Description

Join Dr. Will Miller, Associate Vice President for Continuous Improvement and Institutional Performance at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University as he presents a webinar focused on streamlining pathways for faculty qualification. 

In aviation education, ensuring faculty are qualified to teach courses is essential for both program credibility and compliance. Yet the way institutions interpret and implement accreditor expectations can make the process either a supportive tool or an unnecessary burden. Most accreditors, on the surface, look first at faculty credentials through the lens of degrees earned. This default to formal academic attainment can obscure the fact that professional experience, when carefully documented, is also an accepted—and often more relevant—basis for determining qualification. For aviation programs, where industry expertise, licensure, and flight hours carry as much weight as academic study, this tension is especially pronounced. 

This webinar will explore how institutions can move beyond the default reliance on academic degrees to embrace a more balanced, meaningful approach to faculty qualification. We will examine the risks of leaning too heavily on bureaucratic checklists or rigid interpretations that privilege degrees over demonstrated professional expertise. At the same time, we will identify strategies for framing professional experience in ways that align with accreditor expectations, ensuring that aviation faculty are recognized for the full scope of their qualifications. A certified flight instructor with thousands of hours of logged experience, an FAA examiner with regulatory knowledge, or an industry leader with extensive safety management expertise may be far more qualified to teach a given course than someone holding an advanced degree alone. The challenge is documenting this in a way that is both efficient and compelling. 

Through practical examples, participants will learn how to leverage faculty CVs, licensure records, industry credentials, and supervisory experience as credible and persuasive evidence of qualification. We will highlight manageable approaches that satisfy accreditors while avoiding the pitfalls of overly complex or redundant processes. By focusing on strategies that emphasize professional expertise alongside academic preparation, institutions can ensure compliance without discouraging current or prospective faculty. 

The webinar will also address the broader implications of faculty qualification systems for program success. When qualification processes overemphasize degrees or lean on rigid templates, they risk alienating faculty, narrowing hiring pipelines, and slowing program innovation. By contrast, when institutions adopt clear, transparent, and supportive methods of documenting professional experience, they enhance faculty engagement, build trust with accreditors, and ultimately strengthen student learning outcomes. Positioning faculty qualification as a narrative of professional excellence—rather than as a hurdle to be cleared—allows programs to align more authentically with both industry needs and accreditor expectations. 

Ultimately, the purpose of qualifying aviation faculty is not simply to check a box but to affirm the expertise that drives program quality. This webinar will provide attendees with frameworks, templates, and examples to reframe faculty qualification as an aid to program progress rather than a deterrent. By addressing the accreditor tendency to prioritize degrees while offering practical strategies to elevate professional experience, participants will leave equipped to support faculty, advance their programs, and demonstrate compliance in ways that are both credible and constructive.