Entrance Standards
The following minimum entry standards for the Vermont Police Academy have been adopted by the Vermont Criminal Justice Council. All students seeking entry to the Police Academy for basic training courses for police officers shall meet the minimum standards as set forth below:
Age
A recruit must be at least (18) eighteen years of age.
Education
You must be a high school graduate or possess a high school equivalency diploma (G.E.D.)
Physical Examination
A comprehensive physical examination. The examination is to be performed by a licensed physician or P.A. and is to reflect that the recruit is free of any disease or disability which would interfere with a recruits physical performance at the Academy.
Physical Testing
Recruits must meet physical training requirements to gain entrance to the Level III Academy. Currently, those gaining admission to basic training must enter at the 40th percentile, or better, of standards for age and gender developed by the Texas DPS Fitness Institute. Click here to learn more about Physical Training Standards.
Psychological Testing
Each applicant must be tested to insure the recruit is emotionally suited for law enforcement.
Background and Character Check
Each recruit must successfully undergo a thorough, comprehensive background investigation and character check, which includes a FBI fingerprint submission and polygraph. (The polygraph must have been administered on behalf of the sponsoring agency or another Vermont police agency within one year of entry to basic training programs for law enforcement certification.) A felony conviction or a misdemeanor conviction of a crime of moral turpitude may result in disqualification.
View the current Curriculum Summary for the Basic Training Course for Level III Officers.
For information on the academy's academic, performance-based curriculum and physical fitness standards contact: Director of Training Kenneth Hawkins.
Written Entrance Exam
Please Note:
During its Wednesday 7/21/21 meeting, and based on a recommendation from its Entrance Testing Working Group, the Vermont Criminal Justice Council voted to suspend the current written entrance test effective immediately. The Council expects to replace that written entrance test exam with a new exam in the near future; but until that date the Council will not require the administration of the written entrance test exam for a candidate’s admission to any Vermont Police Academy training.
The Academy will continue to conduct the psychological and PT entrance tests for agencies. Agencies will be required to register their candidates for the psychological and physical entrance test. We ask each agency to please reach out to the candidates that the agency has registered and ensure these candidates are aware of the updated changes. We will be posting information on our website and through various media platforms.
All questions pertaining the process moving forward with entrance testing can be directed to VCJC Director of Administration, Lindsay Thivierge (Lindsay.thivierge@vermont.gov).
PT test
In addition to the Entrance Exam (currently not required) and psychological assessment, each candidate for Level III training must take the physical fitness test.
This evaluation consists of the 500-meter row for time. All candidates taking this evaluation will need to do so in the presence of a certified AED/CPR tester. The damper setting is set to 5 for each of the evaluations. The candidate will then participate in a 1.5 mile run. All scores will be graded using a time standard and percentage comparison (Use the calculator listed here to see what the required time is for your age, weight, and gender). Calculator
Failure of this test disqualifies the candidate from entrance into the Level III training program. The physical training entrance test is designed in accordance with the standards set forth by the Fitness Wellness Unit within the Education, Training and Research division of the Texas Department of Public Safety. This rower test measures three energy systems of the body and primarily focuses on conditioning the anaerobic state. This test is conducted indoors. Please arrive in appropriate clothing, time will be given in-between tests to change for those continuing on to the psychological testing.
Practice Testing
The Police Academy is once again offering the physical fitness test at each of the entrance test dates listed below: These testing dates are for agency use as part of their hiring process these test dates are not for academy entry. It is important to note that applicants still have to attend the Level III Orientation physical testing prior to their entrance to the Level III academy. The specific dates for PT tests connected to each Level III class are posted in the course description for each class. When registering applicants, please indicate if the physical test will be taken.
Click here to learn more about Physical Training Standards and resources that are available for your pre-academy fitness development. (web page named “Physical Fitness Training Page)
Level III Orientation Physical Fitness Test
After acceptance into the 116th Level III training program, all candidates will be required to successfully pass the Concept2 Rower evaluation on the 500 meter row for time, for their age, weight, and gender and participate in the 1.5 mile run. The percentages of each of these evaluations will be averaged together for an overall score.
Entrance Testing Dates
- July 28, 2023
- August 15, 2023
- September 26, 2023
- October 17, 2023
- November 7, 2023
- January 23, 2024
- February 13, 2024
- March 26, 2024
- April 16, 2024
- May 14, 2024
- June 11, 2024
- July 16, 2024
- August 13, 2024
- September 24, 2024
- October 15, 2024
- November 19, 2024
- December 17, 2024