August 4, 2016

Purdue, Ivy Tech program opens door to aviation technology majors

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Curriculum offered through a partnership between Purdue Polytechnic Institute and Ivy Tech Community College will create a new group of workers to fill an emerging need in the regional workforce.

The co-enrollment program begins this year and connects aviation curricula at Purdue Polytechnic Institute's School of Aviation and Transportation Technology and the Ivy Tech Community College, Lafayette campus, Aviation Program.

John Mott, clinical associate professor and interim head of the School of Aviation and Transportation Technology, said Ivy Tech in Lafayette initially was motivated by General Electric's 2014 announcement of a final assembly plant in Lafayette to produce LEAP jet aircraft engines.

"The plant has the potential to employ a large number of graduates from the Ivy Tech/Purdue program," he said. "In addition, the aerospace industry in Indiana is very large."

Mott said it makes sense for Purdue Polytechnic Institute and the School of Aviation and Transportation to participate in workforce education with Ivy Tech.

 "This program serves not only that purpose, but provides us with an additional pipeline of students, many of whom may seek to continue their educations," he said. "This is one more effort to help the pieces of higher education in Indiana fit together better."

Mott was approached by Todd Roswarski, vice chancellor for academic affairs and professor at Ivy Tech in Lafayette, in 2014 about establishing the partnership.

"This aviation partnership is the latest example of how Ivy Tech, Purdue and area employers such as GE Aviation work together to foster an educated and skilled workforce for the betterment of Indiana's economy," Roswarski said. "Providing opportunities for Ivy Tech graduates to enter the workforce or continue their education at Purdue and other four-year institutions is the core of Ivy Tech's mission."

The program utilizes a curriculum delivered, in part, by both institutions and makes use of Purdue's existing courses. Students completing the program will earn an Associate of Applied Science degree in aviation maintenance technology with a powerplant concentration from Ivy Tech while Purdue will provide a Powerplant Certification exam, which is Federal Aviation Administration-issued.

Officials are awaiting FAA approval for the new certificate.

Students may choose to apply for transfer to the School of Aviation and Transportation Technology and work toward earning a bachelor's degree in Purdue's aeronautical engineering technology or aviation management programs.

The partnership is a limited-enrollment program. Students must enroll no later than Dec. 1 for the spring semester. 

Writer: Brian L. Huchel, 765-494-2084, bhuchel@purdue.edu 

Sources: John Mott, 765-494-2686, jhmott@purdue.edu

Todd Roswarski, 765-269-5620, troswars@ivytech.edu

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