The January graduates of the Clark State College Police Academy have successfully achieved a 100 percent pass rate on the State Certification Exam (SCE) bringing Clark State up to an overall 97 percent pass rate since 2015.
“This is an outstanding achievement,” said Paul Weber, commander of the Clark State Police Academy. “This improvement is directly related to the quality academy instructors serving on our staff. We will continue to set our goal to improve those numbers as we look towards the future with law enforcement training.”
After completing the Clark State Police Academy training and successfully passing all Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission requirements (academic, practical and physical fitness), a cadet is qualified to take the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy (OPOTA) SCE. The SCE is a 2.5-hour test compiled of 200 questions based on 800 performance objectives.
After passing the exam, the graduate is then qualified to be an Ohio certified peace officer.
“Clark State is a leader in developing peace officers to serve their communities with skill and integrity,” said Dr. Jo Alice Blondin, president of Clark State. “These pass rates reflect the hard work and dedication of our Commander, Paul Weber, in ensuring the highest quality instruction.”
In addition to the Clark State Basic Peace Officer Academy pass-rate success, Commander Weber was nominated as the Outstanding Ohio State Patrol Retired Officer in the Ohio District 5 Region in 2020. He served in law enforcement for just over 30 years and then began teaching in the Criminal Justice program at Clark State in 2011. Later, he assumed the position of commander of the academy.
Clark State offers four Peace Officer Training Academies each year—four-month daytime academies and six-month evening academies are each held twice a year. Each academy is limited to 25 cadets. Cadets must be 21 years of age at the time they take the state certification exam. Cadets must also have a valid Ohio driver’s license, a high school diploma or GED equivalent and cannot have any felony or violent misdemeanor convictions. To learn more about the upcoming dates for both daytime and evening academies, please contact Paul Weber at weberp@clarkstate.edu.
Interested students should visit Clark State’s Police Academy office in the Brinkman Educational Center in downtown Springfield to pick up and complete the required OPOTA application and other required forms. A candidate is then required to pass a physical assessment test, a physical, a drug screen and be finger-printed for a BCI background check at the Clark County Sheriff’s Department.