Suburban Law Enforcement Academy FAQs

SLEA was established in 1994 in a collaborative partnership among the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board (ILETSB), the DuPage Chiefs of Police Association, and College of DuPage. Below are minutes from the ILETSB meetings in which the SLEA Academy was proposed and ultimately approved by the Board.

• Archived minutes: Dec. 1993 and March 1994 ILETSB Meetings
• Archived minutes: June 1994 ILETSB Meeting
• Archived minutes: June 1996 ILETSB Meeting

In accordance with the Illinois Police Training Act (50 ILCS 705), the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board has regulatory oversight authority over each of the state’s eight police academies. Additionally, College of DuPage has administrative and fiscal oversight of SLEA.

The following are the authorized police academies within the state of Illinois:

• Suburban Law Enforcement Academy (College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, IL)
• Sauk Valley Community College Police Academy (Dixon, IL)
• Macon County Law Enforcement Training Center (Richland Community College, Decatur, IL)
• Southwestern Illinois Police Academy (Southwestern Community College, Bellville, IL)
• Police Training Institute (University of Illinois, Champaign, IL)
• Cook County Sheriff’s Police Academy (Triton College, River Grove, IL)
• Chicago Police Academy (Chicago, IL)
• Illinois State Police Academy (Springfield, IL)

As mandated by Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board, the basic academy is a 16-week training program. Recruits must complete 640 hours of instruction to be eligible to take the state certification exam to be an Illinois peace officer.

Recruits must achieve an average grade of 70 percent in their weekly tests, as well as successfully complete the State of Illinois certification exam which is administered and scored by the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board during the final week of the basic academy.

Police recruits are evaluated by instructors, role players and class supervisors. During weeks 5, 10 and 16, the class supervisors prepare a written evaluation on each recruit. The evaluation is then shared with the recruit’s parent agency.

The current tuition at SLEA is $5,165.60. The tuition is set by the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board.

Police agencies sending recruits to SLEA initially pay the cost of a recruit’s tuition. After the recruit successfully completes the academy, the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board reimburses the cost of the tuition back to the sponsoring agency.

No. The College of DuPage is a community college and does not have housing or residence halls on campus. Local hotels are available in the area. 

Tuition reimbursement comes from the Illinois Traffic Surcharge Fund.

Yes. They are considered students during the time they are attending the SLEA Program at College of DuPage.

Currently, SLEA recruits do not receive college credits. They may apply for prior learning experience credit from Benedictine University or Calumet College of St. Joseph and receive up to 18 hours of credit.

All police academies in the State of Illinois follow the same curriculum established by ILETSB. Therefore, SLEA can train recruits from any law enforcement agency in the State of Illinois. Typically SLEA recruits come from police agencies in northern Illinois.

Since 1994, SLEA has trained recruits from hundreds of agencies.

SLEA has graduated more than five thousand police recruits and the Homeland Security Training Institute has provided continuing education for over 28,000 police officers since 1994.

Most SLEA instructors are current or retired police officers with extensive experience and specialized training in their areas of instruction. In addition to experienced police officers, the academy employs attorneys, psychologists and other subject matter experts to deliver cutting edge instruction to recruits.

College of DuPage hires instructors to teach at SLEA. Those instructors must also be approved by the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board to instruct their specific content area in the basic law enforcement (BLE) academy curriculum .

No. SLEA’s Director is selected and hired by College of DuPage. The Director’s role is to ensure compliance with all state standards and requirements for BLE Academy while ensuring adherence to the College of DuPage’s mission and commitment to the community.

The staff at SLEA is employed by the College of DuPage and their salaries are paid for by the College just as any other employee of the College.

The SLEA Director oversees the day-to-day administrative operations of SLEA. The SLEA Director reports directly to the Vice President for Workforce Innovation and Community Education. SLEA is a department within the Continuing Education program at the College of DuPage.

SLEA’s Advisory Board is made up of law enforcement and municipal executives who provide guidance and direction to SLEA. The SLEA Advisory Council meets quarterly.

On a yearly basis, SLEA along with the other police academies in the State must have their classes approved by the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board. The Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board also conducts periodic reviews of each of the academies including site visits and regular meetings of academy directors.

The SLEA program fits within the educational scope of the Continuing Education Program at College of DuPage. Whether for personal development, professional advancement or life enhancement, Continuing Education can provide the perfect learning experience. Classes and workshops for adults and youth are designed in Continuing Education to meet a variety of educational needs and to provide a multitude of educational experiences. Since the SLEA recruits are considered non-traditional students in an educational program and are seeking professional advancement, the program fits within the vision and the mission of Continuing Education.

Everyone enrolling in Continuing Education courses, programs, and events at College of DuPage are considered students. Non-credit course student enrollments do not appear in the institutional credit 10th day enrollment figures at College of DuPage. Though not included in credit 10th Day enrollment figures reported to the ICCB, as a best practice, all non-credit enrollments and students served through Continuing Education are recorded at the institutional level.

Yes. All staff and instructors at SLEA are selected and hired by College of DuPage and are College employees. While the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board is the state agency that has regulatory authority over all eight police academies in the state, they do not hire, supervise, or compensate employees at the eight BLE academies.

Currently, SLEA students do not receive college credit, thus College of DuPage does not submit apportionment claims to the state of Illinois for these students.

Yes. SLEA recruits are considered students while attending College of DuPage. Their tuition for the educational program that they participate in at COD is paid for by their municipal police departments. They pay tuition just as any credit or non-credit student pays while attending College of DuPage.