December 31, 2014 Exemption No. 11135 Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2014-0300

Mr. Timothy James Compton

Assistant Director Baylor University Waco, TX 76798-7413

Dear Mr. Compton:

This letter is to inform you that we have deni ed your petition for exemption. It transmits our decision and explains its basis.

The Basis for Our Decision

By letter dated April 28, 2014, you petitioned th e Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on behalf of Baylor University (Baylor) for an exemption from § 61.160(b) of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) to the extent neces sary to allow Baylor to issue a letter of authorization certifying its gra duates for an Airline Transport Pilot Certificate with reduced aeronautical experience.

The petitioner supports its request with the following information:

Baylor does not currently hold a part 141 p ilot school certificate or conduct its own pilot ground and flight training. Rather, Bayl or contracts with Te xas State Technical College (TSTC), a pilot school, to provide both ground and flight training for the instrument rating and commercial pilot certificates.

Baylor students who take the ground and fli ght courses for the instrument rating and commercial pilot certificate mu st apply to and be accepte d by TSTC. Baylor students take their ground and flight training at the TSTC campus. TSTC faculty members provide the instruction in TSTC classrooms and in TSTC aircraft.

Baylor students taking their ground and flight instruction fo r the instrument rating and commercial pilot certificates have their gr ades awarded at TSTC and officially

recorded on TSTC transcripts.2

Baylor believes that the public interest is served by contracting out its ground and flight training to TSTC ra ther than holding its own part 141 certificate. Baylor explains this arrangement is more efficient for Baylor students in that Baylor does not have to duplicate the ground and flight training provided by TSTC. Further, since tuition is higher at Baylor, it would cost more for student s to complete their degree program if the training was conducte d at Baylor instead of TSTC.

Baylor believes that an equivalent leve l of safety is provided by TSTC offering Baylor’s students instrument rating and co mmercial pilot certificate training. Because TSTC has its own part 141 certificate, it has inherent safeguards and accompanying FAA oversight. Baylor further believes an equi valent level of safety is maintained due to the safety-related academic courses that are required for its aviation students.

The FAA notes that Public Law 111-216 requires all pilots in part 121 to have an ATP certificate. It also states that minimum flight time to obtain an ATP certificate is 1,500 hours.

The statute did allow for a cred it towards the 1,500 hours, only if the FAA determined that allowing a pilot to take “specific academic tr aining courses will enhance safety more than requiring the pilot to fully comply with the flight time requirement.”

As described in the preamble to the final rule, the FAA promulga ted section 61.160 [78 FR 42324, July 15, 2013] to account for the specific progr am criteria necessary to meet the intent

of Public Law 111-216. The FAA considered not only how to determine if an institution of higher education and its program would qualif y, but how to evaluate specific academic courses, and then how to oversee such a program.

One of the key components of the degree progra m is having the ground and flight training for the instrument rating and commercial pilot certif icate integrated with a student’s broader

aviation academic curriculum. The FAA conclude d the established training standards and quality provided by an institution of higher education that holds a part 141 pilot school certificate are necessary to ensure this inte gration of the pilot ground training and broader academic curriculum is performed to a suitable standard. Accordingly,

“[u]nder § 61.160, a graduate must have comp leted all ground training for the commercial pilot certificate and instrument rating at the institution of higher education... [and] the academic institution must, at a minimum, hold a part 141 pilot school certificate for ground training. This requirement will ensure that the ground training for certification is integrated into the institution’s broader academic curriculum. (78 FR 42348). [In addition], the FAA has oversight of the training conducted through part 141 program approval. Those pilot schools must renew their certificates every 24 months and demonstrat e the quality of the training through an established training standard.” (78 FR 41352)

The FAA reviewed the description that Baylor provided of its arrangem ent with TSTC for the ground and flight training of students enrolled in its Avia tion Science Bachelor degree program. The arrangement does not meet the intent of having the ground training integrated3

with the broader academic curriculum by virtue of Baylor not holding an air agency certificate issued in accordance with part 141. Baylor does not have control over the curriculum provided by TSTC. As noted in the petition, Bayl or students pursuing their instrument rating and commercial pilot training become TSTC students during those phases. Therefore, the FAA has determined that Baylor’s aviation de gree program does not meet the minimum level of integrating its pilot ground tr aining with its broader academ ic curriculum of an aviation degree program.

Additionally, the FAA has determined that m eeting the part 141 standards and holding a certificate issued under part 141 enables the FAA to oversee the program and ensure continued compliance with the letter of aut horization issued on an established 24-month

schedule that coincides with th e part 141 pilot school renewal. The FAA has concluded this oversight is critical for assuri ng that the standards set forth by Congress for a reduction in flight time continue to be met.

The FAA has determined that good cause exists for not publishing a summary of the petition in the Federal Register because this is not a precedent-setting petition, and any delay in acting on this petition would be detrimental to Baylor.

The FAA recently issued a denial of exempti on in circumstances similar in all material respects to those presented in your peti tion. In Denial of Exemption No. 11025 (copy enclosed), the FAA found that the requirement for the instituti on of higher education to hold a 141 certificate was a necessary component of th e institution’s degree program. This ensures proper integration of the instrument rating and commercial pilot certificate ground training

with the institution’s broader academic curricul um. Further, requiring th e institution of higher

education to hold a 141 certifi cate enables the FAA to oversee the program and ensure continued compliance with the letter of author ization. The FAA concluded this integration and oversight is critical for a ssuring that the standa rds set forth by Congress for a reduction in flight time continues to be met.

Having reviewed your reasons for re questing an exemption, I find that—

 they do not differ materially from those presen ted by the petitioner in the enclosed Denial of Exemption No. 11025;

 the reasons stated by the FAA for denying the ex emption sought in the enclosed Denial of Exemption No. 11025 also apply to the situation you present; and

 a grant of exemption would not be in the public interest.4

Our Decision

Under the authority contained in 49 U.S.C. 106(f), 40113 and 44701, which the FAA Administrator has delegated to me, I hereby deny Baylor University’s petition for an exemption from 14 CFR § 61.160(b).

Sincerely,

/s/

John S. Duncan Director, Flight Standards Service

Enclosure