8 of 9 classes to be taught here

Both high school and traditional students may now complete eight of the nine courses required for an aviation maintenance technology (AMT) certificate without driving farther than the South Alabama Regional Airport.

Covington County Economic Development Commission director Rick Clifton confirmed that classes taught by the Alabama Aviation Center will reopen in the incubator building at South Alabama Regional Airport in the fall. A line item in the state education budget made that possible, he said.

And classes are being designed for both dual enrolment and traditional students. Dual enrollment allows high school students to simultaneously earn high school and college credit. Classes are free to high school students who qualify, he said.

The South Alabama Regional Airport campus of the Alabama Aviation Center was established as a workforce development project to help train area residents for jobs available in industries located at SARA.

In a letter to Clifton, Vicky Ohlson, PhD, interim president of Enterprise State Community College, confirmed that the college plans to offer three classes this fall.

AMT 102 Materials and Processes will be taught from 7:30 a.m. until 9:15 a.m. Mondays through Fridays, and also from 5:30 p.m. until 8:45 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.

A second class, AMT 100 Technical Preparation, will be taught in the afternoons, from 1:45 p.m. until 3:30 p.m.

All classes will be open to both dual enrollment students and adult traditional students.

Ohlson said a motivated high school student taking the morning class could drive back on his/her own for the night class and a motivated high school student taking the afternoon dual enrollment class who drove himself/herself there could stay over for the evening class with a break in between to study or get dinner.

Ohlson’s letter stated that the college should soon be able to teach every class required for the airframe degree plan there.