| NSF Org: |
DUE Division Of Undergraduate Education |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | May 18, 2015 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | December 23, 2016 |
| Award Number: | 1501594 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Heather Watson
DUE Division Of Undergraduate Education EDU Directorate for STEM Education |
| Start Date: | July 1, 2015 |
| End Date: | June 30, 2019 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $897,935.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $897,935.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
2240 IYANOUGH ROAD W BARNSTABLE MA US 02668-1599 (774)330-4492 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
2240 Iyannough Road West Barnstable MA US 02668-1159 |
| Primary Place of Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | Advanced Tech Education Prog |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.076 |
ABSTRACT
Cape Cod Community College (CCCC) is developing a one-year accelerated program to train Aviation Maintenance Technicians. The program is being developed with partnerships with regional employers, community partners, industry and other entities to design and implement accelerated pathways for jobs requiring a Federal Aviation Administration Airframe & Powerplant (FAA A&P) certificate as well as other aviation and avionics occupations. With implementation, CCCC will be one of only six community colleges in the United States to offer FAA A&P certification training in an accelerated format, and will be the only public institution of higher education offering the accelerated certificate in eastern New England. The program responds to a documented regional and national need for a stronger workforce in aviation and avionics. The proposed curriculum and training addresses industry needs and creates a model accelerated program. The program is recruiting underrepresented groups including first generation, low income students and veterans. CCCC is collaborating with K-12 partners within the region, generating a pipeline of students able to fulfill regional labor market needs, including a dual enrollment pathway which increases opportunities for students to enter a high demand, well-paid career field. The accelerated structure of the program allows participants to reach their professional goals faster, and meet the employer demand.
The program is structured around three goals: 1) Developing a set of stackable certificates and associate degree program informed by industry that prepares aviation maintenance technicians, 2) creating a viable, cost efficient and guided pathway for high school students who wish to obtain a certificate or associate degree in Aviation Maintenance utilizing a dual enrollment path, and 3) creating an online pathway for workers with experience in the field who wish to prepare for the FAA A&P certification exam. The program builds upon best practices and utilizes open-source materials and evidence-based strategies, including NSF-funded curriculum materials developed by the South Texas Aviation Maintenance Partnership (STAMP). Five project activities are involved: 1) developing an innovative online curriculum in aviation maintenance for general portions of the program that can be disseminated to other institutions, 2) establishing articulation agreements with Bridgewater State University in Aviation Management, 3) training two initial cohorts of students during the project and grow program enrollment to over 100 students, 4) providing professional development opportunities for aviation program faculty, and 5) continuing to develop relationships with industry partners. Program evaluation includes both formative evaluation for refinement of project activities and summative evaluation to establish outcomes that will influence the scaling up of efforts beyond the planning phase. Plans include dissemination of program outcomes at regional, state and national conferences, leveraging the impact of the program, and the dissemination of online modules/courses and teaching materials developed.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
The Massachusetts Credentials and Careers in Aviation (MCCA) project, an initiative funded by the National Science Foundation's Advanced Technological Education program, was structured around three major goals:
- Create an Aviation Maintenance Technology (AMT) Program designed to provide accelerated pathways for jobs requiring Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airframe & Powerplant (A&P) certification, with the ability to also earn stackable college certificates and an associate in applied science degree (AAS).
- Create a dual enrollment pathway for high school students who wish to obtain a certificate or associate degree in Aviation Maintenance.
- Develop a hybrid program pathway that pairs flexible online curriculum with on-site learning to meet the FAA requirements to attain A&P certification.
As the only accelerated A&P certification training being offered through a public institution of higher education in eastern New England, this AMT program was undertaken to build capacity to serve the region in order to meet the ever-growing demand for FAA certified A&P technicians (http://www.boeing.com/commercial/market/long-term-market/pilot-and-technician-outlook).
Development of the AMT program was truly groundbreaking for CCCC because it required the successful completion of numerous ?firsts? or milestones prior to the enrollment of students. In order to receive FAA approval to train A&P technicians, four key components needed to be developed: (1) identification of a suitable training facility, (2) acquisition of equipment and supplies, (3) development of A&P curriculum that meets all required FAA standards, and (4) hiring of AMT faculty and staff. Although successful attainment of these components took nearly two years and required overcoming numerous challenges, the result is a state-of-the art fully-equipped and staffed training facility located 35 miles from CCCC?s West Barnstable campus, establishing the College?s first permanent footprint in the Greater Plymouth area, extending program reach.
CCCC enrolled its first cohort of AMT students in September 2016. During the grant term a total of 125 students have enrolled in the program across seven cohort groups, exceeding the grant goal of 100 enrolled students. The program had an average retention rate of 87%, ranging from 79% to 100% across the individual student cohorts. A total of 57 students from four cohort groups (83%, 57/69) completed the program with the necessary training hours to take the FAA certification exams, doubling the proposed goal. Thirty-two students have become FAA certified A & P technicians and 28 are currently working in the aviation maintenance field. In addition, a number of College credentials have been awarded including 15 Airframe certificates, 14 Powerplant certificates, and four AAS degrees in Aviation Maintenance Technology.
Other factors that contributed to the successful development of the AMT program were employer relationships, enhanced student supports and institutional preparedness.
- Employer relationships: CCCC and program staff built local, regional and national employer and business partnerships with over 30 companies. Employer partners donated equipment, reviewed study curriculum for industry relevance, participated in career fairs at the training site and led state-of-the industry discussions and demonstrations with students.
- Enhanced student supports: Case management advising provided by an embedded student success coach is a key strategy used to retain and graduate students in such an intensive specialized program.
- Institutional preparedness: Development of a new technical program from the ground-up reinforced the importance of institutional preparation including having solid background research, an implementation timeline, dedicated program manager responsible for driving progress and a communication strategy to keep the wider college community informed.
With the face-to-face AMT program firmly established, the latter part of the grant term was spent furthering the development of hybrid and dual enrollment pathway opportunities.
- Dual enrollment pathway. In order to expand the pipeline of students interested in enrolling in the AMT program, CCCC established three pre-aviation dual enrollment pathways for high school juniors and seniors: AMT certificate pathway, AMT AAS degree pathway, and the accelerated AAS degree pathway.
- Hybrid pathway. Development of distance learning A&P certification programs is relatively new for the FAA, with very limited hybrid program offerings available in the country. During the grant term, CCCC structured and sequenced program content to create a functional online instructional and onsite lab schedule. Critical to the online delivery of content was the development of a monitoring system within the College?s Learning Management System to demonstrate to the FAA that each student has met the training hour requirement. At the conclusion of the grant year, a complete distance learning proposal had been submitted to the FAA with an October 2019 start expected.
As the AMT program continues to grow in program graduates and refines program delivery, CCCC is pursuing additional opportunities for enhancing and leveraging AMT including development of an avionics program and customized employer training.
Last Modified: 09/26/2019
Modified by: Stanislaus Mackiewicz
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