Supervisors at 9-1-1 centers from around the country are eying Ball State for a free course to help them better understand their relationship with media.
The course, AWR-212-W, is an online course that 196 people have currently completed, assistant professor of telecommunications Phil Bremen said. According to a news release by Ball State, the university won a $2.5 million grant for the project.
"People who have worked their way up may know a lot from experience but have new responsibilities," Bremen said.
The course is designed to help them "fill in the gaps and anticipate things they haven't come across yet," he said.
Students will learn how gaps of information can occur, Bremen said.
Some people enrolled do not normally interact with news media he said. Even if they do not talk directly to media, they still must know information that is needed to pass on.
Important areas of focus are why to establish relationships with media, why those relationships matter and how to give public confidence, Bremen said.
According to Ball State's advanced crisis communication training website, there are four modules offered in the course: media and public safety emergencies, working relationships with media before a crisis, working relationships with media during and after a crisis, and social media and crisis communications.
"It's important to maintain public trust, get to the bottom of the problem, communicate concern and express what you're going to do about it," Bremen said.
Although the class is online, Bremen doesn't believe it will affect this particular course.
"It's a huge debate," Bremen said regarding if an online course is still effective. "Online is convenient, has the time element and the level of commitment can be very high."
Once completed, the person will receive a certificate for the course.
This week, the instructor-led class will be piloted for a test run. It will include a instructor, students and will help developers of the course know what needs to be tweaked, Bremen said.
"We're not experts on emergency dispatchers," he said.
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