Operator School Committee

Chris Johnsen, Chair

The Operator School Committee has been discussing ways to change and improve the way we conduct the Operator School. We are still working on a virtual option. We also looked at modifying the schedules to work better with the instructors and, hopefully, the students.

The traditional dates for Operator School were developed many years ago to coincide with the schedule of the written exams, which were always the first Thursday in November. Back then, IDEM only offered the test in November, then they started offering a second test date in May, but the primary offering was still November. For many years, it made sense to start the class 12 weeks prior to the testing so the education was fresh in everyone’s head when they took the exams. Then, at some point in the 2000’s, IDEM worked out an agreement with IvyTech Community College that allowed IvyTech to proctor the test, and the decision was made to offer the test throughout the year.

Even though the test was offered throughout the year, the Operator School held onto the traditional schedule of 12 weeks starting at the beginning of August. As we all know, the late summer and early fall are very busy times, with many projects trying to wind down for winter. This can really put a strain on the instructors, most of whom are working within utilities.

There will be in-person Operator School this year, and into early next year, though as of the writing of this article we have not yet nailed down the locations and dates. There are a couple of locations that are scheduling the Operator School to start right after the first of the year to hopefully relieve the strain of trying to provide the class in the fall. Others will be during the traditional time frame. We are planning for 12 weeks of classes as usual, but the starting dates will change based on the location. Please watch the Indiana Section AWWA news releases and website for updates.

In addition to the regular in-person Operator School and other options we are pursuing, we continue to try to make this education more accessible financially. The Philanthropy Committee of the Indiana Section continues to offer scholarships that cover the costs of Operator School. There is a link on the Indiana Section website for the application. Please apply. Over the last few years, many scholarships remained unused – take advantage of this opportunity.

While waiting for the upcoming class, there are many other ways to study outside of the Operator School using the tools and resources available from the AWWA and from IDEM. There are many books and virtual options available through the AWWA website throughout the year, and the IDEM site has links to documents that can be very helpful in your studies. The Indiana Section also provides our Exam Cram, a three-part series to aid future operators. Also look for the Water: What Do You Know? Workshop which is supportive training to other certification studies. These classes will be posted on the events page on our website as planned.

If you are interested in serving on the Operator School Committee, have questions about Operator School, or suggestions on how we can better serve, please contact me at cjohnsen@mcwaterdept.com.