Frequently Asked Questions

AWC was started with four objectives in mind:

1. To provide high quality training that is easy to understand and remember

2. To utilize innovative learning and training methods to help operators absorb and remember information required by certification exams

3. To provide a delivery method for classes that allows the maximum flexibility for the operator to continue his/her education

4. To meet the increasing need to train operators new to this field

AWC is a college without walls. The classroom is wherever you are. We make it easy for you to attend class by bringing the classroom to you, whenever it is convenient for you. We also have certification exam prep classes at various locations for those who prefer live interaction. The administrative office is located in Sacramento, California.

Our instructors are professionals from the Water and Wastewater fields that bring real-life experience to the classroom for an engaging training experience.

We are confident in our exam prep courses, so we guarantee that if you don’t pass your exam after completing the entire course, we will give you free access to the exam review until you pass or refund 100% of your enrollment fee.

If you send us your notice of failure and your certificate from the course, we will set up a free extension for you through your next exam or give you a full refund.

All of our courses are self-paced and can be started anytime. Depending on your enrollment, you have 4, 6, or 12 months to complete your course.  After the initial enrollment period, you may purchase prorated extensions in 30 day blocks.

AWC issues certificates of completion for all completed courses. The CEUs are listed on these certificates. Each CEU is equivalent to 10 contact hours. Records are maintained for 7 years after completion and are made available to requesting state agencies. Each state agency has their own requirements as to which training is acceptable to them. Please check with your state agency for verification.

Student records are maintained in American Water College’s online Learning Management System. The student records database is backed up regularly by American Water College’s technology department and by American Water College’s contracted web host.

All students are required to demonstrate mastery of the course material by completing course assessment(s) with a score of 70% or greater.

Students are able to retrieve their own permanent record by logging into the online Learning Management System with their unique user id and password that was set up during the enrollment process. Once logged in, students are able to view their complete course history, and print and export reports and certificates relating to such history.

If a student contacts American Water College, by phone, email, USPS mail, or online support chat to request any personal information, such as certificates, course history and test scores, American Water College will respond to the request within five business days in the same form as the request was submitted.

American Water College will only release personal information to the student him or herself, or to an Authorized Representative. An Authorized Representative is defined as any agency, company, or person purchasing a course or class, or any other person whom the student has authorized in writing. American Water College does not release any personal information to any third party, other than as specified above.

Your certificate will be available in your account as soon as the course is completed. You will complete the course by viewing all materials (handouts, flashcards, etc.) watching each lecture in its entirety, and passing each quiz with a score of 70%.

Generally, the ribbon icon appears next to the course title. You may view it by clicking there, or by going to the “Certificates” section of your account. If you are certain that your course is completed, and you don’t see the certificate, contact us and we’ll figure out why it’s not there and email it right over to you.

We recommend using Chrome, Firefox, Edge, or Safari. There are other browsers that may work with our courses, but we don’t check against any other browser to ensure compatibility.

Internet Explorer is known to have display errors within our courses. Microsoft stopped releasing major updates and is only giving security updates. That means as we advance with the rest of the browser (including Microsoft’s new browser, Edge) Internet Explorer will fall farther behind and eventually become completely obsolete. For this reason we do not maintain compatibility with IE.

While we do have some resources available for free (click here to see those), most of our courses require an enrollment fee. You will find the price of the enrollment listed with each course. Paid enrollments last 6 months unless otherwise noted. Monthly extensions are available after the initial enrollment period.

There are no prerequisites for any of American Water College’s courses. For programs like our Certificate in Water Treatment and Transmission Technology, we recommend taking the courses in order, but that is not required (see the program syllabus for our suggested order).

While we don’t have prerequisites, often your state certifiying agency will have license prerequisites. Contact your state licensing agency to learn more about what is required to become a licensed operator.