Training
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The County Officials Certificate Training Program (COCTP) is a comprehensive training program administered by CTAS.
COCTP is designed to provide specialized, technical and managerial training to elected officials and their employees in order to help them run their office more effectively. It also offers a comprehensive review of county government. CTAS believes that a broader understanding of the mechanics of county government will afford COCTP graduates a better knowledge of the county as an entity, which will help them to better serve their constituency. Graduates of COCTP will obtain a thorough understanding of county government and be designated with the title of Certified Public Administrator.
CTAS requires a passing score of 70% to receive credit for both our classroom and online training.
A note about online training: There is an option for online classes to “Visit all content”, however, COCTP credit will not be granted under this option. Please start all online training with the Pre-Test in order to receive your credit.
CORE classes will be open for registration approximately one month prior to the date of the class. We will send an email advertising for the class when it opens for registration. We appreciate your patience as we prepare your training classes.
The Comptroller of the Treasury and CTAS have developed the Certified County Finance Officer (CCFO) program that will
provide Tennessee’s county financial officers an opportunity to learn about
accounting and financial reporting principles, understand how county governments
are structured in Tennessee, and enhance their skills in order to carry out their
responsibilities for the fiscal affairs of their county or department. CTAS administers
the educational program and testing required to achieve the CCFO designation. The
Comptroller’s Office has been designated as the certification authority.
How to Enroll
To enroll in the CCFO program, you need to create an account on the Comptroller’s
CCFO website at https://apps.cot.tn.gov/CCFO. Please be aware that you will need to have an e-mail account to sign up. The Comptroller recommends using a
personal email account for account creation. Click the "Register" link at the
top of the webpage to create an account.
What You Can Do on the Comptroller’s CCFO Website
- Create an account
- Execute an application for the CCFO certification program
- Report Continuing Professional Education (CPE) hours
- Report changes in personal information
The Comptroller’s CCFO website is used to apply for the program, not to
register for classes. After your account has been approved, you will need to
wait for class registration information to become available via email.
All questions you have regarding the CCFO program website, forms, and applications should be directed
to the Comptroller’s Division of Local Government Audit at (615) 401-7841 or questions may be submitted
through LGA.Web@cot.tn.gov.
All questions regarding class schedules, registration, space availability, etc., should be directed to CTAS at
615-532-3555.
Beginning September 1, 2018, newly-elected or newly-appointed county commissioners are required to complete orientation training provided by CTAS under T.C.A. § 5-5-113. In addition, those newly elected members will also be required to complete seven hours of continuing education provided or approved by CTAS on an annual basis. The requirements for this training, including exemptions from the training requirements, are described below. The comptroller will publish annually a list of commissioners with the hours of training required and the hours each commissioner has obtained.
Orientation Training
You have 120 days after the date of your election or appointment within which to complete your orientation training. Orientation training can be obtained by attending the CTAS County Officials Orientation Program (COOP) held for newly-elected officials every four years, or by taking specific online training classes offered by CTAS through K@te (the CTAS learning management system). Commissioners who do not attend COOP will be enrolled automatically in the required online classes in K@te. If you need assistance enrolling in K@te, please contact the CTAS training department.
Continuing Education Training
You must complete at least seven (7) hours of continuing education annually. The annual compliance period is from September 1 through August 31 each year. For newly-elected or newly-appointed county commissioners, your annual compliance period begins on the first September 1 occurring after the date of your election or appointment. Orientation training does not count toward your continuing education requirement.
Exemptions
- You are exempt from the ORIENTATION TRAINING requirement if you were in office on April 12, 2018 and have continuously served after that date.
- You are exempt from the CONTINUING EDUCATION TRAINING requirement if:
- You were in office on April 12, 2018 and have continuously served after that date; OR
- You have a total of eight (8) years or more of service as a county commissioner (years of service are not required to be continuous).
Continuing Education Training Options
The annual continuing education requirement can be met in various ways, including attending educational sessions at TCSA conferences and TCCA regional meetings, attending CTAS training classes, completing online training provided by CTAS, and attending other professional development approved by CTAS. Sign-in sheets will be provided at association events and CTAS training. If you attend outside training, please submit an Outside Training Credit Request form to the CTAS training department.