Avionics News August 2012 - 48

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BUSINESS BASICS
B Y G R E G L A S L O

Accredit Where Credit’s Due
s the complexity of aircraftelectronics systems swells, the educational needs of the technicians who service these systems have expanded, too. As a result, the programs designated to providing this training have greater demands placed on them. One of the greatest demands is providing the knowledge and skills these technicians need to succeed on the shop floor. Another is demonstrating this to the industry. In nearly every professional career, both institutions and individuals pursue accreditation and certification to demonstrate foundational competence. So, too, now are programs that certificate technicians to work on these aircraft, and the numbers are growing. The reason is simple: Accreditation shows that a program contains industry-specified content delivered to meet real-world needs. Yet, accreditation of aviation programs is a relatively new process and has only spooled up in the last decade, so it can seem a bit foggy – if not outright intimidating. While it’s up to you and your colleagues to decide whether or not accreditation is right for your program, you should recognize why it’s important, how
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avionics news

How to Get the Recognition Your Training Program Deserves

it works and how it serves the front line of the industry – the shops and manufacturers – and ultimately your school. In this light, you may find it’s simply the new way you will do business. Standard Setting Accreditation, as a self-inflicted process, recognizes education providers that achieve an established level of performance and quality. This is

of Colleges and Schools or the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools. At this level, the organizations evaluate an institution’s administrative function, including admissions policies, grading and financial aid. This accreditation is essential for receiving state and federal grants, loans and other funds. However, this version doesn’t examine the individual programs provided by institutions. To validate

AET certification is becoming a requirement for job seekers at a growing number of shops, which can afford to be picky right now.

a roundabout way of saying it serves the same purpose as individual certification and licensure. How it accomplishes this depends on the type of accreditation, yet the purpose remains the same: to create confidence in a program within the education community, the industry and the public. Accreditation follows two distinct forms. The first involves either regional or national commissions, such as the Southern Association

the educational product itself, schools choose a second, specialized accreditation, typically from commissions established by the industry and sets uniform minimum standards for curriculum content, facilities and faculty. In this case, accreditation serves several purposes, including benchmarking the quality of the program, helping the school continuously improve its training and assuring the school provides relevant training.

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Avionics News August 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News August 2012