Culminating Experiences: A National Survey of Accredited Institutions

Abstract

During the summer of 2007 the Aviation Accreditation Board International (AABI) approved a new set of criteria to be used in accrediting aviation degree programs. One addition to the new criteria is the inclusion of creating a culminating experience for all aviation program options. The purpose of this study was to discover the importance placed on incorporating a culminating experience in the aviation program curriculum, and to determine which of the general outcomes were being assessed. The results of the survey (N=55) indicate that all programs felt the culminating experience was an important part of their degree program. However, there was a variance in the number of outcomes assessed and the appropriateness to assess each outcome.