Student Handbook and Catalog 2021-22 V2

242 | Essential Elements
Essential Elements
The Essential Elements of a program indicate the prerequisite,
minimum abilities a student must demonstrate in order to
1) perform the functional requirements of the program, and
2) meet industry-standard occupational expectations. In this
context, "abilities" are defined as the "enduring attributes
of the individual that influence performance" and they may
include cognitive, psychomotor, physical, and/or sensory
abilities. Each program will require its students and graduates
to become competent practitioners in their field and meet
the requirements of the intended occupation.
A program shall not discriminate against otherwise-qualified
individuals with disabilities who apply for admission to
the program. Otherwise-qualified individuals shall not be
excluded from admission or participation in a program solely
by reason of their disability or medical condition. TSTC, in
collaboration with the program, will provide reasonable
accommodations to otherwise-qualified individuals with
disabilities. A reasonable accommodation is one that
does not create a fundamental alteration to the program
requirements (e.g., substantial program modification, lower
academic standards, etc.).
Should an applicant have or develop a condition that places
them in the position of not being able to meet an essential
element and no reasonable accommodation can be identified
and this is such that it would jeopardize his or her ability to
complete the program and pursue program-related industry
employment, the candidate may be denied admission to that
program.
Should an admitted student have or develop a condition that
places the student in the position of not being able to meet
an essential element and no reasonable accommodation can
be identified and this is such that it would jeopardize his or
her ability to complete the program and pursue programrelated
industry employment, the student may be dismissed
from the program.
Applicants to a program should verify that they understand
and can meet the essential elements established by a
program or that they believe, with certain reasonable
accommodations, they can meet the standards.
It is the responsibility of a student with a disability (or
a student who develops a disability) and who needs
an accommodation to notify the Access and Learning
Accommodations (ALA) office of the disability (adarequest@
tstc.edu), and to provide adequate documentation of the
general nature and extent of the disability and the functional
limitations to be accommodated. A student who has or
develops any chronic disease or condition that may affect his
or her ability to meet the Essential Elements will be expected
to seek input and appropriate intervention from appropriate
professionals.
Aircraft Pilot Training Technology
Kelly Filgo
kmfilgo@tstc.edu
Cognitive Abilities
• Category Flexibility: The ability to generate or use different
sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different
ways.
• Deductive Reasoning: The ability to apply general rules to
specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Flexibility of Closure: The ability to identify or detect a
known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is
hidden in other distracting material.
• Fluency of Ideas: The ability to come up with a number of
ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not
their quality, correctness, or creativity).
• Inductive Reasoning: The ability to combine pieces of
information to form general rules or conclusions (includes
finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Information Ordering: The ability to arrange things or
actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific
rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words,
pictures, mathematical operations).
• Mathematical Reasoning: The ability to choose the right
mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
• Memorization: The ability to remember information such as
words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.
• Number Facility: The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or
divide quickly and correctly.
• Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand
information and ideas presented through spoken words
and sentences.
• Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information
and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Originality: The ability to come up with unusual or clever
ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop
creative ways to solve a problem.
• Perceptual Speed: The ability to quickly and accurately
compare similarities and differences among sets of letters,
numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be
compared may be presented at the same time or one after
the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented
object with a remembered object.
• Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is
wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving
the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Selective Attention: The ability to concentrate on a task
over a period of time without being distracted.
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Texas State Technical College