New pilot degree program set for lift off at Southeast, airport

Southeast Missouri State University, which launched an unmanned aircraft systems (drone) degree program in 2017, announced Friday its students will soon be training to become aviation pilots.

Inside Commander Hanger at Cape Girardeau Regional Airport, Southeast president Carlos Vargas, airport manager Katrina Amos and U.S. Aviation Group (USAG) chief development officer Mark Taylor of Denton, Texas, signed a partnership agreement to begin a four-year Professional Pilot program at Southeast beginning in the fall of 2021.

Parked directly behind the trio was a four-seat Cessna 172 Skyhawk plane, a single-engine, fixed-wing aircraft in which future pupils will likely be trained.

Vargas said Southeast’s Board of Regents gave the green light in May to the program and added the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development did the same this summer.

The university will host the Bachelor of Science in its STEM college — the College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

Vargas said the objective of the four-year program is clear — to enable students who complete the classwork and training “to get a job immediately as pilots.”

Katrina Amos, left, Bruce Loy, both of Cape Girardeau Regional Airport; Mark Taylor of U.S. Aviation Group; and Southeast Missouri State University president Carlos Vargas release confetti on a Cessna 172 aircraft, the aircraft the school plans to use for instruction, Friday at the airport in Cape Girardeau.Sarah Yenesel

Unique arrangement

USAG will own the aircraft, will provide necessary maintenance to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standards and will be responsible for training students with in-flight lessons and in simulators at the Cape Girardeau airport — with whom USAG has signed a lease agreement.

Classroom work on the degree, managed by USAG, will take place at Southeast’s main campus in Cape Girardeau.

Amos, who became airport manager in January following the retirement of Bruce Loy, called Friday “historic” and said the pilot degree is the culmination of a 12-year conversation “about what such a program will do for the (Southeast) region.”

Cape Girardeau Regional Airport manager Katrina Amos signs an agreement during the announcement of Southeast Missouri State University's Professional Pilot Bachelor of Science program Friday at the airport in Cape Girardeau.Sarah Yenesel

USAG’s initial foray into America’s heartland

U.S. Aviation Group’s Taylor said his company currently manages pilot education and training at two community colleges in Texas and one in New York.

The company, he said, is also training 250 students at its corporate headquarters in Denton.

USAG, which started to train pilots 13 years ago, has never had operations in the Midwest, though.

“We expect the program (at Southeast) to grow exponentially,” said Taylor, with an expectation of 20 to 25 students in fall 2021.

Southeast, in a news release, said graduates of the program should be able to find work as commercial pilots, as freight, military and regional airline pilots, as flight instructors, as corporate aviators or work in charter operations.

Taylor said USAG has connections with three commercial carriers to help graduates find employment — United and Southwest Airlines, plus Envoy Air, a regional carrier formerly known as American Eagle.

According to CAE, an aviation technology company, pilot demand between now and 2029 will significantly increase.

“Beginning in late 2021, there will be a short-term need for approximately 27,000 new professional pilots. This demand will continue through the decade as the industry is expected to require more than 260,000 new pilots,” CAE’s 2020-2029 ”Pilot Demand Outlook” report states.

Vargas acknowledged the pandemic has hurt the airline industry but said when the public health emergency eventually passes, more pilots will be needed.

Mark Taylor, U.S. Aviation Group chief development officer, remarks about the company's partnership with Southeast Missouri State University to help create the new Professional Pilot Bachelor of Science program, Friday at Cape Girardeau Regional Airport in Cape Girardeau.Sarah Yenesel

Expense

As most students of the physical sciences realize, tuition is just part of the cost of getting a degree.

In addition to the Professional Pilot degree tuition and fees, the university indicated Friday there will be “substantial lab fees” ranging from $71,000 to $75,000 over the four years.

Vargas said a minimum of 121 credit hours will be required to complete the degree, including 42 hours of general education coursework.

Personal notes

Vargas, who came to Southeast directly from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania in 2015, opined that upon arrival in Cape Girardeau he was surprised to learn how many members of the community were “into aviation,” noting a sizable number of area residents own planes — taking a moment to note the presence Friday of Ken Jackson, retired Dexter School District superintendent, himself a private pilot.

USAG’s Taylor noted the hospitality of the Cape Girardeau community was a factor in choosing to associate with Southeast and the Cape Girardeau airport, adding a coda to his remarks.

“We’re ready to start flying in Cape,” he said.

Note: Reporter Jeff Long is a part-time instructor at Southeast Missouri State University.