In cooperation with the National Fire Academy (NFA) and a Group of Stakeholder from Virginia’s Community College System and Private Colleges Virginia Department of Fire Programs has lead the charge to assist Virginia Fire Fighters in excelling in higher education opportunities.

As a result of this group’s work, a general consensus was agreed upon to be the pioneers in accepting the NFA model for higher education. On the attached links you will find various colleges in the Commonwealth that offer Fire Science degree programs to assists Virginia’s Fire Service community with furthering their goals and objectives.

Virginia Department of Fire Programs (VDFP) joins a select number of organizations that have added value to their training courses through college credit recommendations as a result of a review conducted on November 30 and December 1, 2005 by the American Council on Education’s (ACE) College Credit Recommendation Service.

The 20 VDFP courses total 52 semester hours of college credit in four (4) areas; Vocational Certificate, Lower Division Baccalaureate/Associate, Upper Division Baccalaureate, and Graduate Level course offerings. The 20 NFA courses submitted for review were accepted as presented for equivalency semesters hours being offered by NFA.

University Of Phoenix

VDFP is pleased to announce an articulation agreement with the University Of Phoenix (UOP). This agreement can reduce the cost and time required to earn a UOP degree by awarding college credit for many of the Virginia Department of Fire Programs courses. Although UOP is widely known for its online classes, it also offers traditional classroom instruction at four (and soon five) locations in Virginia. The fifth campus will open in Manassas in October 2009.

Northern Virginia Campus Locations

Arlington Learning Center – Arlington – Virginia 1800 South Bell Street, Suite 100 Arlington, Virginia 22202 571.227.7075

Local Fairfax Learning Center – Fairfax – Virginia 8270 Willow Oaks Corporate Drive, Suite 200 Fairfax, Virginia 22031 703.245.4118

Local Northern Virginia Campus – Reston – Virginia 11730 Plaza America Drive, Suite 200 Reston, Virginia 20190 703.376.6100 Local

Richmond Campus Locations

Richmond Campus – Richmond – Virginia 6600 West Broad Street, Suite 200 Richmond, Virginia 23230 804.281.3900 Local View the Agreement View a list of the courses UOP will consider.

FAQ’s relating to the UOP articulation agreement:

Will credit granted for articulated courses apply to any undergraduate program? Yes.

May I apply credits from other colleges and articulated credits toward my degree program? Yes.

When will I learn which certifications will lead to credit through articulation? Like transferred college credits, the university reviews and awards articulated credits enrollment.

How can I maximize the degree cost and time savings by using articulated credits and/or previous college credits? Apply previous college credits toward the UOP degree first, these transfer at no cost. Then, apply articulated credits to the UOP degree program. There are fees, but they are significantly less than tuition.

Will all firefighters apply the same number of articulated VDFP credits to a UOP degree program? No.

Consider three possible scenarios, firefighters with:

No previous college credit. This student benefits most from the articulation agreement in that the largest number of articulated courses can be applied to his/her degree program. This student will enjoy the greatest cost and time savings.

Some previous college credit. This student will first apply his/her existing college credits, college-to-college transfers are “no cost.” Articulated credits follow to fill remaining program allowances.

Significant college credit. This student may find that he/she can apply only a few or no articulated credits to a degree program. This limitation exists for both college-to-college credit transfer and articulated courses.