Published August 9, 2019
The Veteran’s Administration and the Arizona State Approving Agency have granted Dodge City Community College permission to once again enroll veterans in the school’s helicopter flight program.
According to Provost Adam John, students and officials knew the re-certification process was nearing a conclusion, so when approval was official, veterans signed up quickly. The program has already reached its maximum level of veteran participation, and combined with non-veteran students the program is at full capacity.
“We are anticipating 20 students in the program for the fall semester,” John said.
The college and the VA have been actively analyzing and reviewing various aspects of the school’s flight program in order to once again let DC3 admit veteran students and receive VA funds for the training. John said that the re-approval is a positive step.
“I would say this is a very good sign,” he said. “They are obviously comfortable with the progress we are making or they would not have approved us.”
Gary Harshberger, chairman of the DC3 Board of Trustees, said the patience and perseverance of college staff and VA officials to work together through the sometimes arduous task of revising the school’s procedures shows the value of cooperation through difficult situations.
“We worked closely with the VA and addressed the issues,” Harshberger said. “We fixed the issues, the VA approved our plans, and immediately this valuable program was filled to capacity. This training is a direct path to high-demand, high wage jobs, and I’m proud of the work we’ve done to continue to provide this pathway.”
The college’s new training partner, Quantum Helicopters, has a purple and gold helicopter for training in Arizona, and the school’s new offices are open and receiving student inquiries about the flight program on a daily basis, according to Dr. Harold Nolte, DC3 president.
“This is a great step,” Nolte said, “and what our team has learned and accomplished for our Arizona campus will only help us in our effort to get our Kansas location operating again.”
By Scott Edger