CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The University of Charleston is off and running with a $1.92 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to create a free leadership training program for criminal justice professionals in West Virginia.
The Corrections Leadership Certificate Program, which includes five online courses, offers 15 college credits after completion. UC President Marty Roth recently said on MetroNews “Midday” this falls in line with the institution’s commitment to leadership programs. He said they’ve consistently worked with their military-affiliated students; now those opportunities will expand.
“We have over 1,500 Navy SEALs, Army Rangers, other folks serving our country and working with them to improve their leadership skills and professional development opportunities,” Roth said. “But the past few years, we’ve been able to expand that to the first responder community, and that’s been through funding from the state of West Virginia and more recently from the Department of Justice.”
Roth said the program begins in January next year and runs through May. He noted that they’ve done a variety of EMS personnel and law enforcement training, and now the criminal justice program will join the mix. He said that UC is uniquely situated to offer hands-on learning.
“We’re very fortunate that we have on our faculty professionals who have spent their careers in law enforcement, in EMS, and so forth,” Roth said. “They’ve been there. They’ve done that. They know what the challenges are of the folks who are doing everything we can to make our communities safe and better places to live.”
Roth cited an overlap between service industries, education and first responders. He said recruitment and retention are at the forefront of officials in both industries’ minds.
“It’s the same thing in the first responder space,” Roth said. “How do you convince somebody that this is a good professional career path to pursue? But then once they’re in it, how do you keep them from getting burned out and getting frustrated with the resources they have to work with, or lack (there)of?”
The collaboration is key, Roth said, in understanding the positives and limitations of those careers.
“Having an opportunity to work with these professionals, helping them improve their time management skills, communication, both within the organization they serve, but also with the communities that they serve, focusing on greater awareness and understanding of their own mental health and wellness,” Roth said. “So, they’re taking care of themselves in addition to the community members that they serve.”
Roth called the program “forward-thinking” and is designed for professionals to participate as easily as possible.
“It’s an online program,” Roth said. “It’s designed for working adults. They’ll just meet together once a week online, so they’re forming connections with their peers and with the faculty. They’ll complete five courses. At the end of that, they’ll earn a certificate, but in addition, they’ll earn 15 college credits that they can then apply to a degree.”
Roth said this can be huge in breaking down some barriers that young adults may face.
“For a lot of these individuals, this is their first higher education experience,” Roth said. “Sometimes the reason may be cost, and through the grants, it’s a no-cost program, but sometimes it’s because they just didn’t have the confidence that they were, ‘college material.'”
Learn more about the program here.