High College Failure Rate?

[Arkady]

Our unit has been saying for years that more Students should be failed at the college rather than be allowed to progress to live units and waste valuable training time, so, for the moment, it would be hypocritical to criticise the College for making it tougher for Students to pass, however they may be doing it. If the validation rate at LACC improves significantly as these New Course Students are posted in, then the College will have been justified in their approach. If not..........
It seems logical that if the majority who are recoursed pass second time around then lengthening the original course will improve the pass rates but I don't think it is quite that simple.
People who become Student ATCOs are generally hardworking, intelligent and above all confident. Very few Student ATCOs will have ever struggled or failed anything in their lives, prior to commencing their ATC training, so when they do struggle or fail it is a totally new experience and a challenge that some cannot rise to. It has not been uncommon at LACC (and LATCC as was) to have to fail a very capable student because they have stopped learning. They cannot conceive that they are going to fail and begin to ignore (or in some cases argue against) the instruction and advice of their OJTIs. When they are chopped it comes as a bolt out of the blue despite the evidence accumulating against them. Any capable Student chopped at LACC will be recommended for another chance at another unit (but it is not our decision whether or not they get one) and these Students often shine at their new units. I think that the realization that they CAN fail will often change their approach to their training and make them more receptive to criticism. Similarly, repeating a course can allow a Student to reassess HOW they are learning without having to worry as much about WHAT they are learning.
The effectiveness of the new courses will not be known for a couple of years yet. I have serious misgivings about the lack of experience our new trainees have but this should only lengthen the amount of time it takes to get valid, rather than prevent validation itself.
For those at, or shortly to be starting at the College I have one crumb of comfort. The greater the challenge at the College the better prepared you will be for the challenge of live training. As has been said many times before, on this thread and others, keep your head down, work hard at the theory and be 100% ready for the practical, absorb everything you are told - discuss but don't argue the point - and above all don't become isolated or brood on problems. You will learn as much from your course mates as from any instructor just by talking things through.