Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Worldwide campus has announced plans to launch four free online courses in 2016 that will focus on aviation and are to be hosted on Instructure’s Canvas Network.
Two of the courses will focus on the marketplace in Southeast Asia. The university expects to continue its commitment to helping to introduce a sustainable aerospace workforce to the region through a collaboration between leading regional experts and its Embry-Riddle Asia headquarters in Singapore.
Expected to begin in March, the first course, titled “The Human Factor in Aviation,” will continue for four consecutive weeks. Participants will need to put forth about two hours of effort each week, which will result in certificate for those who pass the course. The MOOC will take a closer look at the role played by human interaction in aviation disaster, emphasizing psychological and physiological elements that could have played a part in aviation accidents and the potential loss of life. Human performance, benefits of training, advanced technology, automation and situational awareness will all be discussed. Dennis Vincenzi, with 18 years of experience as a “human factors” researcher, will lead the course.
“Aircraft Accident Investigation” will be introduced in May to explore aircraft accident investigation while focusing on human factors survival investigative techniques and the application of accident investigation findings in industry and research. Participants will be offered the opportunity to practice data-collection skills through a Virtual Crash Laboratory.
In August, “Airport/Airline Operations” will examine the long- and short-term planning and coordination that international commercial air carriers are required to complete in order to safely and efficiently transport thousands of passenger and cargo flights each day. Airline history, organization, crewmember requirements and duty time limitations, aircraft airworthiness, dispatch, flight operations and maintenance are all topics that will be explored.
The final course, “Aircraft Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul – Global Opportunities, Growth, and Challenges” will come in October, going over aircraft maintenance policies, programs and procedures impacting international commercial airline operators. All facets of aircraft maintenance will be considered for the course, including organizational management, planning, forecasting, cost control, reliability, flight scheduling and safety.
Embry-Riddle Worldwide took the number one position in 2015 for online bachelor’s degree programs by US News and World Report. The school currently offers five MOOCs with close to 14,000 participants.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is the largest, fully accredited university in the world that specializes in aviation and aerospace. The non-profit, independent institution currently offers over 80 baccalaureate, master’s and Ph.D. degree programs. Students are located online and through the Worldwide Campus’ facilities in the United States, Europe, Asia and Middle East.
The school became one of the first 20 institutions in the world to offer distance learning in 1971 by mailing lessons and completed coursework back and forth between professors and students.
“We have a really strong dedication to innovation. We are always looking for the next best technology for our students. We are always moving and thinking forward. We are constantly pushing the limits to give our students what they need to be leaders in society and their respective industries,” said Jason Ruckert, Dean of Online Education at Embry-Riddle Worldwide.
