Here at Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi, we are excited to have our Commercial Aviation degrees listed in the Academic Common Market. Our undergraduate and graduate programs, the only ones in the state of Mississippi, have long been signature programs at this regional university in the heart of the Mississippi Delta, attracting many students interested in becoming aviation professionals. In the Undergraduate BCA degree, students may major in Flight Operations or Aviation Management. Upon graduation, Flight Operations majors hold at least a Commercial Pilot Certificate with Airplane Single- and Multi-engine Land and Instrument-Airplane ratings, along with a Flight Instructor Certificate.

The graduate student in the Commercial Aviation program is often a professional already established in an aviation career; the graduate degree provides students with a focused understanding of aviation concepts and operations and is oriented toward aviation management and aviation education. Students in the DSU programs are eligible for several competitive internships with national companies, and we are pleased with our high job placement rate for our graduates (for example, our placement rate for undergraduate Flight Ops Majors for the last two years has been 100%).

The ACM program allows students from other states in the SREB area to attend Delta State without the burden of out-of-state tuition; for example, CAV student William Wendt has saved $16,106 so far by participating in the ACM; he will save at least that much more by the time he completes the degree. As our many successful graduates will tell you, a degree in Commercial Aviation from Delta State University is "a ticket to soar."

We look forward to increasing our participation in the ACM; to that end, we are requesting inclusion of several other DSU programs in order to further improve on this avenue for students' success. Thanks, ACM! We continue to look forward to a long and successful educational collaboration!

—Dr. Ann Lotven, Provost

William Wendt is enrolled in the Commercial Aviation program at DSU through the Academic Common Market (ACM). By participating in this program, he has saved $16,106 and will save at least that much more by the time he completes the degree.

The Academic Common Market allows students from outside of Mississippi to pursue their dreams of careers in Commercial Aviation, with their families appreciating that ACM lessens the burden of out-of-state fees. As the example of one of our students represents, "ACM has allowed me to expand my flight school options into Mississippi, with DSU being the exact fit I wanted and needed in a flight program." William Wendt is that prime example of a recipient of both the practicality and beneficence of ACM; he is an out-of-state undergraduate who values the support of the program and has been able to make higher education choices not restricted or limited by his geographical location.

—William Wendt
Louisiana