Welcome to the University of Police Academy 2010.

A City Council panel ordered the LAPD on Monday to study the creation of a program at the Police Academy that other agencies could use as a way to generate revenue.

The proposal by the council's Public Safety Committee also would keep Los Angeles Police Department training staff busy if recruiting is curtailed by the city's budget crisis. The panel requested a similar study from the Fire Department.

The LAPD expects to hire only enough officers to maintain its current authorized strength of 9,963 officers _ meaning that class sizes will be reduced from its maximum of 60 students.

"We are looking at what other agencies do and coming up with a competitive tuition," Deputy Chief Sandy Jo MacArthur, who noted that the University of Southern California is among the entities interested in the training program.

The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department charges tuition for other agencies to use its Rio Hondo facility; the state has a similar set up at a academy in San Luis Obispo.

MacArthur said she believes the LAPD Academy could become competitive with other agencies.

"We have been working with POST (Police Officers Standards and Training), which says you can charge a tuition," MacArthur said. "The tuition is to recover your costs for instructors and materials.

MacArthur estimated the city could charge $1,000 to $2,000 per student - revenue that could help maintain the Police Academy and keep its staff active.