The CA Commission on POST has been certifying courses for presenters since the 1960s. Course certification was created as a mechanism for transferring training funds from POST to the field, where training was most needed. Course certification requires presenters to prepare and submit training needs assessments, course administrative information, an expanded course outline, instructor resumes, and hourly distributions. Additionally, a budget analysis is required for tuition exceeding $100 and safety policies are required for manipulative skills courses.

In January of 2017, POST launched a field survey to measure presenters' satisfaction with course certification. The top priorities identified for change were:

1. Technology for entering instructor resumes
2. The amount of time it takes to get a new course certified   
3. Improved consistency between consultants      
4. The amount of time it takes to get an existing course modified      
5. Recourse 

A series of monthly workshops involving internal and external stakeholders discussing course certification led to a pilot project proposal. The pilot would test a new labor model and two new course certification types.

The new labor model would include trained administrative staff and a law enforcement consultant, (not the regional consultant ) to certify courses for Regions 1, 6, and 10. Regions 3 and 8 consultants would certify courses using the new certification process, and the remaining regions would continue course certification as prescribed by Regulation.

The new certification types fulfill a wider variety of needs. Certification I  is relatively simple with a quick turnaround time. Certification I allows for courses previously excluded, for example, the "one and dones" and agency-specific courses. By comparison, Certification II can heighten adult learning and provide flexibility to the instructor and in the classroom.

Because the pilot certification requirements do not adhere to Regulations for course certification, the project was proposed to the Commission in June of 2017. The Commission approved the pilot project for one year, July 2017 to July 2018.

The pilot was launched on July 23, 2017 with a bulletin to the field. A continued campaign designed to raise awareness and participation is now in progress. POST certifying staff is distributing literature and conducting presentations at Training Manager meetings and at the Basic Consortium.

Outside of the pilot, changes being implemented to improve course certification are; technology improvements to instructor resumes, liability training for consultants, and the responsibility of basic course certification shifting from the Training, Delivery and Compliance Bureau to the Basic Training Bureau.

At the time of this report, the pilot has been active for seven weeks, too short of a time period with too few courses certified to evaluate the efficacy of the pilot. Feedback surveys will be sent to participants every three months to provide data needed to determine the direction of the pilot. Based on the timing for the surveys, there will be data available for the October 2017 Commission meeting. To date, verbal feedback from certifying presenters has been positive and presentations for the Training Managers' meetings have been well received.

Work on instructor resume technology continues, and should be ready for field testing within the next 6-8 weeks, with a projected date of completion in December. End users will be invited to field test the technology and provide feedback before it is completed.