A newly signed agreement between the Eastern Kentucky University OSHA Training Institute Education Center and EKU’s Occupational Safety and Health academic program will give working professionals across the country as well as students the opportunity to enhance their skills and earn undergraduate credit at EKU.
The OSHA Training Institute Education Center in the Perkins Building on the University’s Richmond campus, one of only 27 such centers nationwide, serves approximately 11,500 professionals each year from throughout Kentucky and nearby states. Just across Kit Carson Drive, EKU’s nationally acclaimed academic program in Occupational Safety and Health will now accept the certificates of successful completion and/or certified letters of completion of 50 OSHA course contact hours for each one hour in its undergraduate program, up to 600 OSHA course contact hours, or 12 academic hours.
“It will mean a lot that EKU is recognizing this practical experience,” said Occupational Safety Program Coordinator Ron Dotson.
EKU will provide a dedicated team of enrollment advisers and marketing staff through an existing educational services agreement with Pearson Embanet.
The EKU Occupational Safety Program is one of the largest programs at EKU, serving more than 600 students in online and traditional campus settings.
“These students require academic and technical skills that cover a wide variety of skills and knowledge,” Dotson said. “Now the technical skill and awareness level education requirements necessary for successful performance as a safety professional can be officially combined. Future industry demands in the field indicate that it is and will continue to be a highly valued and in demand occupation. This partnership will add value to the future safety professionals graduating from the EKU program.
“EKU graduates receive education and training from internationally recognized faculty that possess a wide variety of experiences across multiple industries and professional organizations in the classrooms of the University and the OSHA Training Institute at EKU.”
Established in 2003, EKU’s OSHA Training Institute Education Center (OTIEC) serves the eight-state Region IV and offers a variety of safety and health training. EKU draws upon the expertise of internationally recognized safety and health professionals to develop and provide quality training. With unique training facilities and state-of-the-art equipment, the Center provides hands-on learning, further enriching participants’ knowledge and understanding and offers customized on-site training to meet specific organizational needs.
In addition to the open enrollment courses, the Center has increasingly in recent years provided training for military bases throughout the country. Customized courses have been delivered at Fort Knox and Fort Campbell in Kentucky, as well as Fort Rucker (Alabama), Fort Bliss (Texas), Robins Air Force Base (Georgia), McConnell Air Force Base (Kansas), and Kanoehe Marine Corps base (Hawaii), as well as U.S. Army bases in Japan and South Korea.
Many who take the OSHA courses through EKU go on to train others via the Outreach Training Program.
In 2011, the EKU OSHA Training Institute Education Center signed an educational partnership agreement with the Kentucky Labor Cabinet Department of Workplace Standards to advance their common goal of workplace safety.
“This is a great day for safety and health professionals in and around Kentucky,” said Labor Cabinet Secretary Larry L. Roberts. “We’re pleased to see the growth and success of the EKU OSHA Training Institute Education Center, which continues to be a tremendous partner of the Labor Cabinet in the sharing of knowledge, innovations, and training programs – all with our mutual goal of improving workplace safety.”
Also in 2011, the University entered into an agreement with the National Safety Management Society to give professionals across the country the opportunity to take specific graduate-level courses. The University now accepts for academic credit the certificates of those who have completed the Society’s Certified Safety Technician (CST) and the Certified Safety Supervisor (CSS) programs.
