Three cheers for the FAA Academy’s successful Council on Occupational Education (COE) accreditation effort. In 2019, the FAA Academy decided to pursue the task of obtaining COE accreditation. The Council on Occupational Education accreditation is a status granted to an educational institution or program that meets or exceeds the stated criteria of educational quality and student achievement. Accreditation by the COE is viewed as a nationally honored seal of excellence for occupational education institutions and denotes honesty and integrity.
The Council on Occupational Education is a national institutional accrediting agency recognized by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education to accredit postsecondary occupational education institutions. COE has been accrediting public and private institutions, as well as federal training academies and Job Corps Centers, for over 40 years. The Council’s accreditation and policy decisions are made by a 20-member Commission representing a cross-section of the education and business communities. Approximately 600 schools are currently in candidate or accredited status with the Council.
The goal of the FAA Academy was to gain accreditation from COE by completing a laborious Self-Study response to ten sets of standards submitted by the COE that had over 233 required criteria, and provide proof (exhibits) of the responses. The FAA Academy’s COE Steering Committee coordinated with four Divisions within the Academy and communicated about the necessary documents that needed to be prepared; Primarily for the Self Study Report required by the COE, and then secondly, for the site visit when COE representatives would visit the FAA Academy at the Aeronautical Center. The representatives from the four Divisions within the Academy played a major part in the success of gaining this accreditation. Their contribution to the Self Study Report and answering questions from the COE Accreditation Team during the site visit was a major accomplishment.
The Self-Study Report describes how the institution complies with the standards, conditions, and criteria for accreditation by the Commission of the COE. Gathering the required information took 18 months, but the team was able to develop a detailed, concise, Self-Study Report based on inputs gathered from the four AMA Divisions. The team also collected and, in some cases, developed the required exhibits needed to provide proof of our compliance.
On May 3, 2022, the COE Accreditation Team arrived at the FAA Academy for their site visit. The team of five representatives from other government agencies reviewed all of the Academy’s programs and services against the COE Standards and verified that the Academy complies with the COE accreditation requirements. Under normal circumstances, a site visit would take upwards of four days to accomplish, but due to the concerted efforts and vigorous preparation by the Academy’s COE Steering Committee, the site evaluation team was able to complete the evaluation in as little as ten hours.
As a result of the COE Accreditation Team site visit, the Academy had only one minor finding out of 233 criteria. This was a direct reflection of 36 months of meticulous preparation and execution of a well-thought-out plan for success that was put into action by the COE Steering Committee. The COE Steering Committee performed beyond expectations! Their actions demonstrated what can be accomplished when we commit and focus our efforts on an attainable goal. The FAA Academy’s accreditation status by the COE is viewed as a nationally honored seal of excellence for occupational education institutions, and denotes the honesty and integrity of the program. The Academy also received a commendation for its Learning Resources involving the Air Traffic simulator capabilities and its technical support.
Congratulations to the COE Steering Committee and those at the FAA Academy who were involved in obtaining this prestigious accreditation.
