Flight Course Enrollment

• No FAA Aviation English Language Standard (AELS) evaluation is required.
• Must register online for the TSA Flight Training Security Program (FTSP) within 180 days of their intended beginning of aviation training. The authorization/approval to conduct training is valid for 365 days. The authorization/approval is valid only for UND (prior approval at other schools does not apply). Flight training cannot begin until TSA approval has been received.
  • The TSA FTSP process must be conducted for AVIT 101, 102, 143, 221, 325, 343, 349, 350, and 480. A separate approval is required for each course (ex. if you completed the process for AVIT 102, you must complete the process again for AVIT 221).
  • It is strongly recommended that you begin this process 1-2 months in advance of the first day of class. Beginning the process too early may result in a more limited time-frame to complete flight training, whereas beginning the process too late may delay authorization beyond the first day of class. Processing status and estimated processing times are posted on the TSA FTSP website.

• Contact Luca Morellini or Jeremy Roesler to initiate the FAA Aviation English Language Standard (AELS) evaluation.
  • Students that have English as their primary language will be approved to enroll into their first UND Aviation flight training course in a future semester.
  • Students that do not have English as their primary language will be required to undergo an AELS evaluation in accordance with FAA AC 60-28B.
    • Students that meet the standards listed in AC 60-28B will be approved to enroll into their first UND Aviation flight training course in a future semester.
    • Students that do not meet the standards listed in AC 60-28B will not be permitted into the UND Aviation flight training program.
• Students that successfully complete the AELS evaluation are required to register online for the TSA Flight Training Security Program (FTSP) within 180 days of their intended beginning of aviation training. The authorization/approval to conduct training is valid for 365 days. The authorization/approval is valid only for UND (prior approval at other schools does not apply). Flight training cannot begin until TSA approval has been received.
  • UND will validate student TSA/FTSP registrations only when the AELS evaluation has been completed and all standards are met. Students are allowed to register to the TSA/FTSP before the AELS evaluation. However, UND will not validate that registration until the AELS evaluation has been completed and all standards are met.
  • The TSA FTSP process must be conducted for AVIT 101, 102, 143, 221, 325, 343, 349, 350, and 480. A separate approval is required for each course (ex. if you completed the process for AVIT 102, you must complete the process again for AVIT 221).
  • It is strongly recommended that you begin this process 1-2 months in advance of the first day of class. Beginning the process too early may result in a more limited time-frame to complete flight training, whereas beginning the process too late may delay authorization beyond the first day of class. Processing status and estimated processing times are posted on the TSA FTSP website.

The AIMS reservation system prioritizes students based on their flight progress throughout the semester, rather than credit-based registration dates which do not reflect the likelihood of a student being eligible for their next flight course. Those who have maintained a consistent rate of training are given priority, as those students are more likely to complete the prerequisite flight training on time. Students are not permitted to officially register for the course in Campus Connection until flight training is complete. This means that all students on the official Campus Connection roster are guaranteed to be eligible for that class.

The first step in the flight course enrollment process is to reserve your seat in AIMS. Campus Connection has been configured to prevent students from "jumping the line" over students who have followed the correct process and reserved their seat in AIMS. You will not be permitted to register in Campus Connection until you have reserved a seat (AIMS status of "added") and have finished the prerequisite flight training.

Your unique student ID number will be manually provided with approval to register in Campus Connection for the section that you have selected in AIMS. This process may take several business days. You will not receive a permission number, but will instead be informed via email when approval has been granted to you. This will then allow you to register in Campus Connection for that section.

As is the case with all other classes at UND, being on a waitlist means there is a possibility that you may acquire a seat in the class only if space becomes available. If space does not become available, you will not acquire a seat in the class and will need to either switch to an open section (if available) or take the class during a different semester. A position on a waitlist provides no guarantee that you will get a seat in the class.

No. Unlike other classes, capacity in a flight course is primarily dependent on flight instructor availability rather than classroom space or instructor preference. The professor will not provide you with a permission number or "override" to let you into a flight course.

It is possible that some students who were eligible to reserve a seat in AIMS will not finish flight training on time. Those students will be removed from the reservation system prior to the first day of the semester, providing an opportunity for students who are on the waitlist and finished with the prerequisite flight training to acquire a seat in the class. Priority for newly-opened seats will be in accordance with the date/time at which the student was added to the waitlist, as is the case with all other UND courses. A position on a waitlist provides no guarantee that you will get a seat in the class.

AIMS will prevent you from selecting a class if any of the following apply:

1. You are not on flight template in your current flight course
2. You have selected the wrong course (ex. you have selected AVIT 325, but are still training in AVIT 102)
3. You have already completed the Campus Connection registration step for a different section of the same course

If all of the above do not apply and you are still having trouble selecting a class in AIMS, please contact Shane Mendez.

The flight course template assumes that you have completed all lessons through the denoted lesson number. For example, if AIMS states you need to be completed with lesson 23, you need to be finished with all preceding lessons (1-23). If you skipped lesson 1, for example, you would need to complete lesson 24, or any other subsequent lesson, to match the lesson count.

Special accommodations may be made on a case-by-case basis for the following students:

• UND athletes
• Students receiving VA/military benefits
• Members of a UND-sponsored club or team (Flying Team, Aerobatic Team, etc.)

If any of the above apply, please contact Luca Morellini to determine if a special accommodation is available. There is no guarantee that your circumstances will be deemed sufficient for a special accommodation.

Students should carefully consider if they wish to remain in their chosen section when completing the Campus Connection registration step. After this step, the process to swap to a different section is complex and may result in loss of the desired flight lab. If an exceptional circumstance requires this to occur, please contact Shane Mendez for instructions.

Flight records at satellite campuses are maintained in a separate AIMS database. Please contact Shane Mendez for assistance.

There are multiple reasons for this including, but not limited to:

1. Experience has revealed that quality of training declines substantially when there is separation between the knowledge being acquired in ground school and the skills being applied in the aircraft. Learning is an active process and inability to apply content from ground school (because flight training is still occurring in the previous course) is detrimental to student success. This generally results in much higher likelihood of unsatisfactory outcomes on stage checks and ground school exams.
2. A delay in commencing flight training at the beginning of the associated semester significantly increases the likelihood that a student will not finish that training within that semester. Internal research has provided evidence of the critical importance of a strong and consistent start to flight training at the beginning of the semester. This is especially true during the fall semester, as weather worsens as the semester advances, progressively reducing the opportunities to conduct flight training. While the reverse trend is true during the spring semester, the opportunities to fly at the beginning of that semester are reduced due to weather, and therefore, are much more critical to seize upon.
3. Ultimately, a student cannot graduate from the program unless all flight training is complete. Allowing students to continue through ground school without regard for flight training will eventually end with the student having completed all academic requirements, but not all flight training. This risks loss of active student status at the university towards the end of flight training, which will likely result in detrimental financial aid repercussions, among other outcomes.
4. As flight training and ground school are integrated, each student effectively has two final exams: the written test administered in ground school and the stage check administered in the aircraft. As an element of the course grade is based on stage check performance, it is possible that an unsatisfactory outcome on a stage check could impact the course grade to the extent that it would result in a failing grade. Students must have a passing grade to proceed to the subsequent course.
5. In accordance with federal and state regulations, financial aid budgets for each semester are established based on the ground school a student is enrolled in during that semester. As an example, a student who is behind in AVIT 323 flight training, but is permitted to take AVIT 325 ground school at that time, will be issued a financial aid budget that accounts for all AVIT 325 flight training. While students should be trusted to save those funds for when 325 flight training commences, experience has demonstrated that these funds tend to deplete as time progresses. This results in a situation where students no longer have sufficient funds and are not permitted to receive any additional funding when 325 flight training finally commences.

There are multiple reasons for this including, but not limited to:

1. The flight course registration process is mostly a manual process. Authorization to register in Campus Connection is entered individually and manually for every student. The Friday noon deadline allows opportunity to 1) clear the pre-registration list of all students who are not complete with prerequisite flight training, 2) accommodate students on the waitlist who are complete with prerequisite flight training, and 3) enter and issue Campus Connection registration authorizations for all remaining students on the pre-registration list. This is a time-consuming process that requires the full afternoon to complete.
2. This deadline provides an opportunity for flight instructors to be assigned to remaining students by the start of the semester, minimizing the likelihood of encountering a training delay.
3. This deadline provides an opportunity for students who have not finished prerequisite flight training to find and register for a replacement class to maintain their credit load, prior to the start of the semester.
4. This deadline relieves pressure on flight operations at the beginning of the semester, allowing opportunity to focus on achieving a strong start with the students who are prepared to begin their next training course.
5. This deadline ensures that students are enrolled in their respective courses once the semester begins. As attendance is mandatory in all flight courses, this minimizes student expense as those who add the course after the first day will need to conduct make-up briefing(s) with a flight instructor at the regular hourly briefing rate to meet FAA requirements for instruction. University policy requires that all students in attendance must be enrolled in the course in Campus Connection.

Students who do not meet the deadline will not be permitted to take the next ground school within that respective academic session. Students who are in the new separate TCOs, Commercial Pilot Airplane - SEL and Instrument Rating Airplane are allowed to conduct extra flight lessons to continue to build flight and ATD time towards the 120 total hour minimum required by the FAA. This training is referred to as "block 2" or the "flex block" in the new Commercial Pilot Airplane - SEL TCO and consists of all varieties of lessons (solo, dual, local, XC, simulator, etc.). Students will not reach that 120 hours by completing all of the other lessons listed in the TCO; therefore, this flex block is essential in meeting that hour requirement. These lessons (and the 120 hours) must be completed prior to the end-of-course test in AVIT 323.

Students have 12-calendar months from the first day of ground school to complete the flight training associated with that ground school. The 12-calendar month deadline is established in the FAA-regulated training course outlines (TCO) to ensure students are in a position to succeed in their stage checks. Experience has revealed that quality of training declines substantially when there is separation between the knowledge being acquired in ground school and the skills being applied in the aircraft. Additionally, the 12-calendar month deadline is established as an ethical control. Without a deadline, experience has revealed that students tend to deprioritize flight training, resulting in an extended indefinite training timeline which creates additional expense.

Failure to meet this deadline will result in a grade of "F" for the associated academic course (ground school). Students must retake the associated academic course (ground school) associated with their flight training to reinforce the aeronautical knowledge and ensure they are offered a realistic opportunity to succeed with their stage checks. Students will not be required to restart the associated flight training. As the 12-calendar month deadline is established within the FAA-regulated TCO, the university has no authority to provide exceptions to this rule.

The flight course registration system aligns with the university's registration philosophy. Within any department at UND, a student may register for a summer course, then immediately register for the fall course in which the summer course is the prerequisite. In this scenario, a student who did not fulfill the summer prerequisite would be removed from the fall course at the beginning of the semester.

While a student taking a summer flight course may immediately pre-register for the subsequent fall flight course in AIMS, the student is subject to the same requirements as all students: prerequisite flight training must be complete. If the student is not complete with the prerequisite flight training prior to the beginning of the fall flight course, they will be removed from the pre-registration list.

The intent of this is to avoid an inherent disadvantage of taking a summer course. If this procedure were not in place, a student who has made adequate progress in flight training and chooses to take a summer course would be penalized by not being permitted to plan their fall schedule. Meanwhile, a student who has made adequate progress in flight training and chooses not to take a summer course would be given the opportunity to plan their fall schedule. This method allows for both students to plan their fall schedules while establishing the same objective for both students: complete prerequisite flight training.

There is currently a high demand for pilots in the aviation industry. The direct and ultimately positive impact on our organization is that our flight instructors are being hired immediately upon reaching the minimum flight time required for a Restricted ATP certificate. This is excellent news for students as they embark on their career, but comes with the consequence of limited CFI supply. Our primary challenge is retaining multi-engine instructors (AVIT 325) and instructors qualified to teach initial CFI applicants (AVIT 414).

Many instructors choose not to earn their multi-engine instructor qualification. Airlines are currently hiring pilots at the minimum required multi-engine experience of 25 hours, which most are able to achieve during their multi-engine flight training. Acquisition of a multi-engine instructor qualification provides instructors with an opportunity to gain valuable experience while creating a well-rounded aviator. Many instructors, however, do not recognize the personal benefit in earning a multi-engine instructor qualification.

Currently, we offer training for the MEI certification at no cost to a select group of instructors who apply and are approved by the Chief Flight Instructor.

Per FAA regulations (14 CFR 61.195(h)(2)), to provide instruction to an initial CFI applicant, that instructor must have held their flight instructor certificate for a minimum of 24 calendar months and must have provided at least 200 hours of flight instruction. Most of our instructors gain outside employment within less than 24 calendar months of employment with UND.

The FAA provides an alternate method of qualification for pilot schools such as ours (14 CFR 61.195(h)(3)), which requires the instructor to have provided a minimum of 400 hours of flight instruction with an 80% first-attempt pass rate of students the instructor has recommended for a practical test. Most of our instructors who meet this alternate requirement are often rapidly approaching the flight time needed for them to gain outside employment in the industry.

We must meet the regulatory requirements outlined in 14 CFR 61.195(h). We have previously requested regulatory relief from the FAA to help mitigate this challenge, but have been unsuccessful.

Our primary objective is to provide flight training; however, our Safety Management System (SMS) places a necessary emphasis on the safety of the operation. In all aviation operations, there is a precarious balance between production and protection. Excessive protection results in little production and excessive production results in a degradation of protection (safety). Our objective is to maintain the appropriate balance to ensure that our instructors, students, faculty, and staff are operating in the safest possible flight training environment.

A significant factor that affects organizational and personal risk is instructor workload. An instructor who is overworked is more likely to be fatigued, more likely to make mistakes, and is at greater risk of exceeding regulatory workload limitations (14 CFR 61.195).

A second factor is quality of training. An instructor who is overworked is unable to devote the necessary time and dedication to each individual student resulting in a degradation of customer service. Additionally, due to the limited availability of their instructor, these students will be unable to maintain a consistent rate of training resulting in a loss of proficiency and an increase in cost to regain proficiency.

There are a variety of factors that may prevent this. While the instructor has a firm understanding of their own schedule, they may not have the operational understanding of the overall capacity of the organization. Space in the instructor's schedule might be reserved by their supervisor in anticipation of a new student assignment. Additionally, their supervisor may have decided to adjust the instructor's level of production to ensure the appropriate level of protection (safety) is maintained. Downtime for a flight instructor is healthy and necessary for themselves and the organization.

Furthermore, our flight schedule and flight instructor assignment process prioritize equity, giving all students a fair opportunity to conduct flight training. Students and flight instructors were previously permitted to request certain assignments, but this was taken advantage of by some, resulting in poor service provided to other students.

Previously, increased admission standards into our program had been implemented based on high school GPA and ACT scores, among other variables. Ultimately, this strategy was effective in distributing admitted students between fall and spring AVIT 102 sessions, but was not enough to control the overall intake of students. After discussion with university leadership, it was agreed that an admissions capacity limit should be enforced to ensure an appropriate balance between student demand and resource supply. This limit will be effective for fall 2022 incoming students and beyond and will be adjusted in response to supply and demand.