WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR BASE, Ohio – During a period of uncertainty due to COVID-19, the Air Force Institute of Technology continues to provide top-notch education to the military and civilian workforce.

“AFIT continues to serve the United States Air and Space Forces with the majority of its continuing education courses,” said AFIT Director and Chancellor Dr. Todd Stewart.

Following guidelines to limit the number of people in gatherings and practice social distancing, Dr. Stewart, his faculty and staff quickly took action to move as many in-person classes to online classes as they did. possible while maintaining the same quality and continuity of teaching for AFIT students.

Approximately 700 residential students attend AFIT each term.

“There are courses that AFIT offers regularly to non-resident students via the Internet or satellite to students all over the world,” said Stewart. “For courses that we are required to take in residence here at Wright-Patterson or at the student site at facilities around the world, those course offerings are rescheduled later in the year.”

Stewart said they are also converting some of the residency courses to distance learning. A residency course that was slated to start on March 30 has since been replaced by an online course where instructors now present places to telecommute to 114 students around the world.

Students who were already here at Wright-Patt AFB in PCS status attending Graduate School of Engineering and Management, Spring Quarter are delayed for at least three weeks and classes will be revised to reduce class time and student numbers. to enable ‘social distancing.’

AFIT faculty and students will also continue to provide advisory assistance to its various stakeholders such as USAF HQ, MAJCOMS, Joint Commands and other organizations through telecommunications as long as the Order stoppage of movements remains in effect, ”said Stewart.

Although COVID-19 has caused disruption in AFIT’s educational structure, during tough times AFIT is finding innovative ways to continue serving its students.

Due to the COVID-19 directive to cancel all large gatherings, in lieu of the AFIT Graduate School of Engineering and Management graduation ceremony at the National Museum of the United States Air Force on the 26th March, the students received their diplomas during a very unique “drive”. “Through” where the students stayed in their cars and the documents were passed out the window.

Another way to think ahead, if the current COVID-19 guidelines to limit large crowds extend even longer than expected, the School of Systems and Logistics is looking for an option to convert some of their courses to a hybrid offering where students would take part of the course remotely and when travel is authorized again, will attend AFIT in person for a mini end-of-course evaluation.

As a graduate school of engineering and management of the Air Force as well as its technical professional continuing education institution, AFIT’s mission is to educate Total Force military and civil defense professionals to accomplish in an innovative way the deterrence and combat missions of the American air and space forces… today and tomorrow. For more information, visit the AFIT website at www.afit.edu.