Grothous is one of three instructors responsible for the HVACR department. The other instructors are Matt Goecke and Randy Waller. Grothous said that it is still too early to tell what kind of concrete, positive effects PAHRA will have on the future of the program, but Grothous asserted that the HVACR department has been successful so far, especially where students are concerned.

“Many students come in for a diploma and leave with an associate’s degree,” he said.

He believes that his program offers students what they need in order to move on “to bigger and better things.”

He said that the HVACR program is 70% hands-on and 30% theory. This focus on hands-on training helps to keep the students interested. Grothous maintains that the university is capable of giving students a high degree of individual attention. He stated that the entire university has approximately 3,000 students enrolled and his HVACR courses only allow a maximum of 20 students at a time.

This strategy must be working for the school and for the program. Grothous said that he has seen students leave other programs and schools in the area to attend the HVACR program at the University of Northwestern Ohio.

Grothous believes that the attention and high quality of education provided by the staff of the HVACR department prompts students to further their education and stick around to earn an associate’s degree.

FAITH IN YOUR PROGRAM

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.

Programs can then be accredited in three areas, Residential Air-Conditioning and Heating, Light Commercial Air-Conditioning and Heating, and Commercial Refrigeration.

Most instructors who are working towards accreditation have found the self-study portion to be one of the more challenging aspects of the process. Grothous said that his program already had most of the documentation it needed due to requirements from administration.

Nonetheless, Grothous said that the accreditation process was still challenging and took a full year to complete.

THE BENEFITS OF ACCREDITATION

“The accreditation says to the community that we do what we say we are doing,” he said. “And what we are doing is what the industry wants us to do.”

Representatives from each of the major trade associations validate and endorse PAHRA. They also have input into what they believe all HVACR training programs should be teaching and communicating.

“PAHRA is the benchmark for the industry,” said Grothous.

The instructor emphasized that programs need to be prepared for the PAHRA process, but the results are worth the effort. He said as long as programs are up to safety standards and have the proper documentation, they should be on their way to accreditation.

Publication date: 11/25/2002