Section 141.115  Course Approval

 

All training facilities wishing to offer courses leading to certification must submit a Course Approval Form to the Office according to the following schedule:

 

a)         Fire Departments

 

1)         Fire departments must submit a Course Approval Form every five years.  New forms must be submitted if:

 

A)        A new Fire Chief or Training Facility Director is employed; or

 

B)        Additional courses are added to the training schedule.

 

2)         Forms are due January 1.  The Office will not reimburse a department or trainee for a course until the course approval is renewed.

 

3)         Approvals will be granted on a calendar year basis.

 

b)         Training Facilities

 

1)         End-of-course examinations, course syllabi and content shall be correlated to the Office established objectives.  A Course Approval Form must be submitted every five years, along with the following materials:

 

A)        Appropriate course correlation form;

 

B)        Syllabi and course content; end-of-course examination; name and credentials of instructor.

           

2)         If the required course curriculum is changed due to a change in the applicable standards or rules before the course approval cycle has ended, the curriculum and end-of-course examinations for the course must be resubmitted for approval.

 

c)         Instructor Requirements.  Approval will be granted upon proof of the following:  certification, experience, education and/or training indicating competence in the technical area to be taught.  In making the determination of competency, the Office shall consider, but is not limited to, transcripts, certificates, job descriptions or other evidence of experience and training.

 

1)         Instructor qualifications for Firefighter II, Hazardous Materials Awareness, Hazardous Materials First Responder – Operations, Fire Service Vehicle Operator, and Technical Rescue Awareness require certifications as Instructor I and the level being taught, except in specialty certifications where noted.

 

2)         Instructor qualifications for all other certifications require certification as Instructor II and the level being taught, except in specialty certifications where noted.

 

3)         Instructors of Juvenile Firesetter Intervention Specialist (JFIS) courses must, in addition to meeting all other applicable requirements of this Section, have three years' experience as a JFIS.

 

4)         Instructors of Arson Investigator courses must, in addition to meeting all other requirements of this Section, have demonstrated experience in education in the technical areas to be taught and must be approved by the Office and the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board prior to the course offering.

 

d)         When updating a certification program to a new edition of NFPA or updated reference materials as specified in the applicable certification program or any other reason, instructor quality is critical to the success of training.  Due to the expanded skills in the courses, instructors should have to demonstrate competency, both written and practical, to teach a new course.  The Office is committed to providing professional development to the instructors in this area by providing standardized measurable objectives and minimum course outline.  For course quality reasons, only those instructors who can demonstrate knowledge of the course materials should be certified to teach the course.  All job performance requirements for any level of fire service instructor shall be performed to a level of competence that shall be established by the authority having jurisdiction.  The training facility shall:

 

1)         Select instructors who have appropriate subject matter skill, knowledge and ability.

 

2)         Establish a policy and procedure that identifies and verifies the minimum experience and training requirements necessary to instruct a topic or subject matter.

 

e)         Validation-Attestation and course completion rosters must be submitted to the Office listing individuals who successfully complete courses.

 

f)          The Office reserves the right to monitor and evaluate the delivery of all approved courses. Training facilities shall:

 

1)         Provide records of student attendance (i.e., a minimum of 80% is required) and student evaluations of the course.

 

2)         Maintain all financial records for a minimum of five years after the conclusion of the course.

 

3)         The length of time required to retain training records shall be determined by the local government based on its records retention schedule, but shall be retained for at least five years for audit purposes.

 

4)         Maintain complete student records of course completion and test scores for at least five years.

 

A)        If a course involves college credit, the student's transcript is the complete student record.

 

B)        If a course is non-credit, the training facility shall obtain a written student waiver-of-privacy and shall provide complete student records to the Division at the completion of the course.

 

g)         Records and Established Procedures

An established system of records maintenance that includes:

 

1)         Training records that reflect who was trained, objectives of subject taught referenced in the applicable Instructor Reference Manual, hours trained, by whom, how, when and where conducted.

 

2)         A system of evaluating the effectiveness of the class, the instructor and all participants, including:

 

A)        Testing technique utilized:  oral, written, practical or combination; and

 

B)        Performance appraisal and evaluation, such as ranking, factor comparison, grading, graphic rating scale, checklist.

 

3)         Individual training records that show when each person began training in each subject area, the instructor to whom he/she is responsible, the objective of his/her training, intermediate goals, performance criteria, ultimate goal and estimated completion date.

 

4)         Records of Training.  A training facility shall maintain and submit to the Office training records that contain the following:

 

A)        Location of training.

 

B)        Dates of training.

 

C)        Hours of training and hours trained.

 

D)        Name of instructor − printed and signature.

 

E)         Name of trainee − printed and signature.

 

F)         Academic/practical training record.

 

G)        Subject training record correlated to objectives.

 

H)        Receipts of training expenses.

 

I)          Training facility documentation of training.

 

5)         Computerized records of training.  The Office accepts computerized training records as long as they are printed (individually for each student) and signed off by instructors and students at least once per month.  This monthly printout must contain items listed in subsections (g)(4)(A)-(G) and be filed in the department at a location readily available for Office review.

 

h)         The Office may revoke course approvals if an agency is found to be in violation of this Part.  In determining whether to revoke, the Office shall consider the seriousness and frequency of the offenses.