Three HVACR Programs Have Received Accreditation Through The PAHRA Program
August 14, 2003 -- Contact
(703-524-8800)
ARLINGTON, VA -- The heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVACR) training programs at the Pennsylvania College of Technology, in Williamsport, PA, Vernon College, in Wichita Falls, TX and Vern Riffe Pike County Career Technology Center, in Piketon, OH, have all received national accreditation through the Partnership for Heating, Ventilation, Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Accreditation (PAHRA) program.
Accreditation from PAHRA certifies that the HVACR programs at these colleges have exceeded industry standards in its instruction, curriculum, student, faculty qualification and facility standards set forth by industry in areas of residential air conditioning and heating, light commercial air conditioning and heating, and commercial refrigeration.
"PAHRA is the benchmark for the industry," said Marc Bridgens, Associate Professor of HVAC Technology for the Pennsylvania College of Technology. "Having our school PAHRA accredited tells the community that we do what we say we are doing. And what we are doing is what the industry wants us to do."
PAHRA is the only HVACR accreditation program that is validated by representatives from each major HVACR trade association and is available to all training programs, whether they are secondary, post secondary, public or private. It was created for the purpose of establishing national educational standards for accrediting HVACR programs.
To become accredited, a training school must first evaluate its own strengths and weaknesses as compared to industry standards and then submit its findings in a self-study report. A survey team then conducts an on-site visit to corroborate the self-study report.
The program launched in January 2001. Since then, a total of twelve schools have received accreditation through the PAHRA program. For a list of these schools visit www.pahrahvacr.org.
Partnerships in PAHRA include the Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI), the Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA), the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), the Council of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Educators (CARE), the Gas Appliance Manufacturing Association (GAMA), the Heating, Airconditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI), and the Plumbing Heating Cooling Contractors-National Association (PHCC).
This and other news items may be found on the Internet at PAHRA’s Web site: www.pahrahvacr.org.
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