Ashford University Announces Tuition Agreement for Police Professionals

Ashford University is an online education provider based in Clinton, Iowa where the school also has a campus facility, first opened in 1918. Today the school announced a national alliance agreement with the International Union of Police Associations (IUPA). Most police offers in cities of any size belong to a police association that acts as a bargaining unit for sworn law enforcement personnel.

The agreement with Ashford University will allow the 100,000,000 plus members of an association can now receive significant cost savings on academic costs through fee waivers and a prior learning credit evaluation to be applied towards their Ashford University degree program. Police officers employed anywhere in the country can enroll.

Most police departments today are looking for recruits with some post-secondary education. Many officers come out of the military with criminal justice skills and have difficulty gaining credit for that training at traditional community colleges or universities. Ashford’s program will be a portal into higher education for returning veterans who want to pursue a leadership career in law enforcement.

There are also thousands of jobs available through the many law enforcement divisions in the Department of Homeland Security (HSE). Ashford University has a bachelor’s homeland security degree that prepares students for emergency preparedness management at the federal, state or local level. The course work in this major also hones in on cyber crime, criminal research and analysis, and the personnel roles for counter-terrorism professionals.

Officers can also pursue a degree in public administration at Ashford, if they are interested in a leadership role within their department. Many police officers obtain an associate’s degree in police science or criminal justice in order to qualify for a police entrance exam. Years later when they want to move up through the ranks, a whole new set of professional skills is required. There are dozens of police captains or chiefs today who got a degree in organizational management or a similar field that teaches the leadership skills required of officials in any law enforcement organization.

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