Falling temperatures, blowing snow and dangerous travel conditions

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

 aviation program and its potential contract with the Chinese government -- apparent success amid news of closures of aviation programs at 

Is international business the way to go? Is Mankato doing something right?

I was hoping to get a little context and explanation, so I called up both St. Cloud and Steve Jones, executive director of flight operations at Western Michigan University.

First off, Mankato's program was considered for closure last year, but received a three-year extension, spokesman Michael Cooper told me.

(I'm still trying to connect with aviation profs there for more info -- including what the Chinese contract would be worth. Cooper said he didn't know.)

Jones told me contracting with international customers might boost a program's fortunes, but presents a big challenge:

Chief among them is trying to juggle the different needs of domestic students and foreign contract students, who must be trained under differing national/international standards, and who must share the limited number of airplanes. Who takes priority when there's a conflict?

Jones said his and other flight schools are keeping an eye on Mankato and the Chinese deal.

Mankato appears to be hanging on during a long-lived slump in the aviation industry. For about a decade -- Jones says since the 9/11 terrorist attacks -- the demand for pilots has been down. That slack has depressed enrollment in aviation programs.

And it has forced a number of colleges to reconsider expensive programs that  require large investments in aircraft and technology to stay current  enough to lure students, Jones said:

But the slump should be ending soon, Jones said, according to aviation industry data:

Jones said the consensus in the industry is that aviation will demand close to 5,000 pilots a year in the U.S., and the demand internationally could be three times that amount. And yet at the moment, he told me:

Job placement is already, albeit slowly, ticking upward -- at least for his program, he said:

Hanging on till business improves, however, is tough:

Education News

On Campus Blog

Alex Friedrich

Author

Last week I wrote about Minnesota State University – Mankato’s aviation program and its potential contract with the Chinese government — apparent success amid news of closures of aviation programs at St. Cloud State and the University of Illinois. Is international business the way to go? Is Mankato doing something right? I was hoping to…

Where is aviation going? Will global biz help college programs?

Go Deeper.

Like this?