Embry-Riddle AU v. Mesa Pilot Development

[Cardenal]

Hmmmm.

Your facts, I think, are out of date. They got 5 or 6 at ASA, with several more interviewed or interviewing, 4 or 5 at piedmont (I think), 4 or 5 at Focus, and several more developing contacts with other carriers. They have a few visits from interested airlines in the next few days. The ex-student that had the website was a disgruntled person that couldn't perform up to standards.

I think they will do just fine. The proof is in the pudding--the airlines like the product.

On the other hand, you are right, from what I hear, that there were growing pains , especially in terms of the details.

regards,

Cardenal

Where are the "impressive" results from CAPT? ERAU board of trustees hired a firm to look into why CAPT isn't doing as well as they had hoped. The results, from what I heard, were not exactly what the university wanted to hear. They've only graduated like 8 cadets since inception (2 years ago), of which maybe 4 have jobs flying at a place like ASA, etc.

The program has underperformed, and the university is considering its options. The advertising has a history of deception (all CFIs Gold Seal/NAFI Master CFI, over 1200 hours dual, etc. - I know the instructors personally and this is not true for most and, at the time of the advertisements, was 100% untrue. Not a single one had these quals). A former student used to have the "CAPT is Crap" website up. I think a court settlement caused him to give it up, but his info was from students and employees and was verifiable. Not good, really.

I'm sure the instruction is fine, but the program was cobbled together in a very unorganized and rushed fashion, people have gone over their allotted time by months, and there is a revolving door of employees up there. They keep trying to recruit instructors from the DB campus to head up there to teach but the local union has basically shunned it (they're paid much better than we are for arguably less-valuable work, and are paid in a way that we tried to negotiate in 2002), so they are having a tough time finding people with their required quals to move to FL to teach in the program.

Head somewhere else. ERAU is concentrating its efforts on upgrading its customer service on the DB campus (Flt Dept chair, Chief CFI, Asst Chief for Academics just got canned), with the books being burned and rewritten (see Continental, c. 1995) in the next two months. I don't think that a lot of effort will be spent really improving a satellite operation.

Just my two cents.