Forumites, Friends and Colleagues:
I want to share an update on the Academy of Fire Sprinkler Technology and our friend Cecil Bilbo. Starting in 2009, Cecil has been partnered with Parkland College in Champaign, IL and has struggled with small class sizes and maintaining the revenue streams needed to keep the program going. Since the onset of the program, they've seen 4-7 enrollees; this year he already has 10 enrolled and 11 applications awaiting review. So I can't imagine how disappointing it must have been when Cecil was informed recently that Parkland had decided to drop the program from their curriculum and cancel classes that were to have started on August 19th. Nonetheless, Cecil is moving forward with the program and the first classes will begin on August 26th. He's retained at least half of the enrolled students with hopes of picking up at least half of the applicants. However, without Parkland's accreditation, it is not possible to offer a degree. The Academy is earnestly searching for another academic partner, and there is interest from several colleges, but for now it will be a diploma program based on the same curriculum that was offered through Parkland. Another challenge is that although the Academy is a federally recognized non-profit educational organization, without accreditation they cannot offer financial aid. The academy needs industry support. This is one of the very few comprehensive training programs available anywhere in the world, that provides training from entry level to NICET (or equivalent) proficiency. The sprinkler community has historically struggled to maintain a robust resource pool on the design side; it's in our collective best interest to foster this type of training if we are to keep up the higher and higher levels of technical sophistication that sprinkler design entails today. Structural and mechanical engineering concepts, seismic and hydraulic calculations, understanding codes and technical data, hands-on exposure to equipment and its functionalities - very, VERY few training opportunities of this caliber exist, or have ever existed in our industry. And to expand its outreach, there will be an expanding calendar of webinars and on-line training available as funding and resources allow. Please - if you know of student candidates or can offer any financial or logistical support, please contact Cecil at your earliest opportunity. URL: www.sprinkleracademy.com Email: [email protected] Steve Leyton PROTECTION DESIGN & CONSULTING 2851 Camino del Rio South, Suite 400 San Diego, CA 92108 ------------------------------------------------------------- Ph: 858.751.2930 - ext. 102 Fax: 858.751.2933 Cell: 619.972.5696 _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://lists.firesprinkler.org/listinfo.cgi/sprinklerforum-firesprinkler.org
