The Loss Prevention Foundation and Eastern Kentucky University have joined efforts to enhance the educational opportunities for loss prevention professionals.The two parties signed a memorandum of agreement on July 14 that allows the University to accept graduates of the Foundation’s Loss Prevention Certification Program into a Special Topics class in EKU’s graduate program in Safety, Security and Emergency Management.The Foundation works closely with many of the country’s largest retailers, including Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy, Home Depot, Lowe’s, JC Penney, The Gap, TJX, Walgreens and many others. We are also supported by variety of organizations and associations, not the least of which is the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) who backed our mission from the very beginning and continue to be very strong supporters. Others include Hospitalitylawyer.com, who promotes security and safety in the hospitality industry; the International Organization of Black Security Executives (IOBSE), the Loss Prevention Research Council (LPRC); the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention (NASP); the National Food Service Security Council (NFSSC); the Center for Interviewer Standards & Assessment (CISA), who administers the CFI certification; Food Marketing Institute (FMI); and, most recently, the Retail Council of Canada (RCC).
These partnerships and endorsements demonstrate a growing global support base for the Foundation and certification. With the help of the RCC, we just launched certification into Canada. We have also begun discussions with members representing the United Kingdom.
Just a few weeks ago, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) reviewed the LPC’s safety and risk management module, which led to drafting a partnership agreement. NIOSH is the federal agency responsible for conducting research and making recommendations for the prevention of work-related injury and illness.Participants in the certification program, typically loss prevention professionals employed by major retailers and others, will receive academic credit at EKU for the completion of SSE 890, Topical Seminar in Loss Prevention (LPQ/LPC). The LPQualified (LPQ) certification is designed to be a benchmark educational program for both entry level and individuals already within the profession, while the LPCertified (LPC) is designed as advanced education for loss prevention professionals interested in career advancement.Because the course (and for that matter, EKU’s entire graduate program in Safety, Security and Emergency Management) is available online, many working professionals are expected to take advantage of the convenience.“This partnership with the LP Foundation provides EKU and the SSEM graduate program a way to market to this unique loss prevention population of working professionals and provides the retail side of the profession a direct avenue to our graduate program,” said Tom Schneid, director of EKU’s Graduate Program in Safety, Security and Emergency Management. The Foundation approached EKU about the feasibility of such a partnership, Schneid said. The president of the Loss Prevention Foundation is Gene Smith, an EKU graduate.“The retail loss prevention profession serves the needs of senior retail management (and) over the last many years, senior leadership has set higher expectations for our industry,” said Smith. “We can only meet those expectations by providing better education to our loss prevention professionals and by increasing the number of college-degreed candidates available for hire and promotions”. “The Asset Protection Program and now the Master’s in Safety, Security and Emergency Management at EKU have been among the finest programs of their kind in the country,” Smith added. “EKU has the distinction of being the first major university to respond at this level to the educational needs of the retail loss prevention industry by forming this partnership. This is another fine example of the foresight of their academic leadership.”
To read more about the program, click here.