"Though leery at first of taking my first online course, because I am more of a traditional classroom learner, I found the course enjoyable and informative. I had registered for the course due to the fact I had never received any training as a 1st line supervisor. The majority of my supervisory skills were developed as I progressed through my career. This course was a real inspiration in that it affirmed the current practices I am utilizing being beneficial to the organization and community I serve. The course also assisted in building upon these practices in order to improve the services our department and I are providing. The class interaction was very valuable in assisting me to view different challenges from varying aspects.

I addition I would recommend this course to any employee of law enforcement. With today's complex societal issues supervisors need valuable input from different sources in order to make an informed decision. Due to our community and department size the Chief is the only supervisor, so in addition to myself I enrolled by senior officer. After completion he expressed how the course provided him a better understanding into the thought process I utilize in order to reach an effective resolve to the challenges facing our department. Thus, this course has assisted in not only empowering an employee but also creating another excellent resource I can call upon."

Chief of Police
City of Marion Police Department

I enjoyed the class and it was very informative to me. Though I've never had a online class it was easy and was interesting to check everyday the submissions given by other students in the class.

I was part of a police supervisory class once before this class. This class made me think I guess outside what I normally would think. I'm currently not a supervisor and this class was interesting to me and challenged me to think as a supervisor. It helped me to understand why our department's chief does the things he does. It was very interesting to read submissions by other officers or supervisors in other departments and to either get new ideas for our department, or to see that other departments are doing the same things as we are.

I would recommend this class to any officer in law enforcement. A lot of times you hear officers questioning why we do things or why the chief wants us to do this or that, and this class help one to understand some of the reasoning behind and the benefits that can come from it.

Senior Officer
City of Marion Police Department

I took this online class because the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Center is planning on adopting this class as part of their leadership core classes for the first level and middle management. I am taking the class and plan on taking the trainer course to train first level supervisors and mid level managers in Law Enforcement and Corrections in Washington State.

I have never taken a class online, I have taken an assessment for online learning. Even though I am not a candidate for online learning, I have enjoyed the opportunity to have the text book in front of me, then get online and post my answers.

There is a lot of different theories and I like the variety and exposure and the opportunity to look at different theories and approaches offered by the other students. For an example I like the opportunity to read about the experiences and view points of other officers, supervisors, and corrections personnel.

I also like the chance of being able to spend some time thinking about the theory and processing the information without the pressure of the classroom. For an example, in the classroom setting there is pressure of trying to come up with answers in a very short period of time. Although the immediate interaction has great benefits I like being able to take my time to think through a question before answering it.

I think this is a good opportunity for the full time employee who has limited time, but able to take advantage of on line learning with out being strapped to a schedule. On line learning is very flexible which meets the need of those on off shifts and busy schedules and still offers the opportunity to engage in higher education.

The Leadership in Police Organization course teaches how leaders gather support from their officers by using effective theories, strategies, and experiences to gain organizational goals and satisfying the needs of their officers. As I am not a formal leader in my organization, this course has opened up my eyes in how to bring people of different types of skills, abilities, and attitudes to reach a common goal.

When I started the course, Unit 1, I was working for the Milwaukee Police Department as a Sergeant/Team Leader on our full time SWAT Unit. Because of my position, I always had the opportunity to take a leadership position to accomplish our missions, something I was very comfortable with. By taking this course it helped me define what a leader actually is and it gave me the tools to take a more formal avenue of leadership within my department, and a way to self evaluate myself to ensure I was being the kind of leader that was expected. I've since have retired from Milwaukee to take a police chief position for a smaller department in Kenosha County. By taking this course, it made my transition, as a leader of my own police department, smooth, giving me more confidence to take this prestigious challenge. What I've learned from hours of interaction with other students in this course was more what not to do as an administrator, rather than what to do as an administrator. I was able to generate my own ideas from the excellent interaction with my fellow students. Not to take away credit from the instructor who was also very instrumental in explaining certain areas of interest pertaining to leadership, drawing from his vast experience as an administrator in police organizations. Very much a mentor to me and other students.

I would highly recommend this course for anyone who desires to become a leader or excel further as a leader. This course It really makes you think and evaluate the direction you, as a leader, are personally headed towards, but also it makes you look at the direction you are taking your followers with you at the helm. This is just an excellent opportunity for all law enforcement to participate in. This course should be a prerequisite to any promotion within all police departments.

Chief of Police
Twin Lakes Police Department

"I really enjoyed the Leadership in Police Organizations course. The text is very informative. The coursework was very applicable to every day job duties and helped me formulate various plans to deal with the non-routine job duties. The best part of the course was the interaction with the other students and sharing our experiences with each other."

...distance learning with UW Platteville has afforded me an opportunity to participate in training that I would normally not be able to attend, due to budgetary constraints. Their partnership with the Department of Justice, Training and Standards Bureau has assisted me in my professional growth.

The quality of instruction provided for the Leadership in Police Organizations (Unit 1 & 2) has exceeded my expectations. With over twenty years of active service in the U.S. Army, I can comfortably say that this was some of the finest leadership and management training I have received.