NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Metropolitan Nashville Police Department Chief John Drake and Nashville State Community College President Dr. Shanna L. Jackson announced a unique local partnership, “Educating the Blue,” that will open a pipeline to an MNPD career for Nashville Stat students and provide MNPD officers the opportunity to earn their Associate’s Degree in one year.
Ideally, it is a one-plus-one concept, with one year of college classroom instruction and one year of MNPD Academy training.
The College will award 30 semester hours of credit (1 year) toward an Associate’s Degree to students who choose to begin a law enforcement career with the MNPD, successfully complete the 5 ½ month training curriculum and pass the examination.
Current police officers without a college degree also stand to benefit. They can receive 30 semester hours of credit for completing the MNPD Academy and passing the examination. They then work on the additional 30 hours required for an Associate’s Degree by taking a combination of online and in-classroom courses at Nashville State.
“Our first priority in recruiting is to hire locally and to, whenever possible, partner with Tennessee colleges and universities,” Chief Drake said. “I am excited about this new arrangement with Nashville State Community College and look forward to exploring similar possibilities with other institutions of higher learning.”
“This partnership creates a clear career pathway for our students while providing current police officers a way to accelerate earning their Associate’s Degree,” said Dr. Jackson. “Nashville State is a workforce solution partner and I appreciate MNPD working with us on the endeavor, the Metro Council’s support, and the Dean of our Social and Behavioral Sciences, Brad Corcoran, for his diligent work to make this happen.”
“I am excited to provide Nashville State students with additional career options and to have this reciprocity agreement in place with MNPD, where their officers can receive an education that will allow them to learn new skills and earn a higher salary,” said Corcoran.
The majority of MNPD officers have college degrees. Nashville officers must have a degree OR two years of active military duty OR two years’ prior experience as an active law enforcement officer OR three years of responsible, full-time work experience. Officers with Associate Degrees receive a 3% salary supplement. Officers with Bachelor Degrees receive a 6% salary supplement.
The Council of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County recently passed a resolution, sponsored by Councilmembers Jennifer Gamble, Tonya Hancock, Sharon Hurt, Russ Pulley, Joy Styles, and Brett Withers, approving the reciprocity agreement.
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