What If? Affordable college credits

What if I told you that I found a university, not a college, but a university, that would give you 72 college credits for your FAA Airframe and Powerplant Certificate even if your certificate was issued in 1950?

What if I told you that the 72 credits could be applied toward a 84 credit hour, Associate of Applied Science Degree in aviation maintenance technology?

What if I told you that the remaining 12 credits could be taken via the Internet right at home or work?

What if I told you that you could finish the 12 credits (four courses) and earn the degree in less than a year by taking six credits (two courses) per semester?

What if I told you that the cost for the four, three-credit hour courses would set you back a total of $429 for tuition and fees? No, that is not a typo. The tuition and fees for four courses at a nationally recognized university is $429. This tuition price does not include text books.

What if I told you that the university may give you credit for college level courses you may have taken over the years? So instead of taking the required four courses, you might wind up taking only one or two courses depending on the university's evaluation of your official transcripts from your previous college level courses.

Have I given you enough "What ifs?" OK, the school we are talking about is Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell (ENMU-R). Yeah, that's the same town the flying saucer was supposed to have crashed nearby back in 1947. Do yourself a favor and try to get past the ET on a bicycle thing and Hollywood hype for a minute, and listen to me. On Oct. 3, 2002, I went to the ENMU-Roswell campus unannounced, on my own time and coin, to check out this "too good to be true" offer. I met with Jim Primm who is the chair of the aviation programs. I found out that ENMU-R, in addition to providing a degree program in aviation maintenance technology, runs the only Part 147 A&P school in New Mexico. The university is also the only Part 147 school teaching a Cessna Citation approved course in composite repairs. So we are talking about getting a degree from a professionally run, aviation focused, nationally accredited university.

About now I know you've got some questions. Let me see if I can answer the majority of them.

Question: Why are the courses so inexpensive, if the school is so good? The courses cost less because the university charges out-of-state students the same $35.75 tuition/fee per credit hour rate as it charges a New Mexico resident, who lives outside of Roswell campus district. The one restriction to get these rates is the student must only carry six credit hours or less per semester.

Question: Do I have to travel to New Mexico? While New Mexico is a beautiful state, the answer is no. Everything can be done on the Web. However, you might want to go to the graduation ceremony in order to be part of the pomp and ceremony and to receive your sheep-skin, but pomp and ceremony is not mandatory.

Question: What kind of courses must I take? The maximum number of courses you must take are four:

• UNIV 101 Freshman Seminar (How to research, use libraries, etc.) - 3 credits
• ENG 102 English Composition - 3 credits
• COMM 101 Interpersonal Communications - 3 credits
• Math 107 Intermediate Algebra - 3 credits

Don't let the Intermediate Algebra requirement scare you like it did me in high school. If you can work weight and balance on aircraft then you already are working with algebra.

Question: Can I use the Associate of Applied Science Degree toward a four-year degree? Yes, ENMU-R is fully accredited and its credits and degrees are accepted for transfer everywhere.

Question: How many semesters are there a year at ENMU-R? There are two semesters and a summer session. The Spring semester starts in January, Summer session starts in June, and Fall semester starts in August.

Question: How can I make this happen? There are five things you have to do.