DRAFT

College: Honolulu Community CollegeProgram: Aeronautics Maintenance Technology

Program Mission:

Program Mission: The Aeronautics Maintenance & Technology program’s mission is to:

  • Provide students with the opportunity to gain the documented knowledge and experience to qualify for certification as aircraft mechanics as required by Part 65 and in the manner prescribed by Part 147 of the Federal Aviation Regulations, as approved by the Honolulu Flight Standards District Office.
  • Enable students to attain their personal educational goals by becoming highly qualified aviation maintenance technicians, meeting the needs of the aviation industry and thereby promoting safety in aviation.
  • Provide specialized training as necessary for prospective aircraft technicians and industry.

Program Description:

The Aeronautics Maintenance Department is an approved aviation maintenance technician training facility operating under Federal Aviation Administration Air Agency Certificate No. DI9T087R with Airframe, Powerplant, and combined Airframe and Powerplant ratings. It is the only such school in the Pacific Basin. Students enrolling in the Aeronautics program have three choices as outlined below.

  1. Certificate of Achievement in Aviation Maintenance Technician Certification: This program consists of the General Maintenance curriculum of 500 hours, the Airframe Maintenance curriculum of 750 hours, and the Powerplant Maintenance curriculum of 750 hours which meets the FAR Part 147 minimum required total of 1900 hours of theory and laboratory instruction in four (4) semesters and an additional semester of General Education courses. A Certificate of Achievement will be awarded to students completing the Aviation Maintenance Technician Certification program, upon application.
  2. Associate in Science Degree in Aeronautics Maintenance Technology is awarded to students who complete the additional General Education requirements as well as the General, Airframe, and Powerplant Maintenance curricula as outlined under the Certificate program.
  3. Transfer Option to prepare for the Completion of the Aviation Systems Management Degree in a 4-year program. Contact Brian Isaacson for details.

Part I: Program Quantitative Indicators

Overall Program Health: Cautionary

Majors Included: AERO

Demand Indicators / Program Year / Demand Health Call
08-09 / 09-10 / 10-11
1 / New & Replacement Positions (State) / 9 / 21 / 21 / Healthy
2 / New & Replacement Positions (County Prorated) / 5 / 16 / 19
3 / Number of Majors / 40 / 42 / 50
4 / SSH Program Majors in Program Classes / 511 / 777 / 1,015
5 / SSH Non-Majors in Program Classes / 0 / 28 / 14
6 / SSH in All Program Classes / 511 / 805 / 1,029
7 / FTE Enrollment in Program Classes / 17 / 27 / 34
8 / Total Number of Classes Taught / 8 / 8 / 8
Efficiency Indicators / Program Year / Efficiency Health Call
08-09 / 09-10 / 10-11
9 / Average Class Size / 9.1 / 14.4 / 18.4 / Healthy
10 / Fill Rate / 43% / 58% / 74%
11 / FTE BOR Appointed Faculty / 4 / 4 / 3
12 / Majors to FTE BOR Appointed Faculty / 9.9 / 10.5 / 16.5
13 / Majors to Analytic FTE Faculty / 19.0 / 20.3 / 23.9
13a / Analytic FTE Faculty / 2.1 / 2.1 / 2.1
14 / Overall Program Budget Allocation / $567,450 / $466,607 / $389,126
14a / General Funded Budget Allocation / $535,896 / $463,845 / $386,062
14b / Special/Federal Budget Allocation / $31,554 / $0 / $0
15 / Cost per SSH / $1,110 / $580 / $378
16 / Number of Low-Enrolled (<10) Classes / 6 / 3 / 0
Effectiveness Indicators / Program Year / Effectiveness Health Call
08-09 / 09-10 / 10-11
17 / Successful Completion (Equivalent C or Higher) / 58% / 31% / 18% / Unhealthy
18 / Withdrawals (Grade = W) / 2 / 1 / 0
19 / Persistence (Fall to Spring) / 67% / 79% / 71%
20 / Unduplicated Degrees/Certificates Awarded / 8 / 3 / 1
20a / Degrees Awarded / 2 / 3 / 1
20b / Certificates of Achievement Awarded / 6 / 0 / 0
20c / Academic Subject Certificates Awarded / 0 / 0 / 0
20d / Other Certificates Awarded / 0 / 0 / 0
21 / Transfers to UH 4-yr / 0 / 1 / 1
21a / Transfers with credential from program / 0 / 0 / 0
21b / Transfers without credential from program / 0 / 1 / 1
Distance Education:
Completely On-line Classes / Program Year
08-09 / 09-10 / 10-11
22 / Number of Distance Education Classes Taught / 0 / 0 / 0
23 / Enrollment Distance Education Classes / 0 / 0 / 0
24 / Fill Rate / 0% / 0% / 0%
25 / Successful Completion (Equivalent C or Higher) / 0% / 0% / 0%
26 / Withdrawals (Grade = W) / 0 / 0 / 0
27 / Persistence (Fall to Spring Not Limited to Distance Education) / 0% / 0% / 0%
Perkins IV Core Indicators
2009-2010 / Goal / Actual / Met
28 / 1P1 Technical Skills Attainment / 90.05 / 73.68 / Not Met
29 / 2P1 Completion / 44.50 / 10.53 / Not Met
30 / 3P1 Student Retention or Transfer / 55.50 / 48.48 / Not Met
31 / 4P1 Student Placement / 50.50 / 58.33 / Met
32 / 5P1 Nontraditional Participation / 16.00 / 4.35 / Not Met
33 / 5P2 Nontraditional Completion / 15.10 / 50.00 / Met

Last Updated: August 25th, 2011

Glossary | Health Call Scoring Rubric

Part II: Analysis of the Program

SOC Code = 49-3011

Overall, the AERO program is doing better than it has in quite some time although it is still maintaining a Cautionary status. The job outlook forecast still remains positive and the projected number of new jobs and replacement positions are expected to grow about as fast as the average for all other occupations. The number of Aero Majors (item 3) has increased since the previous year by about 18% from 42 to 50 and our Fill Rate (item 10) has increased from 57%to 74%. Our Persistence (item 19) has fallen from 79% to 71%. This drop I contribute primarily to a factor associated with our first semester students. We traditionally have a much lower retention rate with our first semester students. Apparently some enter our program under prepared or without totally realizing just how time-consuming or strenuous this program can be. Regardless of the reason our first semester attrition rate is often somewhere around 15-20%, with many leaving within the first few weeks. Recognizing that our first semester class is almost 50% larger than our continuing class (during this timeframe), the higher attrition rate associated with that first semester class apparently resulted in the 8% drop in Persistence displayed for the 10-11 year. Although our cost per Student Semester Hour (item 15) has not been reported at this time, I suspect it will reflect a reduced figure from that of the previous year, primary resulting from the decrease in the FTE BOR Appointed Faculty (item 11) from 4 (in 09-10) to 3 (in 10-11) and the increase in the number of students in our programs courses.

Our Successful Completion (item 17), which has dropped from an already low figure of 31% to an even lower figure of 18% requires some explanation. Per our records, the number of student classes (my term - number of students per class for the classes of this timeframe 10-11 added together) indicate 146 student classes. From the 146, 24 students complete the class on time, 108 students had incomplete at the end of the semester, and 14 either fail, drop or received an N grade (As of October 20, 2011, only 21 of the 108 incomplete had finished their class). This extremely high number of incomplete we (the Aero faculty) felt were primarily the results of a policy established by our previous Director. The policy allowed Aero students to maintain an incomplete grade for up to a year and a half. This seemed to create an atmosphere that there was no urgency in completing the classes on time and as a result, many didn't. This policy was formed as a result of our passport program, which resulted in additional projects, and at the time seemed warranted. When we discontinued the passport program a few years ago, this extension program remained in effect, and the incompletes continued without justification. (As a note I would like to add that we have discontinued this policy as of the Fall 2011 semester. Having only completed one quarter (two classes) since then, the on-time passing rate has jumped to over 50%, and all indications appear that most will be completed by the end of the semester, before grades are required.)

Another low value, Unduplicated Degrees/Certificates Awarded (item 20) which dropped from a low value of 3 to an even lower value of 1 during this evaluation period also needs addressing. The majority of the students entering the Aero program seem to be primarily concerned with receiving their FAA Airframe and Powerplant Certification. Those who opted to continue on and earn a Certificate of Achievement or an Associate Degree usually do so after completing the Aero program by the completion of the necessary liberal arts classes (additional semesters). As a result, the graduates from the Aero program who have completed the Aero courses and have received a Certificate of Completion (which is not currently recognized by this evaluation and which is all that is necessary for the FAA A&P certificate testing) have not yet earned or received an Associate Degree or Certificate of Achievement. This reflects in low numbers on this evaluation, which does not accurately depict the results of the students who attend the Aero program. As I understand it, we are currently in the process of having our Certificate of Completion recognized as a program completion, which will result in more favorable figures for the Aero program.

Distance Education:

We are currently offering no On–Line classes.

Perkins IV core Indicators:

We have only met two of the six Perkins Core Indicators. Those Indicators not meet were (item #28) 1P1 Technical Skills Attainment, (item #29) 2P1 Completion, (item # 30) 3P1 Student Retention or Transfer and (item # 33) 5P2 Nontraditional Completion.

(item #28) 1P1 Technical Skills Attainment: These numbers were unclear to me. It appeared that they were comparing the number of student who left the program with a GPG>2.0 with the total number of students that have left the program (2.0 students/total) and stated that our numbers were to low. It seem to me that reducing the number of 2.0 students that leave our program would lower this value and be the most desirable. This would be indicated by our Actual values representing less than our Goal values, which they are.

(item #29) 2P1 Completion: This could be the result of our graduation rating as discussed above under item 20. Not recognizing our Certificate of Completions students as graduates from our program would translate into low values for this item. Another contributing factor could be our high number of incompletes as addressed above under item 17. The high number of students not completing their classes by the time they finish their last class in our program may be reflected as students having stop the program and not having graduated, which would lower this value.

(item # 30) 3P1 Student Retention or Transfer: I feel the reason for these low values were addressed above under item 19 Presistence. Our relativity high first semester attrition rate coupled with normal early programs departures like deployment of military students, moving to the mainland or just having to return back to full time employment for economic enhancement makes up our primary reasons for these retention values. This item seem to compare those students who have not completed our program and moved on, still pursuing a degree, to the total number who have not completed our program. It’s not clear to me how these numbers translate to retention, but they reflect that we have met 87% of our goal.

(item # 33) 5P2 Nontraditional Completion: As with other Physical labor trade programs at HCC, it has always been a challenge to recruit and retain nontraditional populations into the program. As we did last year, to specifically address this issue, we will be seeking funds for professional assistance to create strategic marketing products (brochures, flyers, tv/radio adds…)

Part III: Action Plan

The following action plan items can be tied to the HCC-Specific Additional Outcomes and Measures accessible online at

  1. Contract professional services to help recruit non-traditional students into the program. (Outcome #4)

Part IV: Resource Implications

There are resource implications for the Action Planning Item above. We will work with the Division Chair and Division Dean to submit the necessary paperwork to request funding to complete these items in the Spring semester.

Program Student Learning Outcomes

Program Student Learning Outcomes:

Upon successful completion of the AERO program, students will be able to:

  • Satisfactorily pass the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) knowledge, oral, practical and written examinations in General, Airframe, and Powerplant subjects
  • Obtain FAA general mechanic, airframe and powerplant certifications
  • Demonstrate a working knowledge and mechanical ability to inspect, maintain, service and repair aircraft electrical, engine (piston and turbine), airframe structure, flight control, hydraulic, pneumatic, fuel, navigation and instrument systems and other aircraft components specified by Federal Aviation Regulation Part 147
  • Identify, install, inspect, fabricate and repair aircraft sheet metal and synthetic material structures
  • Maintain and repair any part in any aircraft system of any rotorcraft, light aircraft, air carrier aircraft, glider, or balloon within the regulatory limits imposed by the FAA certification, without error, to ensure the safety of the flying public
  • Display proper behavior reflecting satisfactory work habits and ethics to fulfill program requirements and confidence to prepare for employment