Risk Management for Outdoor Programs
Online Training Course for Outdoor Professionals
August 2 – August 30, 2023

Dates
August 2 – August 30, 2023

The course is a combination of five real-time video-conference sessions, spaced one week apart, and independent work periods between live sessions.

Five live online sessions:

Wednesday, Aug 2, 11:00 a.m. UTC+8
Wednesday, Aug 9, 11:00 a.m. UTC+8
Wednesday, Aug 16, 11:00 a.m. UTC+8
Wednesday, Aug 23, 11:00 a.m. UTC+8
Wednesday, Aug 30, 11:00 a.m. UTC+8

Live session schedule (APAC, timed for Asia/Pacific)

• 7 pm Los Angeles (UTC-7), (the day before)
• 10 pm New York (UTC-5), (the day before)
• 3 am London (UTC+0), (the day before)
• 8:30 am India (UTC+5.30), (the day before)
• 1 pm Sydney AU (UTC+10), (the day before)

Note that live sessions will always be at 11:00 am Singapore time. You may need to adjust due to daylight savings, depending on your region.

Independent individual and group work occurs between live sessions.

Outcomes

• Gain critical knowledge of best practices in outdoor program risk management
• Learn procedures, systems, and plans essential to meeting key outdoor safety standards
• Understand how to apply successful risk management strategies to adventure programs, experiential education, wilderness expeditions, and outdoor trips

Valuable for
Program Coordinators/Managers, Risk Management officers, Risk Management/Safety Committee members, members of Boards of Directors, executive leadership.

​Course Format
The course is composed of five live video-conference sessions and three independent work periods:

1. Live sessions. Five live, video-conference sessions, occurring the same day and time each week, for five consecutive weeks.  These include structured real-time small-group and large-group discussions and participant project presentations.
2. Independent work. Between live video-conferences, there are four-week-long independent work periods for individual and remote small-group activity. This work includes:

• ​Review of pre-recorded slide presentations with presenter video
• Completion of readings
• Participation in online discussion forums
• Participation in interactive video-based decision-making activities
• Completion of writing assignments (including writing risk management plan outline and strategic improvement plan content)
• Peer review of select classmate writing content
• Completion of organizational self-assessment of risk management
• Completion of online worksheets
• Participation in online risk decision-making role-playing scenario
• Structured analysis of case-study examples
• Completion of quizzes and final exam

Independent work is anticipated to take a minimum of 10-12 hours per week.

Trainer/Facilitator
Jeff Baierlein, Director, Viristar; past Executive Director at Outward Bound USA

​Language
English

​Cost
USD $649 individual enrollment.
Course fee includes five live sessions, materials for independent work sessions, lifetime access to an electronic, online-based copy of the course textbook Risk Management for Outdoor Programs: A Guide to Safety in Outdoor Education, Recreation and Adventure, and certification.

Syllabus
Download a PDF version of the syllabus here. 

Textbook
The course textbook is Risk Management for Outdoor Programs: A Guide to Safety in Outdoor Education, Recreation and Adventure (viristar.com/book). This 218-page text is provided to each student in electronic online-based format.

​Certification
Participants take four short quizzes throughout the course and a final written exam. Individuals who fully participate in learning activities and successfully complete the final exam receive a certificate from Viristar valid for three years.

​Previous Participants Say:

• “Viristar’s Risk Management for Outdoor Programs course is intensive, thought-provoking, and designed to make one critically think about the adequacy of the existing risk management…useful for both novices as well as seasoned practitioners.” Syed Ismail, Assistant Director (Training) & Master Instructor, Outward Bound Singapore

• “This was a really beneficial course…it’s given me the language I needed to deepen my understanding of risk management.” Kate Johnston, Outdoor Education Specialist, United World Colleges, Southeast Asia
• “Viristar’s Risk Management for Outdoor programs course is the most comprehensive risk management course I have completed…Highly recommended.” Phil Austen-Smith, Expedition & remote programs facilitator/trainer, Oman

Registration: https://courses.viristar.com/