Academic Program Code: 809
The Law Enforcement program is a pre-service police academy program that prepares students to become eligible to be a licensed Police Officer in Michigan. Police agencies in Michigan require a recruit to attend a Police Academy program and receive an Associate’s Degree or higher.
Students in Law Enforcement may qualify for the Associate of Applied Arts. The requirements for the A.A.A.S. degree follow.
The Police Academy is a ten month program that runs from January-October. All applicants must first complete an application and be screened to the MCOLES Standards. All potential recruits must pass all of the minimum MCOLES Standards, attend an interview and be selected into the program. Informational meetings are available in the Spring prior to the start of each academy. Please refer to www.grcc.edu/criminaljustice for a schedule.
Standards
(Please refer to www.mcoles.org for all standards for Michigan Law Enforcement Officers).
- Ethical Requirements: The Police Academy at GRCC prides itself on high ethical standards. Comprehensive background checks are conducted on all applicants. The potential recruit must possess a strong moral character and be free from any felony convictions. Misdemeanor convictions are determined on a case by case basis.
- Physical Requirements: the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES) requires potential recruits to pass a pre-enrollment physical fitness test. These standards are based on age and gender. The standards and individual events can be found at www.mcoles.org. A passing score on this test must be completed by the application deadline and 180 days prior to the start of the police academy.
- Medical Standards: The recruit must pass all medical standards required by MCOLES. Recruits must pass the vision, hearing, drug test and medical standards during the application process. All information will be available with the Police Academy application.
Police Academy Courses
Classes designated as Police Academy classes are restricted to those recruits who have been formally selected into GRCC’s Police Academy.
GRCC and Law Enforcement Academic Requirements
Students who do not have an Associate’s degree or higher from an accredited college or university must complete (or transfer to GRCC) the general education courses before taking any of the Police Academy courses.Exceptions or waiver of these requirements are considered by the Police Academy Director and/or the Criminal Justice Department Head.
Contact: Police Academy Director
(616) 234-3568
The Police Academy has the right to change the course sequencing or offering at any time.
Program Admissions Requirements
The admission process for this program includes a full criminal background check. Students must provide a social security number in order for this process to be completed. False information is illegal and may be investigated as a criminal offense. Students are also required to be a U.S. citizen and show proof of citizenship.
All Police Academy courses, and CJ 122, CJ 164, and CJ 281 must be taken at GRCC once admitted into the Police Academy. The courses (with the exception of CJ 164) must be done within the year of acceptance into the Police Academy. None of the courses can be transferred from another institution.
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