The Federal Aviation Administration granted Auburn flight school students the recognition of reduced flight hours needed to graduate effective immediately.
The FAA increased the number of flight hours required for graduates after an aviation crash in Buffalo, N.Y., in 2009.
Since then, only six flight schools have been recognized as only having to complete 1,000 hours of flight training before graduation opposed to the normal 1,500 hours.
"The FAA imposed new regulations after the crash and was going to give credit to universities that had aviation programs because the curriculum students go through, they'll have a much better understanding of the industry when they enter it," said Jason Mohrman, Auburn alumnus and pilot for United Airlines.
Mohrman said this recognition would make Auburn students stand out when looking for a job.
"If you're a student at Auburn and you go through all your training, and your next step is to go to an airline, flight time is very tedious, so the fact that they can go do that with less time puts them in a tremendous competitive advantage compared to other students," Mohrman said.
Nick Plagenhouf, senior in aviation management, said the drop in hours is significant.
"Five hundred hours is a significant amount to not have to complete when you could start your career," Plagenhouf said. "It will be very beneficial to students and help many students start their careers."
Plagenhouf became a professional pilot when he was 17 years old, so he did not get his certification through Auburn's aviation program, but he said if he had foreseen the hour changes then he may have went through Auburn's flight school.
Although the hours are a significant factor in the aviation program, the program's accreditation is also important.
The aviation program has been struggling to maintain its accreditation since spring 2013.
"The main thing we need is leadership from above that is driving to maintain the Aviation Acceditation Board International (AABI) accreditation to continue to be recognized as an accredited program," Plagenhouf said.
The aviation program wants to schedule an accreditation review for this fall and continue Auburn aviation program's reputation as an elite flight school, Mohrman said.
"AABI is supposed to visit Auburn this fall," Mohrman said. "Having this accreditation is vitally important to graduates in this competitive field."
Auburn's Aviation Management Program has approximately 4,000 members.
"Our students deserve the best when they graduate and AABI provides that competitive advantage," Mohrman said. "It is important to note JetBlue, United and Delta are members of AABI, so the industry recognized AABI's importance in the aviation industry."
Hour-requirement changes allow Auburn aviation students to seek employment immediately after graduation.
This will put the Auburn graduates ahead of many others.
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