Preparing for Emergency Management Jobs at Voorhees
Voorhees College appears in our ranking of the 50 Most Affordable Schools for an Emergency Management Degree.
Since Fall 2011, the Department of Science, Technology, Health and Human Services has granted a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Emergency Management for Voorhees College Tigers to strengthen organizational leadership skills for mitigating 21st-century hazards. Chaired by Dr. Alexandra Proctor, the 125-credit, SACS-accredited curriculum examines local and national disaster response needs. South Carolina’s only such historically Black program integrates 15-week daytime Denmark courses like Homeland Security and Incident Command System. Currently, more than 30 majors are getting hands-on training at the Savannah River Emergency Operations Center. Undergrads can also attend the FEMA Higher Education Symposium, join the Campus Emergency Response Team, intern with Bamberg County, pledge Alpha Sigma Lambda, add the Cyber Security Certificate, and study abroad in Ghana.
About Voorhees College
Voorhees College originated in 1897 when Elizabeth Evelyn Wright modeled the new Denmark Industrial School after the Tuskegee Institute to empower African-American youth. In 1902, it was named the Voorhees Industrial School after Ralph Voorhees donated $5,000 for a campus. In 1924, Voorhees formally partnered with the American Church Institutes for Negroes. Five years later, the earliest post-secondary instruction was delivered. In 1947, the Episcopal institute became the Voorhees School and Junior College. In 1962, it received regional accreditation for four-year bachelor’s degrees as Voorhees College. In 1969, Voorhees had a large two-day civil rights demonstration of more than 500 students. In 2000, Voorhees College created the Center of Excellence in Rural & Minority Health. In May 2015, Jacoby Hammonds received Voorhees College’s first BS in Emergency Management degree.
Endowed for $7.1 million, Voorhees College now employs 42 full-time faculty teaching 642 Tigers from three countries at a 15:1 ratio online on Canvas or on the 365-acre Denmark campus near the Port of Charleston with 25+ clubs like the Christian Fellowship for 52 percent retention. In 2019, Voorhees won the South Carolina Department of Health & Environmental Control’s Recycling Grant. In 2018, Voorhees College earned the National Security Agency’s Center of Excellence in Cyber Defense designation. Voorhees had the 2018 CCA Monica Pombo Early Career Teaching Award recipient too. The U.S. News & World Report ranked Voorhees College the 61st best Southern school and 55th top HBCU nationally. Washington Monthly named Voorhees the 40th best baccalaureate institution. Money magazine declared Voorhees the 328th top value. College Factual picked Voorhees 200th for homeland security.
Voorhees College Accreditation Details
On October 4, 2011, Voorhees College welcomed an on-site evaluation team from the Southern Association of Schools and Colleges Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to review its Quality Enhancement Plan and reaffirm the Level II accreditation through 2022 under the ninth president, Dr. W. Franklin Evans. Located 203 miles west via Interstate 20 in Decatur, Georgia, this esteemed 11-state South Atlantic Region accreditor is recognized by the Council on Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) to review Voorhees College’s 16 baccalaureate and five certificate programs. Further, the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) has accredited Voorhees since 1999. Voorhees College is also properly licensed by the South Carolina Department of Education.
Voorhees College Application Requirements
Enrollment at Voorhees College is classified “moderately difficult” by Peterson’s because just 1,389 of the 2,776 Fall 2018 applicants were chosen for selective 50 percent acceptance. First-year Tigers pursuing the BS in Emergency Management must have recorded 20 or more academic units at accredited high schools. Four units of English plus three units of math and science are preferred. Equivalent GED diplomas are permitted with subject scores above 145. Cumulative GPAs during grades 9-12 must exceed 2.0. The Class of 2022 presented an average GPA of 2.72. Most freshmen ranked in the upper 50th percentile at graduation. Undergrads achieve a median 750 SAT and 15 ACT score. Transfers are test-optional with 30+ semester credits graded C or better at regionally accredited institutions. International students still need a minimum 550 Test of English as a Foreign Language score though.
Voorhees College has adopted a rolling admission schedule for year-round reviews. It’s only suggested that BS in Emergency Management entrants file by August 1st for Fall, December 1st for Spring, and April 1st for Summer starts. Priority financial aid deadlines are March 1st and October 1st. The South Carolina Tuition Grant has a hard April 15th deadline. Accordingly, submit the Voorhees Application online with a $25 non-refundable fee. Forward sealed official transcripts to PO Box 678 at 430 Porter Road in Denmark, SC 29042. Directly send test results using ACT code 3882 or SAT/TOEFL code 5863. Attach additional materials, such as the mid-year school report, recommendation letter, medical form, and personal statement. Contact (866) 237-4570 or admissions@voorhees.edu with questions.
Tuition and Financial Aid
For 2019-20, Voorhees College is charging full-time BS in Emergency Management majors $11,630 annually. This is a surprising $1,000 decrease from the $12,630 price in 2017-18. Undergrads pay the $550 technology fee and $450 activity fee each year. Late registration fees are $75 initially and $25 daily thereafter. Rooms in the Denmark campus’ dorms like Guerry-Finley Hall cost $3,676 yearly. Standard meal plans for the Dining Hall are $3,670 extra. Annual bachelor’s attendance equals about $19,976 on-site and $12,630 at home. Note Voorhees budgets another $1,500 for textbooks and $4,860 for miscellaneous expenses. Studying part-time with 11 or fewer semester credits would incur $484 per credit.
According to the NCES College Navigator, the Office of Student Financial Aid in Wright Hall Room 103 connects 94 percent of full-time Voorhees Tigers to tuition assistance averaging $9,811 apiece for $4.37 million combined. Institutional funds include the Jackson Wiggins Scholarship, Abney Foundation Scholarship, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship, Golson-Dawson Scholarship, Jerome Geathers Scholarship, Jerry Screen Endowed Scholarship, Association of Episcopal Colleges Service Scholarship, and D.L. Scurry Scholarship. Since 1944, the United Negro College Fund has developed 400+ programs like the Gates Millennium Scholarship, Renee Starks Steed Memorial Scholarship, and Blanche Ford Scholarship. The Major Phil May Scholarship gifts $5,000 for Southeastern U.S. residents with GPAs above 3.0 in emergency management majors. Federal resources, such as the Pell Grant and Work-Study Program, require FAFSA forms coded 003455. South Carolinians also pursue the Palmetto Fellows Scholarship, Life Scholarship, Hope Scholarship, Horatio Alger Scholarship, and more.
Continue reading about Voorhees College at the Department of Science, Technology, Health and Human Services website.