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HVAC Technician Certificate (320 hours)

Course Overview/Description
Course Objective Course Outline
Prerequisites/Audience PC Requirements/Materials Included
Instructor Bio FAQs

Registration Details

Fee:  $3,095 Register Now! (PDF - Document)
CRN:  40794 Section:  01
Subject:  CTEC Course:  1002

Course Overview/Description

The HVAC Technician Certificate is a comprehensive HVACR training program for heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration installers and technicians. This program is designed for learners using an online, mentor facilitated, self-paced environment that are interested in:


The content presented in all course offerings focus on learning objectives that have been identified by HVAC/R industry groups as key knowledge for a HVAC/R technician. Below are the industry organizations who are promoting education, training and certification:

            ARI (Air Conditioning Refrigeration Institute)

            NATE (North American Technician Excellence)

            RSES (Refrigeration Service Engineer Society)

            ACCA (Air Conditioning Contractors of America)

NATE “Recognized Training” status.  

This program follows the general consensus among industry leaders regarding the knowledge and skills needed by HVAC/R industry workers. If you wish to see what the industry recommends for study, ARI (Air Conditioning Refrigeration Institute), NATE (North American Technician Excellence), and NSSB (National Skills Standards Board) each have an HVAC curriculum guide/outline posted on their web sites.

Review a tutorial for the CORE Technician Certificate Program

The HVAC Core Technician Certificate program is offered in 8 courses with a subscription length of 120 days per course. Each course contains 12 modules. The modules cover specific HVAC/R concepts by incorporating a presentation that utilizes some or all of the following; text reading assignments, web site tours, applied exercises, quizzes, industry terminology definitions, video clips, animations, images, and printable handouts. Each module if followed by an exam, with a midterm and final for each course. Passing rate for each course is 75% or higher.

Course Objectives

Course Outline

Prerequisites/Audience

PC Requirements/Materials Included

Instructor Bio

Chris Compton brings with him a total of 28 years experience in the HVACR field. He is certified at the Installation and Service level in all five of the NATE certifications. In 1998 he was selected as one of the top 10 outstanding Trades and Industry Educators in the U.S. by ACTE (Association of Career and Technical Education) formally AVA (American Vocational Association). He received the Imperial award from RSES for his CMS (Commercial Refrigeration) in 1997 and is a CMS member of RSES.

Seven years ago Chris Compton, a 13 year HVACR instructor at North Idaho College, was looking for a way to implement HVACR curriculum on the Internet. He saw a unique opportunity to help traditional students as well as non-degree seeking students, contractors and the industry in general, all those searching for a way to educate their workers to be successful in the ICE and NATE exams or those needing re-training programs for individuals looking for a career change.

During this time Chris has taken many telelearning courses on how to set up online curriculum and the psychology behind online learning, how to create web pages, video instruction and design courses for the web. Currently, Chris is the Project Director and Content Development Manager {as well as chief cook and bottle washer} of the online effort called HVACReducation.net.

Additional faculty Bio’s can be found at: http://www.hvacreducation.net/Faculty_About.htm

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Who is HVAC/Reducation.net?
HVAC/Reducation.net provides online education in the Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration industry.

NATE has officially endorsed our courses, and there is a general consensus among others regarding the knowledge content and skills needed by HVAC/R industry workers. If you wish to see what the industry recommends for study, ARI , NATE and NSSB (National Skills Standards Board) each have a curriculum guide/outline posted on their web sites.

HVAC/Reducation.net is an organization of professional HVAC/R educators using proven distance learning methods and technology. We believe that a comprehensive distance learning system is one of the better options to help solve the current shortage.

2. Why do I need these courses?
Well, only you can answer that; however, here is our reasoning! It is estimated by the HVAC/R industry that we are 60,000 technicians short in the U.S. today. Since 1982 there has been a student enrollee decline of 71% in conventional programs for the HVAC/R industry. What does this translate to, you ask? Basically, supply and demand. It is estimated that students with a certificate can earn a minimum of $25,000 and within a few years, additional courses and experience, the sky is the limit. A Service Technician working with an HVAC/R company in Phoenix, Arizona, earned $142,000 last year using his sales and HVAC/R experience. It is totally up to you. What you put in, you will get out!

3. Why the online delivery method of HVAC/R education?
This is the great part; you can study in your pajamas if you want! Seriously, however, we are not reinventing the wheel. The world is now educated via the Internet and until now, there were NO HVAC/R courses online. You won't lose time at work to go to a class, or miss reading a story to your child at night because you must structure your time around "class time". Class time is when ever you say class time is. It can be at 2am or 10pm; class is open 24/7, 365 days a year.

4. How do I register?
Click on the register button at the top of the page and follow the directions. It is important that you type all your information in the boxes, then print it out to sign.  Payment and sending instructions are in the bottom right corner of the form.

5. How much do the courses cost?
The fee is in the pink box at the top of the page.

6. Can I register for courses if I live outside the United States?
Yes you can!

7. How does the online education delivery method work?
Very well thank you! Once we receive registration confirmation, you will be provided an email with all the information to access your courses online. In addition, you will receive a shipment that includes all the support materials and information for the course. The courses are offered as`asynchronous. This means you can study at your own pace and at any time of the day or night. Spend as much time as needed on a certain page or subject. As with "land" courses, our courses have an instructor to help with any questions you might have about the content you cover. Any questions for the professor, just e-mail and you will have an answer within 24 hours. You will also need "hands-on" experience and a Competency List to complete the course. Learn more about competencies in Question #6.

8. HVAC/Reducation.net gives me, the student, technical theory background; how do I get the "hands-on" experience?
For those students who are not currently employed in the HVAC/R field, we recommend contacting local employers for either employment or internships. This can also be done through secondary school counselors in the "School to Work" program, counselors in your State Labor/Unemployment Office through the "One Stop" employment program or Workforce Investment Act (WIA). Most employers are very excited to take on an individual who shows motivation in pursuit of an HVAC/R career! Trust us, we have heard it all! If for any reason you are unable to find an employer for your hands-on experience, please feel free to contact us and we will assist you.

9. What is a Competency List?
The Competency List is a list of tasks (hands-on skills) related to the course you are taking and must be able to complete. The CORE Certificate program provides the theory, and we HIGHLY suggest that you work with someone in the industry to fulfill your hands-on competency. However, this is not required; we certainly recommend this for your career benefit, but it is your choice.

10. How long does it take to complete a course?
All of our courses are self-paced and open enrollment. You can start and finish the course at your own pace. Students are given 8 months to complete this 320 hour course. If you need more time, extensions are available on a case by case basis.

11. I have successfully completed and passed all 8 courses online. I am ready for the ICE (Industry Competency Exam) offered through ARI (Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Institute) or the NATE (North American Technician Excellence) Core Exam. How will this work?
These exams are offered by their respective organizations. ARI and NATE require that these exams be proctored by either a local Community College, vocational school, or an approved local testing site. When you are ready to take the exam, please contact us and we will provide ARI or NATE with your Technician's Certificate that you have earned by passing all 8 courses. You will then contact ARI at www.ari.org or NATE at www.natex.org and the organization will advise you where to take the exam.

12. Will all lessons, tutorials, demonstrations, reference materials, quizzes, and assignments will be available when the course is released? Will I need to purchase additional books?
All of the course material will be available upon your registration into the course. The majority of your materials will be online, but we will also send you a textbook and additional reference materials needed for the course. You can start learning right away!

13. Will I need to purchase additional books?
All books and materials are included in the cost of the certificate. You will not need to purchase anything extra for this course. You will receive access to your course right away and can start learning; however, we suggest waiting for your textbooks to arrive before taking any exams.

14. What browser requirement and computer hardware requirement will I need?
System requirements are published in the course information. These are updated as our technology changes to keep pace.

15. I realize the subscription length of the course is 120 days long. Can I complete the course at an accelerated pace?
Yes, the course can be completed as fast as you wish to complete it. We have found that on the average it takes about 2.5 to 3.5 hours to move through one module and study well. That has been the experience of our past and current students. That means around 20 to 28 hours of study to do it well. The 120 days in the self-paced course is to allow for some flexibility.

16. What is your Money Back Policy?
If you are dissatisfied with a course or with any terms, conditions, rules, policies, guidelines, or practices of HVACReducation.net in operating the course, your sole and exclusive remedy is to discontinue taking the courses; we allow a refund while within the FIRST module of the course, if you find it unsatisfactory for your needs and development.

17. What are the responsibilities of the user?
You are solely responsible for all course activities while using our systems. Possession and usage of all information obtained from HVACReducation.net is at your own risk. You are not allowed to let others access and use the service, nor make your password available to others.

18. Can this course be taken on a Mac?
No.

See a Demo
Please feel free to take a look at a demo lesson. Visit the following link:

www.hvacreducation.net/Examples_Lessons.htm

Hands On Skills:
This program covers all of the knowledge needed to become an entry level installer / technician in the HVAC/R industry. Obviously there are also hands-on skills needed to become an accomplished worker. The program addresses these skills by demonstrations and/or discussion focused on the specific tasks as they are encountered in the course content, but cannot actually verify your correct accomplishment of those tasks in the virtual online environment.

The program does support hands-on skills with “Related Competency” downloads for each task specified as desirable for each of the courses being taken. These “Related Competencies” are printable documents that detail a specific task to be performed, how it should be performed and measured, and provides a check-off list for an employer or mentor to verify that performance.

The certificate program as presented does not require anyone to participate in the skill development portion (Related Competencies) of the courses but does strongly recommend that a student follow through. The ideal situation is an HVAC/R employer mentoring a student or employee by performing the verification of the hands-on skills utilizing our Related Competency documents.