Avionics News August 2014 - 26

ABOVE: Professor Mudassar Minhas discusses autopilot servos
and associated test equipment with students. The school's smaller
class sizes allow for more interaction between faculty and students.
RIGHT: Students prepare a flight plan in a GPS RNAV system before
testing it with a GPS simulator. Learning to operate equipment
provides a better understanding for maintaining and repairing it.

VAUGHN COLLEGE

Continued from page 25

Hands-on learning
Small classroom sizes with a 15-to-1 student-faculty
ratio make it easier for students to get personalized
attention from instructors, as well as hands-on training
with equipment. Students learn in a variety of labs outfitted
with tools found in real-world avionics shops. From
basic test and measuring equipment to advanced avionics
performance testers, students use function generators,
multimeters, wattmeters, spectrum analyzers, frequency
counters and oscilloscopes.
In the radar systems lab, students work with a radar/
microwave trainer system, learning about microwave
components and how they operate and are measured. In
doing so, the students develop knowledge and skills that
will later help them install radar systems on aircraft and
perform troubleshooting in the field.
"All the avionics labs simulate a typical avionics repair
station environment that students will experience in the
field," Minhas said. "Most lab exercises require students
to work in teams to ensure they acquire team-building and
conflict-resolution skills and apply these skills to their
behaviors as effective team members."
In the school's mechatronics automation lab, a small
group of students tinker with robotics. Before building,
they're using virtual IMS 3D simulation software to design
and test sub-systems.
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Prepared for the future
For students worried about the cost, the college offers
scholarships, grants, special programs and educational loans
to help with educational fees. The school provides career
counseling, including help with resume writing, interview
preparation and finding internships.
"We collaborate with the FAA under its technical
operations collegiate training initiative," Minhas said.
"Under this initiative, our current students in the avionics
program are offered internships, and graduates are eligible
for direct employment positions with the FAA that aren't
normally available to the public."
A federally designated Hispanic-serving institution,
Vaughn College boasts an incredibly diverse student body.
The school's 2013 statistics show 30 percent are Hispanic,
25 percent African American, 16 percent Asian or Pacific
Islander, and 16 percent white.
"Our students are bright, intuitive and ready to learn,"
Minhas said. "Couple that with Vaughn's state-of-the-art
facilities, comprehensive curriculum and low student-faculty
ratio, and it all comes together to create well-educated
graduates who are successful in their fields." q
Avionics News August 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News August 2014
