LaGuardia Creates Credit for Prior Learning Pathway to Help CUNY Public Safety Officers Earn Associates Degree

LONG ISLAND CITY, NY (May 21, 2024) —LaGuardia Community College/CUNY is offering CUNY Public Safety officers a pathway toward earning an associate’s degree in the Criminal Justice Program. The newly launched pathway offers the opportunity to earn up to 9 credits through Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) experience.

Dr. Jill Kehoe, Associate Professor and Director of the Criminal Justice Program at LaGuardia, says LaGuardia’s Criminal Justice Program recognizes the significant level of training necessary to become a CUNY Public Safety officer and hopes this program will inspire CUNY Public Safety officers to take advantage of the opportunity “to better their future.”

“CUNY Public Safety officers complete more than 500 hours of training throughout a 15-week program in order to graduate from the Academy,” Dr. Kehoe says. “The Academy goes beyond teaching practical skills such as defensive tactics and patrol techniques. Training also includes instruction on a wide range of topics including constitutional law, arrest processing, civil and criminal court structure, and community-oriented policing that correspond to content covered in some of LaGuardia’s Criminal Justice classes.”

Through the new program students will be required to complete a Criminal Justice orientation to the Criminal Justice major prior to the start of their first semester.

“The orientation will give new Criminal Justice students the chance to learn more about the major and valuable resources during the first semester,” said Marsha Oropeza, Director of Credit for Prior Learning. “The Office for Credit for Prior Learning will facilitate this orientation along with Criminal Justice faculty, and Student Success Mentor. The orientation will also include an information session on how the credits apply in terms of the agreement as well as the process of requesting the challenge examination for SSJ203 (Policing). Most importantly we will be connecting Peace Officers the opportunity to connect to the Criminal Justice program as a discipline as well as a newly minted LaGuardia student.”

CUNY Public Safety officers continue to learn valuable knowledge about the Criminal Justice system through their work experience.

“Our program acknowledges the substantial learning that takes place in the Academy and on the job and seeks to provide students with college credit for that knowledge.” Dr. Kehoe says. “This will help our students save time and money on their way to earning an associate’s degree in criminal justice. Graduates of LaGuardia’s Criminal Justice program are also guaranteed enrollment at John Jay College where they enter as third-year students in the Criminal Justice Bachelor of Science program.”

The partnership with John Jay College of Criminal Justice is one of many articulation agreements LaGuardia has established with four-year institutions to help provide a smoother transfer experience for LaGuardia students.

Dr. Kehoe says low salary is a considerable threat to Public Safety officer recruitment and retention.

“By offering 6-9 credits for prior learning, LaGuardia is giving CUNY Public Safety officers the opportunity to earn an Associate’s degree in Criminal Justice at an accelerated pace,” Dr. Kehoe said. “An Associate’s degree opens up doors to other employment opportunities in the field of criminal justice such as the NYPD that have much higher earning potential.”

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LaGuardia Community College (LAGCC), a Hispanic-Serving Institution, located in Long Island City, Queens offers more than 50 degrees and certificates, and more than 65 continuing education programs to educate New Yorkers seeking new skills and careers. As an institution of the City University of New York (CUNY), the College reflects the legacy of our namesake, Fiorello H. LaGuardia, the former NYC mayor beloved for his advocacy of underserved populations. Since 1971, LaGuardia’s academic programs and support services have advanced the socioeconomic mobility of students while providing them with access to a high quality, affordable college education.

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