9-1-1 Call Taker Academy Program

1. 1. MU-COM-101 Professional Communications for Public Safetyabout 3 weeks · 14.5 h cumulative
2. 2. MU-ECC-101 9-1-1 Call Taker Academyabout 4 weeks · 33.0 h cumulative
3. 3. MU-ECC-201 Telecommunicator Wellness and Resilienceabout 3 weeks · 47.5 h cumulative

Estimated pace at about 6 study hours per week. Instructor-led cohorts set their own dates.

Upcoming cohorts

No cohorts are scheduled yet. Contact training@matcomops.org to ask about the next start date.

• Step 1 · MU-COM-101Professional Communications for Public Safety

  14.5 h · 4 modules

  Professional Communications for Public Safety introduces the core communication skills that telecommunicators, dispatchers, first-line responders, and support staff use every shift. Learners examine how messages succeed or fail, then practice active listening, plain language, and concise radio and telephone message structure. The course moves into objective written documentation, showing how to separate observed facts from opinion and build clear, chronological narratives that withstand review. Learners then connect individual technique to the wider system through National Incident Management System communications principles, interoperability, and interagency information sharing. Final topics address maintaining clarity under stress and fatigue, protecting confidential information, and communicating ethically with colleagues and the public. Activities are scenario based and written, and learners are encouraged to compare course models with their own agency policies, which always govern local procedures, call-handling protocols, and approved terminology.

• Step 2 · MU-ECC-1019-1-1 Call Taker Academy

  18.5 h · 5 modules

  9-1-1 Call Taker Academy introduces new telecommunicators to the knowledge and habits needed to answer emergency and non-emergency calls accurately, calmly, and consistently. Across five modules, learners study how the 9-1-1 system routes calls and texts, how location and callback information are obtained and verified, and how a structured interview produces the facts responders need. Students practice managing frightened, angry, or uncooperative callers, communicating with callers who have limited English proficiency or who are deaf or hard of hearing, and writing clear, objective CAD narratives that a dispatcher can act on immediately. The course also addresses confidentiality, recording and records requirements, professional ethics, and stress resilience. It culminates in an instructor-observed live-call intake role-play. This course teaches general call-intake skills. Agency policy, local protocols, and any medical direction govern specific scripts and call-handling decisions, and emergency medical call-processing certification is outside its scope.

  Matcom University provides education, training, professional development, and examination preparation. Completion does not by itself constitute APCO, NENA, state, or governmental certification or licensure.

• Step 3 · MU-ECC-201Telecommunicator Wellness and Resilience

  14.5 h · 4 modules

  Telecommunicator Wellness and Resilience examines the psychological and physical demands of working in emergency communications and gives telecommunicators practical tools to sustain a long, healthy career. Learners explore how acute, chronic, and cumulative stress build from repeated exposure to callers in crisis. They learn to recognize burnout, compassion fatigue, and post-traumatic stress in themselves and colleagues. They also study how peer support and critical incident stress management programs work, including their limits and the current state of the evidence. The course addresses sleep, fatigue, and shift-work health, compares healthy and harmful coping strategies, and considers how the job affects partners, children, and friends. Learners finish by mapping how to reach employee assistance, professional counseling, and crisis resources such as the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This course is educational and does not provide diagnosis or treatment. Agency policy and licensed professionals govern clinical care.

Optional electives

• MU-ECC-301Communications Training Officer (CTO) Program

  14.5 h · 4 modules

  The Communications Training Officer (CTO) Program prepares experienced telecommunicators to train new hires on the operations floor. Participants learn how adults acquire complex skills under pressure and how to use that knowledge when coaching call-taking, radio dispatch, and multitasking. The course covers structured on-the-job training phases, from orientation through solo readiness, and shows how to set entry and exit criteria for each phase. Learners practice writing Daily Observation Reports in objective, behavior-based language and applying standardized evaluation guidelines consistently across trainees and shifts. Further topics include documentation that withstands review, feedback in real time and in debriefs, remediation plans and performance improvement plans, and recognizing when the evidence supports extending training or recommending release. Throughout, the course emphasizes fairness, confidentiality, and the CTO's place in the chain of command. Local agency policy, collective bargaining agreements, and human resources guidance govern all personnel decisions.

• MU-ECC-202Crisis and Suicide Call Handling

  14.5 h · 4 modules

  Crisis and Suicide Call Handling prepares call takers and emergency communications professionals to manage some of the most emotionally demanding calls they will receive. Learners study how to recognize suicide risk, ask direct questions in plain language, listen actively, de-escalate, and keep a caller engaged until help arrives. The course covers third-party reports, coordination with 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline centers and mobile crisis teams, relaying concise safety information to responders, and documenting calls objectively. It closes with practical strategies for managing stress after difficult calls, including peer support and employee assistance resources. Learners practice through scenario analysis, call-flow design, and written documentation. This course teaches general principles and communication skills. It does not replace the protocols, scripts, and transfer procedures adopted by the learner's agency, which always govern actual call handling. No clinical or medical treatment skills are taught.

• MU-ECC-203Next Generation 9-1-1 and Text-to-9-1-1

  14.5 h · 4 modules

  Next Generation 9-1-1 and Text-to-9-1-1 prepares telecommunicators to work confidently in IP-based emergency communications environments. Learners trace how a request for help travels from a caller's device through an Emergency Services IP Network (ESInet) and i3 functional elements to the correct public safety answering point (PSAP), and they compare that path with legacy selective-router delivery. The course examines location data and GIS mapping, including how to judge location accuracy and confidence. It builds text-to-9-1-1 handling habits that keep a silent, text-based conversation clear and controlled. Learners also consider what to do when images and video arrive, how call data moves during a transfer between centers, and how to preserve multimedia as evidence. A cybersecurity awareness thread teaches recognition and reporting of phishing, denial-of-service, and other threats. Content is conceptual and procedural. Local policy, vendor configuration, and agency legal counsel govern actual practice.

• MU-ECC-204Critical Incident Call Handling

  14.5 h · 4 modules

  Critical Incident Call Handling prepares telecommunicators and dispatchers to manage the highest-risk calls they will receive: active assailant events, hostage and barricade situations, officer down and officer-needs-assistance emergencies, bomb threats, and mass casualty or multiple-caller incidents. Learners practice gathering and prioritizing information under pressure, giving caller instructions only as agency protocol allows, maintaining radio discipline, and keeping a clear, current incident picture. The course emphasizes how information flows to field responders, incident command, supervisors, and neighboring communications centers, using plain language and National Incident Management System principles. Scenario-based discussion and written work build habits of structured questioning, accurate documentation, and calm, controlled communication. Throughout, agency policy, protocols, and legal counsel govern specific actions, so the course teaches transferable principles rather than a single mandated procedure. Learners finish able to support responders and callers effectively while sustaining their own performance during prolonged, stressful events.

• MU-ECC-205Radio Communications and Fireground Procedures

  14.5 h · 4 modules

  This course prepares emergency communications professionals to manage radio traffic during structure fires and other fireground operations. Learners study radio discipline, plain language, talkgroup selection, and interoperability, then apply those skills to initial reports, benchmark tracking, and emergency traffic. The course gives focused attention to the high-consequence events dispatchers support: personnel accountability reports, Mayday and emergency-button activations, and rapid intervention crew support. Learners practice collecting critical information under pressure, keeping channels clear, alerting command, and recording events accurately. Throughout, they work with Incident Command System concepts and public doctrine such as NIMS and NFPA standards, while recognizing that local radio policy, tactical channel plans, and operating guidelines determine exact phrasing and sequence. The course closes with radio documentation, including timelines reconstructed from audio and CAD records, and an integrated scenario that connects every skill. Learners leave able to communicate clearly, support command, and document fireground events.

• MU-ECC-206Accessibility and Language Services in 9-1-1

  14.5 h · 4 modules

  Accessibility and Language Services in 9-1-1 prepares call takers to serve every person who reaches a public safety answering point, regardless of how that person communicates. Learners examine the Americans with Disabilities Act obligations that apply to 9-1-1 centers, including effective communication and direct access, along with the broader duty to provide meaningful language access. Through scenario-based lessons, they study TTY and real-time text conventions, telecommunications relay and video relay calls, text-to-9-1-1, silent and open-line calls, interpreter and language-line procedures, and the cultural and cognitive factors that shape how callers describe emergencies. The course stresses verifying location early, adapting questioning without lowering the standard of service, documenting accurately, and following local policy and equipment capabilities. Learners complete two written applications that turn course concepts into a call-handling plan and a workstation quick-reference suited to their own center.

• MU-ECC-207Quality Assurance for Communications Centers

  14.5 h · 4 modules

  Quality assurance is how a communications center learns whether it is delivering the service the public expects and how it gets better. This course guides supervisors and QA staff through building a quality assurance and improvement program from the ground up. Participants learn to choose which calls to review, design scoring forms with observable criteria, and run calibration sessions so reviewers score consistently. The course then moves to feedback and coaching conversations that change behavior, trend analysis and reporting that give leaders usable information, and methods for turning QA findings into targeted training. Throughout, the course emphasizes a just culture, in which errors are examined as system and human-performance issues, and discipline is reserved for choices that warrant it. Learners complete two practical deliverables: a program blueprint and a trend report with a coaching and training plan. Local policy, labor agreements, and records laws govern implementation.

• MU-ECC-208Legal Liability and Records for Telecommunicators

  14.5 h · 4 modules

  MU-ECC-208 introduces telecommunicators to the legal concepts that shape everyday call handling and the records those calls produce. Learners examine duty, standard of care, negligence, and immunity concepts, then apply them to realistic PSAP scenarios. The course emphasizes defensible documentation: writing objective CAD narratives, correcting entries properly, and avoiding opinion or speculation. Learners also study how audio recordings and CAD records are retained, preserved under legal holds, and released through public records processes, and how confidentiality obligations for criminal justice, personal, and health-related information limit disclosure. Finally, the course prepares learners to respond to subpoenas, work with agency counsel, and testify clearly and truthfully. This is general education only and not legal advice. Laws vary by state and locality, and agency counsel, written policy, and designated records custodians govern all actual decisions.

To graduate you must pass every required course (orientation, lessons, knowledge checks, assignments, practical sign-offs, practice exam, and a final exam at 80% or higher), meet the elective rule, and complete the capstone.