(WACO) – The Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Technology program at Texas State Technical College in Waco has received nationwide academic recognition.

The Nevada-based Community for Accredited Online Schools recently ranked the technical program in the top five in the nation for this year among two-year institutions. The ranking took into account financial aid, student-teacher ratios, graduation rates and placement and counseling services. Information from the National Center for Education Statistics was used to rank the list’s top 50 institutions.

There are about 70 students studying this semester for the certificate and associate degree in Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Technology.

David Brannen, the program’s campus lead, said some students underestimate the algebraic conversions and physics involved in learning about HVAC.

“You have to have the theory to do a lab,” Brannen said.

Cheyanne Hill, 19, of Florien, Louisiana, is in her first semester of studying for the certificate. She learned about TSTC from her high school band director.

Hill said she has enjoyed learning about pipefitting, the different stages of refrigeration and manifold gauges.

“I have family that work in HVAC and I have helped my uncle,” she said. “It’s demanding work, and not a lot of females are willing to do that type of work. It can be overwhelming.”

Joseph Paul, 19, of China Spring will graduate in December with his HVAC certificate. Paul said he likes the program because it combines his interests in plumbing and electricity and he gets to use his hands.

“It’s fun and there is no dull moment, really,” he said. “I can’t sit behind an office desk the rest of my life.”

Some of the classes that majors can take include Basic Electricity for HVAC, Air Conditioning Control Principles and Heat Pumps.

Students will have a new opportunity to learn about HVAC when a $15,000 rooftop package unit lab will open in fall 2017. The lab will be used in a new commercial air conditioning class that will be offered.

For more information on TSTC, go to tstc.edu.