculum management and entries made for the specific offerings, no student records can be entered for that course or an offering of it.

Currently, there are over 500,000 student records in the admissions system. The data is also used to respond to inquiries for statistical data.

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