HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. — Few police officers are getting their college degrees, but Northern Kentucky University is now making it easier for them to do so through a new credit transfer program.

What You Need To Know

  • Studies show only 30% of police officers have a four-year college degree

  • NKU is now allowing police officers to convert their police training into college credit

  • The credit gives officers a pathway to a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice

  • NKU faculty says officers with degrees make better decisions, and are better accepting of other cultures

According to a National Police Foundation study, only 30.2% of law enforcement officers in the U.S. have at least a four-year degree. 

That low number is something NKU faculty members wanted to see if they could help address. Criminal justice faculty members, along with other faculty members in kinesiology, got together and reviewed Police Academy training as well as Federal Bureau of Prisons training.

“Thankfully they were able to find 20 hours worth of credit in those trainings that then equates to exact course equivalences at NKU,” said Amy Danzo, Director of Adult Learning Programs and Testing Services at NKU.

Right now, any police officer nationwide can convert their training into more than a semester’s worth of college credit at NKU for free, creating a pathway to a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice.

The program can be completed fully online, on campus or in hybrid format, allowing officers both in the region and across the nation to take advantage of it. There is also the opportunity to earn additional credits for advanced Police Academy training.

“While most police and corrections agencies do not require a degree, the importance of education on law enforcement has long been recognized. Officers with degrees are better problem solvers and have a greater acceptance of other cultures. All of these patterns serve the interest of the community,” said Dr. Karen Miller, department chair of Criminal Justice at NKU.

Danzo said NKU tries to be “student ready,” by looking at each student as a whole.

“Not just look at them to see if they’ve taken college classes before, but look at what their military experience looks like, their work training, their life experience,” she said. “Those types of trainings that they’ve been through to get them to the positions that they’re at are actually worth college credit.”

You can learn more about the program here.