AWEA Seal of Approval Application Information


The AWEA Seal of Approval program is closed and not taking any applications at this time. 


2011 AWEA Seal of Approval



The American Wind Energy Association is pleased to offer the  AWEA Seal of Approval Program, which hopes to recognize the leading wind turbine service technician academic programs and strengthen the future wind industry workforce.

The program uses an evaluation skill-set, which was developed and designed by AWEA members and approved by the AWEA Board of Directors on November 19, 2009, to evaluate academic programs that adequately equip students with the skills necessary to serve as an entry level wind turbine service technician in the wind industry.

Academic programs will be evaluated solely on educational content that is provided to, and evaluated by, the AWEA Seal of Approval Review Committee. The AWEA Seal of Approval Program does not provide students or academic/training institutions with certifications or with accrediting credentials. The Program solely identifies academic programs that adequately teach the AWEA skill-set deemed important by AWEA members.

The AWEA Seal of Approval is valid for two years. Approved educational programs will be listed on the AWEA website and will receive an official AWEA Seal of Approval Logo that can be used for promotion purposes.

Eligibility Requirements

In order to apply:

  • Membership: The applying academic/training institution must be an AWEA member AND have been an AWEA member for at least one year prior to submitting application.

  • Program Operation of One Year: The submitted materials for an applicant's program must have been in place for at least one year.

  • Graduated Students: The academic/training institution must have graduated at least one class of students.

  • Self-Evaluation: The academic/training institution must have an internal yearly self-evaluation process in place (must indicate process upon application).

Make sure you satisfy ALL eligibility requirements before developing and submitting your portfolio. If you submit and are not eligible, your application will not be reviewed or refunded.

Review Process

Academic programs will be reviewed by three members of the AWEA Seal of Approval Review Committee that were selected based on their experience working in the wind energy industry. NOTE: All evaluators HAVE signed a non-disclosure agreement legally binding them to not share any submitted information.

Upon completion of the review process, applicants will be notified via email of the outcome. All academic programs will receive score-sheets indicating areas of potential improvement. In the event that an academic program does not qualify for the AWEA Seal of Approval, an appeal process will be in place. Details of the appeal process will be provided with the notification of results.

The AWEA Seal of Approval is valid for two years however, programs will be required to check-in with AWEA on a yearly basis to verify membership and receive the Seal of Approval Logo for the following calendar year.

Safety Skills Update

The safety skills of the AWEA Seal of Approval are not currently included in applications as they are being finalized. Safety skills are considered a critical component of any training program, but will not be included at this time in an effort to prevent delay of the Seal of Approval roll-out. Academic programs that receive the AWEA Seal of Approval in these first rounds will be "conditionally approved" until they are prompted to submit their safety curricula during their annual AWEA check-in.

Application Steps


*The AWEA Seal of Approval program is closed and not taking any applications at this time.*

To apply, log-in to the AWEA Member Center to download necessary documents, complete administrative application. Click HERE to go to AWEA Member Center.

NOTE: The Member Center is only available to AWEA members. If you do not know your log-in information, click "forgot password" for next steps. If you have any difficulties email membership@awea.org.

 

Fee
There will be an application fee of $150 dollars for the AWEA Seal of Approval. Academic/training institutions with multiple programs in place must submit a separate application and fee for each program. NOTE: No refund will be available if a program does not receive the AWEA Seal of Approval.

Application Deadline
Applications are not currently being accepted. Please check back in the near future for information on the next application round.

Materials That Must Be Submitted For Review:
  • Full syllabus for each course in program
  • Assessment tools for each course
  • Hands-on/Simulation documentation used to teach hands-on compliance within AWEA skill-set.
  • Additional documentation - Submit any additional documentation that proves competency with the AWEA skill-set.
    • Full list of any lab equipment, CD-rom, computer based trainers
    • Pictures of equipment
    • List of textbooks and resources available

 

Acknowledgments

Thank you to those involved in the creation of the AWEA Wind Turbine Service Technician Core Skill-Set in June, 2009, the Seal of Approval Task Force, and the Seal of Approval Pilot Schools.

AWEA Seal of Approval Task Force:
Jennifer Askew, Vestas - American Wind Technology, Inc.
John Dunlop, American Wind Energy Association
Stacey Eddy, Mitchell Technical Institute
Corey Koepplin, Koepplin Consulting
Tracy Rascoe
Al Zeitz, DeWind, Co.
Annie Sznajder, AWEA
Caitlin Chase, AWEA

AWEA Seal of Approval Pilot Programs:
Columbia Gorge Community College
Iowa Lakes Community College
Texas State Technical College

Questions? Email workforcedev@awea.org or call 202-249-7350

Become an AWEA member! Visit www.awea.org/membercenter