*Course must be completed one year from your registration date.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The purpose of this course is to provide instruction in the fundamental principles involved in wastewater treatment plant operation. Wastewater treatment practices vary widely across the country; however, a number of distinct processes can usually be identified in any treatment plant. The course deals with both theoretical and practical aspects of these processes and is intended to provide the basic knowledge necessary for you to begin a career in the wastewater treatment field.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

At the end of this course, student will be able to:

•  Recognize the responsibilities of wastewater treatment plant operation and process control
•  Identify safe operating procedures, proper sampling, and laboratory testing techniques
•  Summarize the basic biology, chemistry, mathematics, biological and physical processes associated with wastewater treatment
•  Develop test taking skills by completing quizzes and tests that cover the material discussed in each lesson

Required Textbook (included with registration fee)

"Wastewater Treatment Plant Operations, Class C&B Online Training Course” 2021

Please allow 2-3 weeks for shipping. Books will be shipped out after your registration has been processed and payment is made. You are able to begin the course and familiarize yourself with the course content before the book arrives.*Students from outside the continental United States will charged an additional shipping fee for their course material. Please contact us with any questions.

This University of Florida Training, Research, and Education for Environmental Occupations (UF TREEO) course Wastewater Treatment Plant Operations Class C&B training course is recognized by Florida's Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) Operator Certification Program as a prerequisite for taking either the class "C" level and/or the class “B” level wastewater operator certification exam. This course provides 150 contact hours or 15 CEUs. 

If you are eligible for CEUs for this course: You will be responsible for providing your license information at the completion of your course. We will provide confirmation once your information has been submitted. Make sure you read to the bottom for online course access requirements.

For assistance with this online course, please contact questions@ad.ufl.edu.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

Anyone interested in gaining knowledge of operation and maintenance of a community wastewater system including owners, managers, supervisors, chief operators, shift operators, trainees, laboratory personnel and maintenance workers of a municipal wastewater treatment system. This course is approved to take the FDEP Class C and/or Class B Wastewater Operator exam.  Your certificate of completion is good for five years; therefore, the class C or B wastewater state exam should be taken within this time period.

Students, please be aware to qualify for the state exam you will need either a high school diploma or a FL Dept. of Education approved GED.  Online GED's are not accepted by FDEP.

STUDENT TESTIMONIALS

“The online course allows you to work at your own pace.”

“I really liked the quizzes and being able to communicate with the instructors.”

“The course had material that was pretty clear to understand. I liked the books that came along with the course.”

“I liked how thorough the course was and how many different ways the information was presented.”

“The information within each module was presented well.”

INSTRUCTOR BIOGRAPHIES

Ron Trygar, CET

Ron Trygar, CET/CIT is the Senior Training Specialist for Water and Wastewater programs at the University of Florida TREEO Center.  Ron entered the water and wastewater treatment field soon after graduating high school in 1983, and during the past 38+ years he has worked his way up the career ladder from Plant Mechanic/Operator Assistant to become a Treatment Plant Chief Operator, a Project Manager Intern for a worldwide operations firm, as an Education Specialist in the US Virgin Islands and as a Process Control Specialist at Hillsborough County Public Utilities Division. Ron has been employed at UF TREEO Center for more than 14 years, teaching most all the drinking water and wastewater treatment courses. Ron has also developed many online courses that are approved by the Florida DEP and many other states as plant operator exam prerequisites. Ron is an accomplished author of many laboratory and troubleshooting related articles for Treatment Plant Operator (TPO) magazine. Ron has been a Certified Environmental Trainer (CET) and Certified Instructional Technologist (CIT) through the National Environmental, Safety and Health Training Association (NESHTA) since 1998, as well as obtaining Master Environmental, Safety and Health Trainer status in 2021. Ron currently holds Florida Class A Wastewater Operator and Class B Drinking Water Operator licenses, and voluntary certification through the Southeast Desalting Association (SEDA) as a Membrane Treatment Plant Operator. Ron has also been a member of the Florida DEP Operator Certification Program’s Water and Wastewater Exam Review Committee since 1997.

ABOUT THE TEXTBOOK AUTHOR

James Clifton

James (Jim) Clifton holds a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Science in biology. He was initiated into the wastewater field in 1980 by starting up a facility upgrade in Seaford, Delaware. In 1985 Mr. Clifton joined the staff at the University of Florida’s Center for Training Research and Education for Environmental Occupations (TREEO), shortly after he obtained his Florida Class A Wastewater Treatment Operator certification. Initial responsibilities involved providing training and technical assistance to small non-compliant municipal wastewater treatment facilities throughout Florida. The position evolved to developing and delivering new continuing education training programs for wastewater personnel. In 1997 Mr. Clifton left TREEO to assume the superintendent position in Manchester, Connecticut. In 2000, with the prospect of participating in the design, construction, and operation of a nitrogen removal facility, he accepted the superintendent position at the Simsbury, Connecticut facility. Mr. Clifton retired from day-to-day operations in 2013. While in Connecticut he obtained a Class IV Wastewater Operator Certification and served on the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection’s Certification Advisory Committee as the Educator for 14 years. In 2013 Mr. Clifton received the William D. Hatfield award from the New England Water Environment Association and the Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator Excellence Award from the New England EPA. However, Mr. Clifton has not been able to fully relinquish participation in a profession and organization he loves and stays involved by contributing to TREEO’s mission as a trainer.

Link to Instructor Biographies

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

COURSE STRUCTURE

You will have one year from your registration date to complete your course. Unlike a traditional classroom-based course, you do not need to show up to class at a specific time every day to participate in this online course. Instead, you complete lesson presentations, reading, assignments, and quizzes/tests all online. Although some of these activities will be ungraded, you are still required to complete them. This fully online course is designed to be flexible and self-paced. The lesson sequence used in this online course generally follows the chapter sequence in the course manuals, "Wastewater Treatment Plant Operations, Class C&B Online Training Course” 2021. The course consists of three modules that are broken up into a total of 26 lessons. 

Requirements for Online Courses:

• You should be computer literate and familiar with PC-based systems to participate in the online courses
• Prepayment is required before you will receive log-in information, including address and password
• You must provide an email address at time of registration/payment
• Course must be completed within one year from your date of registration. Course access can be extended for a fee.
• Certificate will be issued on the date you pass the final exam.

Accessing the course:

• Student will receive course access once the registration has been processed by our office during normal business hours.
• If you are taking a refresher course, we will first verify your elgibility. Your registration might be placed on hold until this is completed. If you are not elgible to take a refresher based on our record, we will contact you.

Once the registration has been processed by our office, you can expect the following:

• An email will be sent to you asking to complete your enrollment.
• Follow the link to the Enroll Now page.
• You will be asked to create your login using an external identifier. The University of Florida has approved the use of Facebook, LinkedIn, or Google (Gmail) to enter our courses. You can use an existing account for this course. You will want to make sure you know your credentials for this outside account.
• The use of an external identifier as listed above is required to enter our courses. We cannot provide another method of access to the course.
• If you are unsure about any of these requirements, please contact us before you register, and we'll be happy to assist.

Successful Completion

Instructions will be available in your online course for how to view and print your certificate of successful completion once you have met the following requirements:

•  Complete all assignments
•  Score at least 70% on each test/exam
•  Earn an overall course grade of at least 70%

Students must sign up separately for the state Level-C Exam. For more information about the state exam, go to the FDEP Website.

The UF TREEO website provides helpful hints on how to become certified in Florida as a Class C Water/Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator. If you live outside of the state of Florida, please visit your state operator certification program.

System Requirements:

• Operating Systems
• Windows 7 and newer
• Mac OSX 10.6 and newer
• Linux - chromeOS
• Mobile Operating System Native App Support
• iOS 7 and newer (versions vary by device)
• Android 4.2 and newer
• Computer Speed and Processor
• Use a computer 5 years old or newer when possible
• 1GB of RAM
• 2GHz processor
• Internet Speed
• Along with compatibility and web standards, Canvas has been carefully crafted to accommodate low bandwidth environments.
• Minimum of 512kbps
• Screen Readers
• Macintosh: VoiceOver (latest version for Safari)
• PC: JAWS (latest version for Internet Explorer)
• PC: NVDA (latest version for Firefox)

ADDITIONAL POLICIES

UNIVERSITY POLICY ON ACCOMMODATING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

Students requesting accommodation for disabilities must contact UF TREEO registrar, Kady Morris at kadymorris@treeo.ufl.edu.  Accommodations are not retroactive; therefore, students should contact the office before registering for the course.

UNIVERSITY POLICY ON ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT

Academic honesty and integrity are fundamental values of the University community. Students should be sure that they understand the UF Student Honor Code