Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird and Police Chief Michon Morrow announced a new partnership between the Lincoln Police Department and Southeast Community College on Thursday.

The collaboration — called the Training Academy Partnership — is meant to allow LPD academy graduates to automatically earn a maximum of 30 college credit hours toward an associate degree in criminal justice from SCC.

"We are proud to be laying the groundwork for other law enforcement agencies to form similar partnerships," Gaylor Baird said at a news conference Thursday.

After an officer completes the LPD training academy and enrolls at SCC, they can contact the college to take an assessment to gauge how many credits they can automatically earn.

Not all officers who have completed the academy will receive the maximum 30 credit hours.

For someone to earn an associate degree, they have to complete 60 credit hours, SCC Vice President of Instruction Joel Michaelis said.

The student does not need to be a current LPD officer, but they must have completed the police academy within the past 10 years.

Morrow said that there are about 250 people who are currently qualified to participate in this program.

LPD offers an additional $300 annually to officers with an associate degree and $750 to those with a bachelor's degree.

"We believe that higher education expands an officers' knowledge and enhances their leadership abilities," Morrow said.

The new program can be combined with the First Responder and Retention Act, which provides 100% tuition reimbursement to officers and their dependents to any state community college and state university or college.

To qualify for the reimbursement, the officer must maintain satisfactory performance with their agency, meet all admission requirements from the school they choose and pursue a degree related to law enforcement.

The first responder's dependents are allowed to choose a field outside of law enforcement.

SCC President Dr. Paul Illich said one of the college's key goals is to strengthen community partnerships and promote higher education.

Illich believes this program is the beginning of potential partnerships with other organizations across industries.

SCC also allows some nursing students to earn additional credits for prior nursing accreditations they may have already earned.

"Lincoln continues to be a leader in these kinds of initiatives," Illich said.

SCC already had a previous connection with LPD, providing tutoring that helps aspiring recruits with the early testing before they go into the academy.

To move up the ranks of LPD, a degree is not needed, but it is valued, Morrow said.

Currently, LPD looks at the education level someone may have or the equivalent amount of law enforcement experience.

"We believe that (candidates) perform better in the promotional process with some of that higher education," Morrow said.

Gaylor Baird said there may also be other benefits to the program, such as students studying for a criminal justice degree having a peer with law enforcement experience in the same classroom.

"(The Training Academy Partnership) represents another example of how the city of Lincoln is leading the way," Gaylor Baird said.