Training and certification issues in college aviation management programs

¶ … Aviation at the College Level

The purpose of this paper is to examine a business, other than a federal business, that is involved with aviation. Further to examine the training, certification and funding and to identify the issues faced in those areas as well as identify the sources of funding.

According to recent reports the aviation industry is in a slump. Dr. Mike Barker, associate dean of the School of Aeronautics recently stated that:

Typically, when the industry rebounds, it comes on even stronger."

Barker also said that:

The industry will need more people than ever before. Airport management and aviation planning will continue to be a vital field."

According to the report which was located on Florida Technology University:

An airport is one of the top two or three economic engines in a community in terms of jobs, tax revenues and dollars it brings into that area."

The report cited the economic impact of The Melbourne International Airport as being in the amount of $1.1 billion per year. Florida Tech Institute's aviation management program is considered a premium choice among those that are new or planning to receive education for the positions of airport executives as well as consultants preparing for airport design, development and operational management. (REF)

Barker said that:

Apart from technical training...We train our students in how to make airports grow, serve their communities and assist in regional economic development. According to Barker the curriculum offers long-term management in community assisted economic issues as well as safety and security.

Barker stated further than:

Probably one-quarter of the time spent in the senior course in airport management is on matters of operational safety and aviation security."

According to the report, it was in response to industry needs that Florida Tech addressed it attention toward developing the curriculum for enhancement of the aviation and airport management. Presently, sixty percent of total School of Aeronautics enrollment can be attributed to the aviation management program.

According to Barker the students graduating from Florida Tech are ahead of other students at a rate of somewhere between three and five years.

Emphasis, according to Barker is focused toward the technical aspect of airport design, noise analysis and land compatibility.

I. Overview of Florida Technological Institute Affiliates and Educational Program

Among those that utilize the Institutes' facilities are the Florida Department of Transportation as well as the center for applied research and others. The use of the facility is in relation to applied research and other relative functions. Boeing has also had training events, which it sponsored at the facilities.

Florida State is independently funded and in fact is the only technological/scientific university that is independent in the Southeast. Stated on the website is that the latest results of surveys shows that the percentage of Florida Tech graduates that are working in the field in which they majored are ninety-six percent.

II. Florida State: Source of Funding for University

The National Science Foundation provides funding for research and education at Florida Tech University. There are various types of funding provided by the National Science Foundation. Traditionally funding has been for grants and "fundamental research" as well as other activities that are funded.

Those working under these funding contracts are required to sign a "Memorandum of Understanding" reflecting that they have disclosed all possible "conflicts of interest." The basis for the Memorandum of understanding is the upholding of rules and ethics in relation to "objectivity in research" being upheld.

It was reported in "Resonance," newsletter for Florida Tech, that funding has been provided recently private sources as well as a matching grant from F.W. Oline Foundation in the amount of $60,000.00 which will provide a perpetual scholarship Dr. Potter's name." This scholarship will provide to good students, support for their education. The scholarship is permanently funded for as long as Florida Technology Institute is in existence.

In the April 2004 news report on Florida Tech's website the following was stated:

The Florida Tech student population is over 25% international," said Marsha Duncan, vice president for student affairs. "We have some really wonderful international students here and, when their family financial circumstances change, it is often difficult to get them the help we can for other students in need. This scholarship fills a huge void just wonderfully."

This was stated in reference to a grant given by Dr. Mary Helen McCay's father to provide funding for international students. Also announced in the report, Florida Tech Researchers have won a grant in the amount of $912,700 for Cell Studies relating to the regulatory mechanisms of cell growth. The grant was provided by the National Institutes of Health and is a four-year grant commencing May 1, 2004. According to the report:

Dr. Alan C. Leonard, professor of biological sciences, and Dr. Julia Grimwade, associate professor of www.fit.edu/biology" biological sciences, were awarded the funding, which furthers their efforts to understand the genetic switches that trigger the reproduction of the bacterium Escherichia coli."

Also reported is the awarding of $85,000 by the Link Foundation of Binghamton, New York to Florida Technological Institute's Department of Marine and Environmental Systems. Further, two Florida Tech faculty member received an award grant in the amount of $47,522 annually from the Florida Sea Grant Program in which research will evaluate the vulnerability of Man-made coastal structures to hurricane wind damage as well as "determinations of risk through the use of retrofits and new construction methods." Also stated is the planned conducting of a "coastal benefit analysis of these migration measures."

III. Activities: Collaborated Effort

Florida Institute of Technology has improved the facilities as well as established research facilities for collaboration among disciplines. The Multidisciplinary Research Laboratory (ARL) is just a few miles from campus. Housed in the ARL facilities are programs for research in the areas of the following:

1. Ocean engineering

2. Advanced materials

3. Polymer flammability, l

4. Laser and electrooptics research

5. Psychological and parallel computing

6. Neural networks

Honors and Awards

It is amazing how many aspects of the aviation industry are either housed at Florida Technology Institute or at least is in collaboration with the Institute. The scope of coverage of aviation related curriculum and technology available to students is unprecedented. U.S. News Ranks Florida Tech Among Nation's Elite" (2004) Florida Tech Newsroom [Online] available at http://www.fit.edu/newsroom/index.html

Florida Technological Institute has recently been ranked among the best of the nations doctoral universities, by the U.S. News, according to Florida Technological Institute's website report.

Situated in Melbourne, Florida the university is 46 years old and is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a "Doctoral Research Intensive" university separating it from those universities offering bachelor and master level degrees. The Princeton Review recently named Florida Tech as "one of the South's top universities."

Aviation Training: Preparing to Fly

The School of Aeronautics at Florida Technological Institute is accredited by the Commission on Colleges, Southern Association of Colleges and Council of Aviation Accreditation. FAA-approved flight training is offered through the commercial pilot certificate and further onsite at the Melbourne International Airport.

The many aspects of the Institute in relation to aviation, not only the "in-flight" aspects but also in relation to safety, environment, security, and other areas that are strongly impacted by aviation provides an excellent environment in which to receive education for those interested in a professional career in any type of aviation or aviation related field.