Prerequisites: Must hold current Communications Training Officer, 6th Edition student certification and have minimum one-year experience in an emergency communications center (ECC), a telematics or 3-1-1 call center.
APCO Institute’s Communications APCO’s Agency Instructor Course offers agencies the chance to train staff members to serve as Agency Instructors able to teach specific APCO courses to staff within their ECC. Having agency instructors allows for a significant reduction in new-hire and in-service training and travel costs.
The first part of the CTO-Instructor Course will equip participants with the necessary skills to be informative and effective instructors. The second part will consist of practical exercises and the discipline-specific training they need to be certified as an instructor for the Communications Training Officer 6th Ed. course.
Participants should register for the Instructor Techniques course and indicate CTO as the discipline they want for their instructor certification. Students from all disciplines will be in the same class but will receive instruction based on their specific disciplines.
General Instructor Technique Topics
- Instructional Techniques
- Lesson Plans
- Design and Use of Instructional Media
- Simulation Design and Use
- Testing and Evaluation
- Liability in Training
Discipline-specific Topics for CTO 6th Ed.
- Training Others to Train
- Building and Maintaining a Successful CTO System
- Comprehensive lesson plans for each module in the CTO Student Course
- CTO Student Manual
- Use of training documentation (DOR, SEG, task list, and tracking sheet)
CDEs Earned: 40
Recertification Requirements:
APCO Instructors are required to recertify every two years for both their instructor certification and their discipline-specific certification.
For Instructor Techniques, the requirement is 12 CDEs from courses taken per certificate-year and, additionally, 12 hours of courses taught per certificate-year.
Tuition: (Courses beginning prior to July 1, 2024)
| Options | Term | Tuition | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-Member | Member * | ||
| Online | 6 weeks | $565 | $543 |
| Virtual | 5 days | $588 | $565 |
Tuition: (Courses beginning on or after July 1, 2024)
| Options | Term | Tuition | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-Member | Member * | ||
| Online | 6 weeks | $605 | $555 |
* You must be a current Associate, Full or Commercial member to receive member discounts on all courses. Online members receive member discounts on online courses only.
** Virtual Classroom Requirements and Expectations
Late fee $25 (applied 10 days prior to course start date)
Tuition includes a comprehensive course manual and all certification fees.
Additional shipping fees may apply for international shipments.
Tuition for live courses does not include travel, lodging, meals or other costs. Online class tuition does not include web access fees or other local internet/web-related costs. Successful students will earn APCO Institute certification.
