Has COVID-19 changed how your company provides these courses? Do you offer any online courses? Do we have to come to these courses in person?
All of our courses are 100% online and totally self-paced
GROL (General Radiotelephone Operators License) and GMDSS (Global Maritime Distress and Safety System) students get access to their course materials for 7 days and AET (Aircraft Electronics Technician) students get access for 10 days.
Each student must complete their course work and schedule their online proctored final exams within that period of time. Extensions may be granted for special cases.
What is the process of registering for a course? What is the process for a new student? How do I register? How do I sign up for a course?
1. Go to Course Signup Page
2. Fill out the form by entering all relevant information and click submit at the bottom of the page.
3. You will then be sent two emails, one with an Itemized Invoice and further instructions on how to apply for funding, and another with a Credential Eligibility Form. If you don’t see these emails, sometimes they hide in your junk or spam folders. (If you are missing the Credential Eligibility Form, you can get a new one by going to Credential Eligibility Form and filling out that information – as a note, military emails will not work for this form, personal emails only.)
4. Submit your funding request through AFVEC. Step 1 is to Create an Education Goal – this is where you will upload the supporting documents listed in #4 above. This will need to be approved by your supervisor before going back into AFVEC and actually Creating a Funding Request. We have a helpful AFCOOL Funding Request Guide
5. Take a snapshot of your supervisor-approved funding request and upload it to SNAPSHOT page. The status should read “supervisor approved awaiting CPO or PA approval” or “supervisor approved auto-approved”. Patiently wait for your funding to be approved. In most cases, funding is approved two weeks prior to the beginning of the course.
6. Once the funding request has been approved by AFCOOL and received by Aircraft Maintainer, you will be able to begin your course.
7. Just before class begins, you will receive an email with some registration instructions. You will not get access to the course materials before class, only once your course begins. We don’t want you to study too much, as sometimes that can overwhelm you and affect your exam results.
8. Once this process is complete you will download Zoom, and your student account will be fully approved on the first day of class.
My invoice is expired. Why did I receive an expired invoice? I have not yet received my invoice? When should I expect to receive an invoice? How long does it take to receive and invoice once I sign up for a course?
Invoices are sent out automatically after your sign up for a course. Be sure to check your junk or spam folders – since this is an automated email, it commonly ends up there. If you have not yet received your invoice, or your invoice is expired, please reach out to us by sending an email to Customer support to request a new invoice.
Where is my Credential Eligibility Form? My Credential Eligibility Form is not signed, can I get it signed? Can I get a new Credential Eligibility Form?
Your Credential Eligibility Form is automatically emailed to the email address you provide upon signing up. Sometimes these emails end up in your spam or junk folders. If you are missing a form, or the one you received is not signed, please go to Credential Eligibility Form Page,to get a new one – you must input a personal email here, not a military email, in order to submit the form.
How do I know if I am signed up for a class?
Once you have signed up for a course through the website, an invoice is sent to you at the email address you provided – double check your spam folder before you reach out to us. If you have received the invoice and followed the further instructions for funding, then this is where the “patiently waiting for funding to be approved” step comes in. If you received the invoice and have followed through with the steps, you will be notified about your course before it begins.
I’ve completed my funding now what do I do? What do I do when I’m done applying for funding?
The next step is to upload a snapshot of your funding request with the current status (supervisor approved, or awaiting approval) to SNAPSHOT page.
When do I get my study material? Can I get study material early? Will I receive actual books? Is everything online?
All of our study material has been digitized, and you get access through your online student portal the day class begins. We have additional, digital study material, and the links are in your dashboard – however, we recommend you study ONLY our Study Guides and use our Practice Exams before your exam. If you study too much, or lots of different information, it may affect your exam grade. Believe us, we know what we’re doing – we have certified over 8,000 people and still have a 98% pass rate.
I haven’t heard anything what do I do? How long should I wait to contact you once I have applied for funding?
It depends on which step you are on, do you need an invoice? Have you completed your funding application? Are you waiting for your funding application to process? Or are you waiting for class to start? All of these questions are answered above in other FAQs.
Do you physically come out to our unit to teach the courses?
All our classes are 100% online. You can take these courses in your skivvies on the couch for all we care – just remember that your online proctored final exams do require a webcam, so keep those cameras on your upper half.
Where can I get my EPR bullet for attending?
If you attended class, the bullet is sent to your personal email upon course completion.
What type of funding can I apply for? Is AFCOOL the only program that will pay for this? Are there other types of funding that would pay for this?
All of our funding options can be found on our Payments page
I took a course and passed the test but have not yet received my license, how can I request a copy? I have not received my license in the mail so I have not received my AFCOOL reimbursement yet, is there a way to access my license online?
The easiest way to access your license if you have not received it is to follow these steps: 1. Go to FCC LICENSE SEARCH
2. Using the “Advanced Search” feature, enter your last name and the zip code that you used when signing up for the course.
3. When you find your name, click on the blue text under the“Call Sign/Lease ID” column.
4. Near the top of the page, you will see a link that says “Reference Copy” – this is a pdf download of your license (it works best if you right-click and open this into a new tab).
5. Upload a copy to the same location where your invoice is in AFVEC. You do this by beginning in the AFPORTAL, click on AFVEC, click on EDUCATION GOALS, click on GENERAL RADIOTELEPHONE OPERATORS LICENSE, then click on ADD FILE. This is how you get your reimbursement.
What are some reasons my funding might get denied? Are there other steps I can take in order to obtain funding for these courses?
The number one reason for funding being denied is simply a failure to properly apply and provide documentation to the COOL program. AFCOOL requires that funding requests are completed 30 days prior to the course date – so you can be denied for applying less than 30 days from the class date. Please be sure that you upload your Invoice and Credential Eligibility Form when setting up the education goal part of the application.
What are the benefits of these courses?
Our condensed study approach is the number one benefit to these courses. We do this so that you can quickly pass your exams. Doing this on your own takes a whole helluva lot of time and motivation, which we both know is hard to come by.
What are the benefits of these licenses and certifications? What are the differences between the courses? Which course is the most beneficial? Which course is the best option for me?
Make more money. Have better job prospects after you get out of the military. Brag to your friends. Whatever you want to do. These certifications are majorly helpful for your future. The average salary for a person with an FCC License with Radar Endorsement Certification is $63,378.
Who can host a class? Can anyone host a class? You have had classes before in my city, will there be another one?
Anyone can sign up to host a class, and actually, and we recommend that if you’re interested in attending a class in your area that you host one! This would mean that more people will hear about the benefits of these licenses and courses, meaning more people around you can bulletproof their career options. Sign up to host a course at your installation and ensure that you and your Airmen are among the highest skilled and most trained serving in the Air Force today.
Are there any pre-requisites for taking these courses? What are the pre-requisites?
Students must be 18 years old, and active-duty military. Students can also be eligible Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve members. In order for Air National Guard or Reserve members to utilize AF COOL funding they must be on U.S. Title 10 or 32 (502)F Active Orders.
Who do I contact if some of my specific certifications are missing from my license?
Send an email to Customer support
How are the courses different now that they are taught online?
We do all of our courses 100% online, other than that nothing has changed.
Can anyone sign up for these courses? Are these courses for military only? Who are these classes for? Is it better to be Active Duty when signing up for these courses?
Our courses are designed for active-duty military, or Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve members who are eligible to utilize AF COOL, meaning they must be on U.S. Title 10 or 32 (502)F Active Orders. We also offer civilian courses which will not have a military Mentorship meeting option.
Is there a class in my area for these dates? When is the next class in my area?
New classes begin every day and are all fully online – so there are no schedules – you can get into a course and start a new course ANYTIME, ANYWHERE!
What is the best way to cancel a course I signed up for? I missed the class I was signed up for and was instructed by AFCOOL to request a refund to be mailed in check form made out to the department of treasury with the student’s name at the bottom for tracking purposes.
The mailing address is:
CCAF/AF COOL Program 100 S. Turner Blvd Maxwell AFB-Gunter Annex, AL 36114… Refund requests must be made via email to customersupport@aircraftmaintainer.com
We will reschedule your course and only offer refunds if requested within 3 days of funding.
Once your course is funded, you can cancel your request, however, it is your responsibility to reach out to us and ensure you meet our refund requirements. AFCOOL doesn’t chase down refunds.
AFCOOL allows any funded courses up to 90 days from the class start date to be completed – which means if you miss your class date, you still have the opportunity to reschedule it as long as it’s within that 90-day period
I wasn’t able to get funding when I took my courses, am I able to get a 1098 form for my education expenses?
IRS forms can easily be downloaded online at IRS FORMS
How long is the course? What is the time commitment?
Depends on which certification you are pursuing. For both the GROL and GMDSS courses, you will get access to the course material for 7 days, but most students finish in 3-4. For the more detailed AET course, you will get access to the course materials for 10 days, and most students use all that time.
