Three HVACR Programs Receive Accreditation Through The PAHRA Program
February 13, 2006 -- Contact
(703-524-8800)
ARLINGTON, VA -- The heating, ventilation air-conditioning, and refrigeration (HVACR) departments at Illinois Central College in East Peoria, IL; Elgin Community College in Elgin, IL; and Blackhawk Technical College in Janesville, WI; have 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 institutions have exceeded industry standards in the instruction, curriculum, student, faculty and facility standards set forth by the HVACR industry in areas of residential air conditioning and heating, light commercial air conditioning and heating, and commercial refrigeration.
"The PAHRA accreditation process allowed Blackhawk Technical College to compare our curriculum to a national standard," said Tony Jordan, HVACR instructor. "This accreditation will demonstrate to area employers that at BTC we are teaching to an industry standard and that we have high expectations of our graduates."
PAHRA is the only HVACR accreditation program that is validated by representatives from each major HVACR trade association. It is available to all HVACR 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.
"This is the most difficult accreditation program of its type," said Ray Mach, Chief Operations Officer at PAHRA. "A school has to be exceptionally good in so many areas, including its curriculum, level of instruction, facilities, student support, and more. These schools clearly have achieved a milestone."
Lani Greenway, HVACR Program Director at Illinois Central College put it this way: "It took awhile to complete the PAHRA accreditation, but we are a much better school for taking part in the process. It was worth the effort."
Since its launch in January 2001, 31 schools have received PAHRA accreditation.
PAHRA is supported by 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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