Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Police Academy, located in IUP’s Robertshaw building, will celebrate its fiftieth anniversary with a special open house event on September 27 from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. The open house is free and open to the community.
Free parking for the open house is available to the right of the building. Visitors are invited to tour the facilities, meet the staff, and participate in virtual reality demonstrations. Refreshments will be provided.
The Police Academy is certified by the Municipal Police Officers’ Education and Training Commission to provide Act 120 training designed to certify individuals as municipal police officers in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Academy is part of IUP’s Criminal Justice Training Center, which is housed in IUP’s Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice in the College of Arts, Humanities, Media, and Public Affairs.
During the past 50 years, the IUP Police Academy has trained more than 5,000 cadets.
“We are very proud of our program, especially its role in preparing police officers for the Commonwealth,” IUP Police Academy and Criminal Justice Training Center Director Marcia Cole said. “We have very high standards for our program, our faculty, and our students, and we continue to look for new opportunities to meet the needs of our communities, now and for the future,” she said.
IUP’s Police Academy began offering virtual reality training this summer, and its facilities include an audio/video Enhanced Scenario Room, mat room, gym, and newly remodeled classrooms. The IUP Police Academy is a stand-alone program, allowing anyone who passes the required entrance criteria to attend the program and, upon successful graduation, apply for 15 college credits.
In April 2024, Director Cole partnered with the Armstrong-Indiana Behavioral and Developmental Health Program to integrate Crisis Intervention Team Training into the cadet Act 120 training program. This CIT training will continue to be offered every April, free of charge, to all first responders of Indiana and Armstrong counties. More than 100 cadets have completed the CIT training.
Director Cole and the Center were honored with a certificate of appreciation during the IUP-Indiana Regional Medical Center’s third annual Pennsylvania Mountains Rural Health Conference in November 2024 for her development and launch of the CIT training program.
The IUP Police Academy is certified by the state’s Municipal Police Officers’ Education and Training Commission and has just received its second Training Academy Accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies. IUP has also been selected by Quest for the Best, a tax-exempt organization, as the recipient of scholarships for students who are studying to become municipal police officers.
Along with the Act 120 programs, IUP Police Academy offers several additional programs to meet the needs of police and first responders, including instructor training and training to meet the requirements of Act 180, Act 235 (Lethal Weapons Training), and School Security Personnel (Act 67) Training in an online platform approved through the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.
Over the years, the Criminal Justice Training Center has partnered with several colleges and universities in the area as satellite centers; currently, the Center has an agreement with CNX Resources in Canonsburg to serve as the Pittsburgh region’s satellite site for the Center’s Act 120 training.
The faculty in IUP’s program includes practitioners from diverse backgrounds and experiences, including district court judges, former county district attorneys, current and former criminology faculty (often from police ranks), police chiefs, detectives, SWAT officers, and patrol officers. The Center has three full-time employees and up to 65 part-time instructors.
The IUP Center requires intense academic and practical training, and by using a values-based approach, it focuses on integrity, generosity, and moral courage. Act 120 training is offered on both a full- and part-time schedule; the full-time program can be completed in 22 weeks, and the part-time program can be completed in about 49 weeks.
Since its founding in 1875, IUP has evolved from a teacher-training institution into a doctoral research university recognized for its commitment to student success and achievement. As IUP celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2025 and through the Impact 150 comprehensive campaign, the university honors a legacy of educational excellence while looking to its next 150 years of student success, innovation, leadership in healthcare education, and public service.