Parks College has created the Institute for Aviation Maintenance Studies, effectively reducing cost and time expenditures for students in the Airframe and Powerplant Technician (A&P) certificate program.

“We are pulling the A&P training out of the degree and into the Institute. They are currently tangled together, and we are untangling them,” said Alan Stolzer, interim dean of the Department of Aerospace Technology.

The Institute will separate the curriculum for this program from the curriculum for the aircraft maintenance engineering (AME) and aircraft maintenance management (AMM) academic degree programs. Currently, the curricula for the certificate and each degree intertwine.

This separation reduces the time to complete the certificate program from two years to 13 months. Freshmen entering the AME and AMM programs will work solely toward completion of the certificate, after which they can begin their degree programs.

The separation of the certificate and the degrees also reduces costs. Entering freshmen will only pay a fixed cost to enter the restructured A&P program, rather than paying for the certificate program and tuition for the degree program simultaneously.

The Institute, part of the Department of Aerospace Technology, will occupy Saint Louis University’s Amelia Earhart Hall, located two blocks north of the Olive-Compton Garage. Classrooms will be upgraded and offices will be appropriated for the Institute.

“Since the students will be involved in A&P training full time, renovations will allow classroom and lab activities at the same time. [Amelia Earhart Hall] will have state-of-the-art classrooms, like those in McDonnell Douglas Hall,” said Stolzer.

Charles Kirkpatrick, dean of Parks College, said that classrooms in McDonnell Douglas Hall would open for other classes as a result.

These changes will enable Parks College to better compete for requests-for-proposals from the Federal Aviation Administration for inspectors. The Institute will also provide additional research opportunities for SLU faculty.

The Department of Aerospace Technology also plans to add upper-division courses for AME and AMM majors in the areas of avionics, composite materials, nondestructive inspection methods and aviation management. The department will also seek accreditation for the AME degree program from the Technology Accreditation Commission of the Accredited Board for Engineering and Technology.