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What is “Accreditation” for a Flight School?

So you’ve decided to take the big step and go to flight school, because you want to be a commercial pilot and fly with an airline for a career.  Good decision: It’s an excellent career, and this is the best of times to put on the uniform and start that career.

But now for the next big decision, how to choose a flight school.  There are many things to consider, but one in particular you may not know about — and it may help you make the best decision for you.  That is the question of accreditation.  What is “accreditation” and why it could be an important factor for you?

Accreditation is a sort of “seal of quality assurance.”  Here are some good questions you may not have considered — but they are important: What do you know about the quality of that school’s flight training? What do you know about a school’s financial standing? Is it financially secure? You are, after all, going to give the school a considerable amount of money for your training. What about the flight academy’s advertising? Is it truthful and accurate? Can you count on what they tell you or say in their advertising and brochures?

One of the ways to be assured of such things before you make the important decision on what school to attend is to look for a school that is accredited. (NOTE: This is different than FAA-approved). Accreditation promotes and assures quality in many areas. There are many accredited career schools and universities in the US, but not many flight schools are able to gain accreditation — or are willing to stand up to the scrutiny required for that accreditation. Phoenix East Aviation (PEA) is one of the few. We meet the high stands of the Accrediting Council for Continuing Education (ACCET), as well as being approved by the Florida Department of Education. That means PEA offers programs of study that are educationally sound, up-to-date and of high qualilty. PEA also meets the standards of ACCET for admission and enrollment practices (including payments and refunds), financial stability, and truthful advertising.

If you want to learn more about how PEA does this, just give us a call at 1-386-258-0703 or check out www.pea.com.