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17 Programs Granted HVAC Excellence Accreditation.
Accreditation, Accreditation and More Accreditation. Programmatic accreditation is a growing trend in career and technical education, especially in the Heating Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (HVACR) industry. In the last year, 17 additional programs have been granted accreditation by HVAC Excellence.
Why is accreditation important to the industry? It assures that programs have the resources to prepare students with Employment Ready Skills. Additionally, it assures that the program has the needed resources and administrative support to accomplish their goals.
The Accreditation Process In seeking accreditation, the staff at each program must prepare a self study of their program. A self study contains documentation of compliance in the following areas: The Mission of the Program, Administrative Responsibilities, Finance and Funds, Students Services, Instruction Design and Program Elements, Physical Facilities, Equipment and Tools, Cooperative Training, and Qualifications of the Instructor.
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To understand the difficulty in preparing a self study, image documenting all aspects of your job for the next 2 years in a report that a third party evaluates. A self study can be several hundred pages long and take months to prepare. A copy of the self study can be downloaded at http://www.hvacexcellence.org/Accreditation.htm
Executive members of HVAC Excellence review each self study. After review and critique of the self study, HVAC Excellence selects a group of industry veterans to review the program. The people selected will have combined technical, administrative and teaching experience in the HVACR industry.
The visiting team complies and submits a detailed report of their findings to the HVAC Excellence Executive Review Committee. After critique and review of the self study and site report, HVAC Excellence determines if the program have met the required standards for accreditation. Programs that meet or exceed the standards will be granted accreditation.
The 17 Newly Accredited Programs Are: Ivy Tech Community College (Evansville, IN), Dunwoody College of Technology (Minneapolis, MN), Air Conditioning Technical Institute (Las Vegas, NV), Greater Altoona Career and Technology Center (Altoona, PA), Ivy Tech Community College (Kokomo, IN), Cape Girardeau Career and Technology Center ( Cape Girardeau, MO), Louisiana Technical College (Plaquemine, LA), Walla Walla Community College South Campus (Walla Walla, WA), Lancaster County Career & Technology Center (Brownstown, PA), Hillyard Technical Center ( St. Joseph, MO), Midwest Technical Institute (Springfield, IL), South Technical High School (Sunset Hills, MO), Bucks County Technical High School (Fairless Hills, PA), Traviss Career Center (Lakeland, FL), Walla Walla Community College North Campus (Walla Walla, WA), Western Center For Technical Studies (Limerick PA), and North Technical High School (St. Louis, MO).
Additional Benefits of Accreditation
Students of HVAC Excellence accredited programs have additional job opportunities as a result of accreditation.
· The Mechanical Service Contractors of America (MSCA), have made their main entry point for jobs, graduates of HVAC Excellence accredited schools.
We recognize the importance of a good education for tomorrow’s HVAC service technician, and the schools accredited by HVAC Excellence have met many tough requirements in curriculum development, equipment and tools, and instructor training,” said Barbara Dolim, Executive Director of MSCA. “Our 1,200 member contractors looking for new technicians can rest assured graduates of HVAC Excellence schools will be well-educated, dedicated workers.
(MSCA is the leading national trade association for HVACR contractors, providing education, marketing and labor/management services to assure its members deliver quality performance, value and expertise for all building system needs).
· The United Association (UA), articulates with HVAC Excellence accredited programs. Under this agreement, graduates from accredited programs are eligible for advanced placement in the UA apprenticeship program.
With over 330,000 members, the United Association (the UA) has been the leading HVACR industry trade union for over 117 years.
HVAC Excellence, a not for profit organization, was created in 1994 to address the need for national education and evaluation standards for the Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, Refrigeration (HVACR) industry. HVAC Excellence provides the industry with; programmatic accreditation, student outcome assessments, educator credentialing, and various levels of technician certifications. HVAC Excellence is the only HVACR organization to meet United States Federal Regulations Title 34 for accrediting HVACR programs and has certified over 60,000 technicians.
For additional information on programmatic accreditation or a list of accredited programs, visit
www.hvacexcellence.org or call 1-800-394-5268.
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