External equivalencies can be granted when you take a course outside of IAT, this would be a course that was not recorded in the IAT system by an IAT Instructor when you completed it.
A regular equivalency is granted when you take a course and an IAT Instructor records the class roster in the IAT system and you receive credit for that course as well as any A Courses that were granted as equivalencies.
For example you could take S-271 from an NWCG Instructor, you receive a certificate but the Instructor does not record the class within the IAT system. Or you could take an S-271 from an IAT Instructor who does record the class in the IAT system and it shows in your transcript as well as all the A Courses you were granted as equivalencies for taking that S-271.
The External Equivalency upload process allows students the opportunity to have those classes taken outside of IAT entered into their transcripts and be given credit for the appropriate A Courses as equivalencies.
The A Courses you receive as equivalencies for NWCG S Courses are dependant upon what course you took and what year you received credit. Please refer to the IAT Equivalency Timeline page or the IAT External Equivalency Quick Reference Document to determine what A Courses you will receive as equivalencies.
Currently we are only offering equivalencies identified in the list on the certificate upload form. The majority of courses offering equivalency are NWCG S Courses, however the IAT Sub-Committee has identified several other courses available for an equivalency. Please review the IAT External Equivalency Quick Reference Document for a list of all courses currently identified.
Equivalencies were first noted in the "Aviation Training 2000 - Aviation use and Management Qualifications Guide" dated January 1999. The IAT Sub-Committee determined we would be unable to offer any NWCG S Course to A Course equivalencies before 1999 as there is no documentation supporting equivalencies.
Yes, you can upload your IQCS Transcripts in lieu of your NWCG Certificate. Please keep in mind those documents can be quite large, if possible only upload the page that identifies "Employee Training History". The document must be in PDF format.
Uploaded external equivalencies will be verified and approved by your Unit Aviation Training Administrator (UATA). However if your Unit does not have a UATA, the certificate will be verified and approved by the IAT Administrative staff unless the course requires other approvals.
Some courses cannot be approved by the UATA, courses such as "A-220 Facilitative Instructor (e.g. M-410)" and "A-312E Approved Commercial Water Egress Training" will be routed through the appropriate Bureau/Agency for approval as noted in the IAT Guide.
Once you have uploaded your certificate(s) please visit your transcript page for a listing of "Pending Approvals" under the section titled "External Equivalencies". Below those pending approvals you will see the UATA(s) who will verify/approve your upload as well as their contact information. If you do not have a UATA assigned to your Unit the IAT Admin will be listed as the approver. If your certificate is of the type that requires other approvals you will see the IAT Admin listed as the approver. You can always contact the IAT Admin for more information.
Please allow at least 2 weeks for your certificate to be approved. If the certificate is not one that the UATA or IAT Admin is able to approve it could take longer to route through the appropriate Agency/Bureau representatives.
Yes, approved certificates will be shown in the External Equivalencies section of your transcript page. You can click on the certificate icon to view the certificate you uploaded. Additionally, Verifiers have the ability to attach supporting documents to your transcript if your certicate required other approvals such as from a National Aviation Manager. These additional supporting documents are shown as an icon with a V designating "Verification Document" in your transcript next to the certificate you uploaded.
RT-271 and RT-219 are not recognized courses by the Interagency Aviation Training system or the Federal Wildland Fire Qualifications Supplement. This has been discussed with the Interagency Aviation Training Subcommittee and the triennial requirement for the HELR position is a complete A-219 not a partial course. We need confirmation that this training was a complete A-219 (including field exercises), we can accept the certificate with a letter from the instructor stating it was a full A-219.