Syllabus

 

Course: Personnel Management for Emergency Services

Course & Section: FES 4045

Credit Hours: 3

Session: Fall 2025

 Online

Faculty:

Dr. Heather Mitterer

Adjunct Professor

 

Email: mitterer.heather@ufl.edu

Instructor Information

Heather has worked in multiple industries over her 25+ years in leadership and management. Her focus has been Operations and Human Resources. Industries have included emergency management, healthcare, manufacturing, distribution, food service, banking, and most recently government. She has severed as an EMT-B for almost 30 years. Her passion is to develop leaders and create dynamic environments so people can excel and reach their full potential. Many individuals deal with stress, depression, and lack of joy in their personal and professional lives. Heather has an interest in understanding the psychology of human behavior from a leadership perspective, while also investigating the health implications of living in an unwell state. Her specialization includes female leadership, behaviors of grit and self-control, job satisfaction, trust, and psychological safety.

Heather earned a Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology with a Human Resource Management focus. She also holds a Juris Masters in Employment law, an MBA, an M.S. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology and a B.S. in Organizational Leadership. She holds two of the highest levels of HR certification, Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and SHRM-Senior Certified Profession (SHRM-SCP).

She was the recipient of the 2022 Mentor of the Year award, presented by SHRM. In her spare time, she teaches graduate classes at multiple universities, and serves on several international 501C3 boards. She has also authored and published multiple academic articles and college textbooks. 

Course Communications:   The best way to communicate with me is via email through Canvas.  I will attempt to answer all emails in 24-48 hours.  

Required Text: 

Public Human Resource Management: Problems and Prospects (6th Edition).  2016.  Authors: Richard C. Kerney and Jerrell D. Coggburn.  Publisher:  CQ Press/Sage Publications.  ISBN: 9781483393452

 

Additional Resource (Highly Recommended but not Required): 

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA), 7th Edition (2020): Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. ISBN 978-1-4338-3217-8

Course Description:  This course provides the concepts and principles of the human resources management component of emergency services organizations that serve to reduce the risk to communities and environment.

Prerequisite Knowledge and Skills: None

Purpose of Course:  FES 4045: Personnel Management for the Emergency Services examines relationships and issues in personnel management and human resource development within the context of fire-related (emergency management) organizations. Topics covered include personnel management, organizational development, productivity, recruitment and selection, performance management systems, discipline, and collective bargaining.

Teaching Philosophy: I am looking for students to demonstrate a working knowledge of the subject. You need to be creative when you complete your assignments but maintain a professional appearance of your work. Your work needs to be complete and in such a manner that someone can pick up your document and understand what you are trying to convey. And most of all your work needs to be supported with research and cited in properly in APA format.

Instructional Methods: The course is designed for individual and group interactivity. It is important to post and respond to discussion questions in the course within the time frame allotted. This provides a learning environment by networking with other students in the course. The assignments are individual base to give you the opportunity to do a variety of activities, in many cases, similar to what you will be doing in role as a leader in the emergency services profession.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

Upon completion of this course:

1. The student will better understand the role of Human Resources  in an emergency services system.
2. The student will understand the role of the HR professional.
3. The student will understand information systems and records management.
4. The student will understand the importance of employee laws and regulations.

HOW THIS COURSE RELATES TO THE STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES IN THE FIRE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES HUMAN RESOURCE/PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT: 

1. The student will interpret and apply the terminology, concepts, methodologies and theories used within the HR profession.
2. The student expresses ideas in a convincing, organized, clear, coherent manner that is nearly error free and uses a style and language appropriate to HR management profession.
3. Submitted written assignments should include such elements as well-crafted paragraphs, a persuasive organizational structure (e.g., introduction, body, conclusion; or introduction, methods, results, discussion), well-supported claims, and appropriate and effective stylistic elements adhering to APA style 7th edition.
4. The student considers the issues from multiple perspectives, logically analyzes evidence from credible, relevant sources, and develops reasoned conclusions.

USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)

Any and all use of machines that emulate human capabilities (ChatGPT, Stable Diffusion, DALLE, etc.) to perform assignments or other works in the course should be disclosed as it can border on plagiarism. AI-generated information, as long as this use is properly documented in the references and will need to include the prompt and the significant parts of the response. The use of generative AI tools is not permitted in this course for the following activities:

• Completing group work that your group has assigned to you.
• Writing a draft of a writing assignment.
• Writing entire sentences, paragraphs or papers to complete class assignments. 

  UF Policies

 Course Policies 

The course is designed in module format. You should check the site at least once a week. You are required to complete the assignments including discussion questions within the time period designated on the module. There may be meetings set up throughout the course. Requirements for class attendance and make-up exams, assignments, and other work in this course are consistent with university policies that can be found in the online catalog.

Academic Integrity Policy:

University Policy on Academic Misconduct

UF students are bound by The Honor Pledge which states:

"We, the members of the University of Florida community, pledge to hold ourselves and our peers to the highest standards of honesty and integrity by abiding by the Honor Code. On all work submitted for credit by students at the University of Florida, the following pledge is either required or implied: "On my honor, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid in doing this assignment."

The Honor Code specifies behaviors that are in violation of this code and the possible sanctions. Furthermore, you are obligated to report any condition that facilitates academic misconduct to appropriate personnel. If you have any questions or concerns, please consult with the instructor or TAs in this class.

From Regulations of the University of Florida, 4.041 Student Honor Code and Student Conduct Code: Scope and Violations:

Plagiarism. Presenting as one's own the ideas, words, or products of another. Plagiarism includes the use of any sources to complete academic assignments without proper acknowledgment of the source. A student shall not represent as the student's own work all or any portion of the work of another. Plagiarism includes but is not limited to:

1. Quoting oral or written materials including but not limited to those found on the internet, whether published or unpublished, without proper attribution.
2. Submitting a document or assignment which in whole or in part is identical or substantially identical to a document or assignment not authored by the student."

From Regulations of the University of Florida, 6C1-4.047 Student Honor Code and Student Conduct Code: Sanctions:

For a violation or violations of the Honor Code, a student may receive any of the sanctions that can be imposed for Student Conduct Code violations, including but not limited to conduct probation, suspension and expulsion as well as any educational sanctions. In addition, students may receive the following:

1. Assignment grade penalty. The student is assigned a grade penalty on an assignment including but not limited to a zero.
2. Course grade penalty. The student is assigned a grade penalty in the entire course including but not limited to an 'E'."

Cheating: is a broad term that includes the following:

• • Giving or receiving help from unauthorized persons or materials during examinations.
  • The unauthorized communication of examination questions prior to, during, or following administration of the examination.
  • Collaboration on examinations or assignments expected to be individual work.
  • Fraud and deceit, that include knowingly furnishing false or misleading information or failing to furnish appropriate information when requested, such as when applying for admission to the University.

Quiz/Exam Policy

There is a final paper for this course. There are no exams or quizzes.

Make-up Policy

Make-up assignments will only be accepted due to technical issues, illness, and other extenuating circumstances. You must contact your instructor before the assignment's due date for special accommodations.

Any requests for make-ups due to technical issues MUST be accompanied by the ticket number received from the UF Computing Help Desk when the problem was reported to them. The ticket number will document the time and date of the problem. You MUST message your instructor within 24 hours of the technical difficulty if you wish to request a make-up.

Late Assignments and Discussions Policy

• Assignments 48 hours late will receive a 10% deduction in their grade.
• Assignments more than 48 hours but less than 30 days late will receive a 20% deduction in their grade.
• Assignments more than 30 days late but submitted during the semester will receive a 50% deduction in their grade.
• Discussions 48 hours late will receive a 25% deduction in their grade.
• Discussions more than 48 hours later will receive a 50% deduction in their grade.

Please note that any student that has less than 75% of their work complete for the semester cannot earn an “I” contract. If you have 75% of the work complete, you can propose an “I” contract to the instructor, before the end of classes.

It is your responsibility to keep your instructor informed at all times. The instructor does have the right under extenuating circumstances with proper notification to assist the student by extending the above time requirements.

Course Technology

Class meetings will require a web camera and mic/audio. If you are not able to use a web camera you will need to at least provide audio/mic, you can call in on a phone also.

Grading Policies

The grade is based on a point system.   Refer to the rubric assigned to each discussion post/assignment/final project for complete details on how the discussion post/assignment/final project will be graded.

 

Course Grade Scale:

The final grade will be based on the following:

Discussion Participation                                       35%

Homework Assignments                                       35%

Final Exam-applied research paper                      30%

Total Grade                                                           100%

 

Grading Scale

A   = 94.0 to 100%     C   = 74.0 to 76.9
A-  = 90.0 to 93.9       C-  = 70.0 to 73.9
B+ = 87.0 to 89.9       D+ = 67.0 to 69.9
B   = 84.0 to 86.9       D   = 64.0 to 66.9
B-  = 80.0 to 83.9       D-  = 60.0 to 63.9
C+ = 77.0 to 79.9       F   = below 60