| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Type | Private, for-profit career school; hybrid programs (online theory, on-campus shop labs) |
| Campus | 1, in Saint Ann, MO (St. Louis area) |
| Programs | 2: HVAC/R (certificate) and Residential Electricity, plus optional 8-week electives |
| Length | 8 months (two 16-week courses) |
| Accreditation | None found; withdrew from ACCSC effective 9 September 2025 while on probation |
| State approval | The school says it is certified by the Missouri Coordinating Board for Higher Education |
| Federal aid | No; private financing and outside scholarships |
| Students | 154 (IPEDS 2024) |
| Facts checked | October 2026 |
American Trade School: two hybrid trade programs in the St. Louis area
American Trade School (ATS) is a private, for-profit school in Saint Ann, Missouri, in the St. Louis area. It teaches two trades, heating and air conditioning (HVAC/R) and residential electrical work, and IPEDS counted 154 students in 2024, all full-time. Both programs were shortened and changed to a hybrid format: two 16-week courses, with theory online and practice in the school’s shop, followed by optional 8-week electives.
Two changes in 2025 affect every applicant. The school has had no accreditor that we could find since September 2025, when it withdrew from the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC) while on probation, and it says federal student aid is not available, so students pay through private financing or outside scholarships.
HVAC/R and electrical programs
| Program | Credential | Length | Delivery | Prepares for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration (HVAC/R) Installer/Servicer | Certificate | 8 months; optional 8-week electives | Hybrid: online theory, shop labs in Saint Ann | EPA Section 608, OSHA 10; related-instruction hours toward HVAC, sheet metal and pipefitter apprenticeships |
| Residential Electricity | Not named by the school; a certificate in federal (IPEDS) data | 8 months; optional 8-week electives | Hybrid: online theory, shop labs in Saint Ann | OSHA 10 |
The school says its HVAC/R program is recognized by the St. Louis chapter of ACCA and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Apprenticeship, so its hours count as related instruction in a registered apprenticeship. Neither program includes an externship, and neither has programmatic accreditation. Some pages on the school’s site still give an older, longer program length; the program pages and the September 2025 schedule give 8 months.
What the two programs cover
HVAC/R Installer/Servicer
The first course, HVAC101, introduces refrigeration and electrical systems, and students take the EPA Section 608 refrigerant exam through ESCO and the OSHA 10 safety card during it. HVAC102 moves on to air conditioning and heating. Each course runs 16 weeks, with theory online and practice in the shop. Two optional 8-week electives can be taken straight after or later: HVAC103 Residential Installation and HVAC104 Boilers and Piping. The school lists HVAC service, installation, commercial refrigeration and maintenance jobs as targets.
Residential Electricity
ELEC101 Basic Electricity covers AC theory, the National Electrical Code, GFCI protection, 120/240-volt services and transformers, plus low-voltage work such as security systems, PoE, coax, CCTV and fire alarms; OSHA 10 is taken in this course. ELEC102 Residential Electricity takes students through wiring a single-family home, from the service calculation to final inspection, including AFCI retrofits and a mock inspection. Optional 8-week electives cover commercial wiring methods (three-phase, feeders, panelboards, raceways) and commercial motor applications (starters, protection, lockout/tagout).
Cost: ask for the current tuition sheet
The school’s 2026-27 tuition could not be confirmed. Its two tuition information sheets (revised September 2025 and marked “prices are subject to change”) are image-only files that could not be read, so ask the school for the current price in writing. The last federal figure is $24,600 in tuition and fees for 2024-25, for the older 15-month HVAC and Electrical programs, plus books and supplies of $3,144 for HVAC and $2,870 for Electrical, according to IPEDS data published by CollegeTuitionCompare. The shorter 8-month programs may cost a different amount.
Federal student aid (Title IV) is not available for either program, according to the school’s financing page. Instead it offers private financing through Lumion at 0% to 8% interest, with no prepayment penalty and approval that the school says is not based on credit history; it must be repaid. It also points students to outside scholarships from the Mike Rowe Works Foundation, the SkillPointe Foundation and Bring Back The Trades, without amounts. The site does not mention GI Bill or other VA benefits, so veterans should ask before enrolling.
Admissions, starts and class times
Applicants must be at least 17½ and have a high school diploma, GED or HiSET; the school mentions no entrance test. Listed start dates are 15 February 2027, 14 June 2027 and 11 October 2027. The day schedule runs from 8:30 am to 1 pm and the evening schedule from 6 to 10:30 pm.
Out of ACCSC since September 2025; no accreditor found
ATS is no longer accredited by ACCSC. The commission put the school on Warning in February 2025 for not submitting its audited financial statements for fiscal year 2023, and on Probation in May 2025.
In August 2025 ACCSC continued the Probation, giving the school a final opportunity to file its fiscal 2023 and 2024 audited statements by 10 September 2025.
ATS withdrew from ACCSC voluntarily, effective 9 September 2025, while still on Probation, according to the commission’s list of withdrawals. ACCSC cited late audited financial statements, not student-achievement results, as the reason for the Warning and Probation.
The school’s website still shows a “Nationally Accredited” badge but names no accrediting agency, and we found no other accreditor. The school says it is certified by the Missouri Coordinating Board for Higher Education; state certification is not accreditation.
| Measure (IPEDS 2024) | Result |
|---|---|
| Students enrolled | 154, all full-time |
| Completed within 150% of normal time | About 64% |
| Full-time retention | 84% |
| Certificates awarded | 61 (HVAC 40, Electrical 21) |
These figures come from federal IPEDS data published by Data USA, and they describe students in the older programs, before the change to the 8-month hybrid format. The school publishes no job-placement rate and no EPA 608 or OSHA 10 pass rates.
Before you enroll
- The school is not accredited by any agency we could find. Ask what its “Nationally Accredited” badge refers to, and check whether employers, apprenticeship sponsors or other schools you care about will accept its certificate or credits.
- There is no federal aid. Lumion financing is private financing at up to 8% interest, so the total repaid can be more than the tuition.
- No current tuition is published in readable form, and the last federal figure ($24,600 in 2024-25) was for the older, longer programs. Get the 2026-27 price and the refund policy in writing.
- Missouri has no statewide electrician licence, and the school does not say how the Residential Electricity program fits local licensing such as St. Louis County’s. Unlike HVAC/R, it states no apprenticeship credit.
- The school publishes no placement or exam pass rates. The career office offers individual placement support, résumé and interview help and employer matching, and says no school can guarantee placement or starting salaries.
The Saint Ann campus
The only campus is at 3925 Industrial Drive, Saint Ann, MO 63074, in the St. Louis area. Both programs’ shop labs are here; theory is online. There is no student housing.
Career help, no externships
Career services give individual placement support, résumé and interview help and matching with employers. The school names no partner employers and has no externships.
Facts checked October 2026.
Programs & Courses
HVAC/R
- Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Installer/Servicer (certificate, 8 months, hybrid)
- Elective: Residential Installation (8 weeks)
- Elective: Boilers and Piping (8 weeks)
Electrical
- Residential Electricity Program (8 months, hybrid)
- Elective: Commercial Wiring Methods (8 weeks)
- Elective: Commercial Motor Applications (8 weeks)
Campus Locations
St. Louis (Saint Ann), MO 3925 Industrial Drive, Saint Ann, MO 63074