12 ncac 10b .1602          eligibility for professional certificates

(a)  In order to be eligible for one or more of the telecommunicator professional certificates, a telecommunicator shall first meet the following preliminary qualifications:

(1)           be a full-time telecommunicator who holds a valid general or grandfather certification, as defined in G.S. 17E-7(a). A telecommunicator serving under a probationary certification is not eligible for consideration;

(2)           any telecommunicator subject to suspension or revocation proceedings, under investigation for possible decertification action, under a period of active revocation of their certification, or under probation or suspended sanction, by the Commission or the North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission, shall not be eligible for any telecommunicator professional certificates for the pendency of the proceedings or period of probation, suspension, or revocation; and

(3)           meet and maintain the requirements of certification pursuant to Rule .0301 and Section .1300 of this Subchapter.

(b)  Employees of a North Carolina sheriff's office or other agency who have previously held general or grandfather telecommunicator certification under the Commission, but are presently, by virtue of promotion or transfer, serving in positions not subject to certification, are eligible to participate in the Professional Certificate Program. Eligibility for this exception requires continuous employment with the sheriff's office or agency from the date of promotion or transfer from a certified position to the date of application for a professional certificate.

(c)  Only training and experience gained in a telecommunicator's area of expertise, as described in Paragraph (d) of this Rule, shall be eligible for application to this program.

(d)  Certificates shall be awarded based upon a formula contained herein that combines formal education, training, and experience as a telecommunicator. Points are computed in the following manner:

(1)           each semester hour of college credit shall equal one education point and each quarter hour of college credit shall equal two thirds of an education point. No correspondence or vocational courses shall be credited towards education points unless an accredited institution, as set out in Paragraph (g) of this Rule, credits the courses towards a degree;

(2)           20 hours of telecommunicator training shall equal one training point; and

(3)           experience as a full-time telecommunicator, as defined in Rule .0103(20) of this Subchapter.

(e)  In addition to the qualifications set forth in Paragraphs (a), (b), (c), and (d) of this Rule, applicants for the Intermediate Telecommunicator Professional Certificate shall have acquired the following combination of educational points or degrees, telecommunicator training points, and years of telecommunicator experience:

Educational Degrees	None	None	None	Associate	Bachelor
Years of Telecommunicator Experience	8	6	4	4	2
Minimum Telecommunicator Training Points	5	10	14	12	10
Minimum Total Education and Training Points	12	20	28	12	10

(f)  In addition to the qualifications set forth in Paragraphs (a), (b), (c), and (d) of this Rule, applicants for the Advanced Telecommunicator Professional Certificate shall possess or be eligible to possess the Intermediate Telecommunicator Professional Certificate and shall have acquired the following combination of educational points or degrees, telecommunicator training points, and years of telecommunicator experience:

Educational Degrees	None	None	Associate	Bachelor	Doctoral, Professional or Master
Years of Telecommunicator Experience	12	9	9	6	4
Minimum Telecommunicator Training Points	10	12	17	14	12
Minimum Total Education and Training Points	20	23	17	14	12

(g)  Educational points or degrees claimed shall have been earned at a technical institute, technical college, community college, junior college, college or university accredited as such by the Department of Education of the state in which the institution is located, or a national or regional accrediting body. No credit shall be given for any correspondence or vocational courses unless credited towards a degree by an accredited institution.

(h)  No more than 40 hours of training obtained by completing the telecommunicator certification course, as set out in Rule .1302 of this Subchapter, shall be credited toward training points.

History Note:        Authority G.S. 17E-4;

Eff. April 1, 2001;

Amended Eff. January 1, 2013;

Pursuant to G.S. 150B-21.3A, rule is necessary without substantive public interest Eff. March 6, 2018;

Amended Eff. December 1, 2025.