Todays heating, ventilation, air
conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) industry makes possible modern living
including medicine, technology, and personal comfort at home and on the job, as
well as food preservation. In fact, it supports almost every component of our
way of life. The HVAC industry is growing and becoming more technologically
complex. As a result, industry leaders have mandated that employees have a
variety of skills including technical problem solving, communications, and
customer relations. The new HVAC employee must be a professional in every way
and has great potential for advancement. Areas of opportunity include factory or
distributor technical representative; factory, distributor or dealer sales
professional; system design technician; distributor or dealer customer service
manager; project estimator; project manager; dealer field service technician and
more.
Stark State College offers a
commercial/industrial lab as well as a residential lab totaling
approximately 4000 square feet. Both labs have a wide variety of modern HVAC
and refrigeration equipment due to the many area HVAC and refrigeration
businesses that support the program with state-of-the-art equipment. The
HVAC program also has a 750-square-foot full sheet metal lab.
Students have the opportunity
to obtain a variety of HVAC/R certifications in the program including ARI
ICE (industry competency exams) tests, EPA refrigerant certification, and
NATE (North American Technician Excellence) exams. Four NATE-approved
courses are also offered for those seeking re-certification.
A graduate of this program
will earn an associate of applied science degree in heating, ventilating and
air conditioning technology.