LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- A highly promoted aviation program at Ivy Tech University is back in compliance after Call 6 Investigates began asking questions.
Keeping planes in the air, making sure they land safely and even repairing them are dream jobs for many who marvel at the speed, sound, and sight of the giant mechanical birds known as planes.
John Smith said he was excited for his son, who was interested in the Aviation Maintenance Technology program offered by Ivy Tech Lafayette in the Fall of 2017.
“The dream is he’s good with his hands, and he wants to build jet engines,” said Smith. “That in two years he would take the FAA certification test and start off making $40,000 working for Rolls Royce or GE.”
Ivy Tech advertised that the median salary for an aircraft mechanic could be more than $25 per hour and would require two years of schooling, but the biggest selling point on their website is that the program is certified by the Federal Aviation Administration.
But students later found out that the FAA did not certify their classes during the Fall of 2017.
The college had been working on its certification, but it wasn’t until January 2018 that they informed students that the FAA had yet to approve them.
Smith said he was concerned about his son’s education and future and attempted to get answers from the college for months.
“I got the run around by so many different people,” said Smith. “It’s frustrating as heck for a parent, you know. I’m a school teacher. I’m not a wealthy man.”
Call 6 Investigates reached out to the office of Ivy Tech’s president in Indianapolis in late April of this year. The office told us they were unaware of the situation on their Lafayette campus, which led to several months of calls and emails between Call 6 and Ivy Tech President Sue Ellspermann.
“We take what happened very seriously,” said Ellspermann. “It didn’t come to our attention until you brought it to us that we still had Lafayette campus listed on our website. It was not intentional, but it had believed that the FAA certification would be forthcoming quickly because Pursue is an FAA site.”
Ellspermann reached out to her counterpart, Purdue President Mitch Daniels, to assist in fixing the problem and between April and June they ironed out how to move forward with the FAA, and they were able to get their waivers.
“We felt to your point; we felt badly they had the anxiety of this spring. We have scholarshipped all of those students with $2,000 which is roughly the equivalent of 15 credit hours they would have taken. We are confident we’re going to be able to help those students achieve their goals, which is their FAA certification,” said Ellspermann.
Smith’s son was one of those students who received the $2,000 scholarship.
Ivy Tech says there have been no updates since then, and that all students have been taken care of.
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