SUNY Canton’s CREST Receives IREC Training Program Accreditation; First Among HVCC Partner Organizations
Submitted by Nick Buono
Hudson Valley Community College
First in HVCC RTP, Northeast SITN Region
SUNY Canton, located in the beautiful North Country of New York State close to the Canadian border, is a valued partner within the Northeast Region of the Solar Instructor Training Network (SITN). By way of background, Hudson Valley Community College (HVCC) was selected by DOE to coordinate the northeast region of the SITN as Regional Training Provider (RTP) of the northeast region.
Throughout the past five years, HVCC has partnered with 22 educational institutions throughout the Northeast United States to create a geographic blanket of ISPQ Accredited Training Programs with ISPQ certified instructors. Each partnering institution received funding for training equipment, instructor professional development and ISPQ accreditation/certification. Instructors affiliated with each participating institution have taken part in a variety of training opportunities at the college’s TEC-SMART facility in Malta, NY. The regional network has worked together to develop and share best practices for photovoltaic instruction over this time.
The northeast region, in its final year of grant activities, is steadily beginning to produce the desired results of the grant, i.e., accredited training programs and credentialed instructors of the highest quality. One standout institution, among many to come in the near future within the NE Region, has been SUNY Canton, in Canton, NY.
In early 2014, right on schedule, SUNY Canton drafted and provided its application and assessment report to the national administrator, the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). Quickly after the application process was approved, the Alternative and Renewable Energy Systems Program underwent an on-site audit by the accrediting body for this program. The exit report was very positive, and SUNY Canton received word that IREC accredited both the Solar PV and Solar Thermal Programs:
Courses/Programs for which Training Provider Accreditation were approved for SUNY Canton’s Career Ready Education and Success Training Center (CREST) include:
1) PV Installation Professional:
• AREA 110 Introduction to Alternative Energy
• SOET 361 Project Management
• AREA 323 Photovoltaic Systems
• AREA 224 Renewable Energy Code
• AREA 320 Experiments and Measurements I
• AREA 370 Experiments and Measurements II
• AREA 420 Alternative Energy Design
• AREA 470 Alternative Energy Design II
• ELEC 261 Electricity
• ELEC 215 Electrical Energy Conversion
• SOET 348 Engineering Safety
2) Solar Heating Installer:
• AREA 110 Introduction to Alternative Energy
• AREA 321 Solar Energy Utilization
• AREA 320 Experiments and Measurements I
• AREA 370 Experiments and Measurements II
• AREA 420 Alternative Energy Design I
• AREA 470 Alternative Energy Design II
• SOET 348 Engineering Safety
• SOET 361 Project Management
SUNY Canton would like to recognize the hard work and tremendous effort on the part of its staff, especially:
– Lucas Craig, Assistant Professor
– JoAnne Fassinger, Grants Coordinator
– Art Garno, Director, CREST Center
– Kevin McAdoo, Instructor, Engineering Technology, Mathematics
– Robert McClellan, Adjunct Instructor, Alternative and Renewable Energy Systems
– Dan Miller, Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering Technology
– Mike Newtown, Interim Dean, Canino School of Engineering Technology
Image: SUNY Canton CREST
