I agree with you Shane yet, it took you 110 more hours to accomplish what you did than the OP and in my book, that's a big difference from 210 hours of training to achieve similar results with respect to the range of qualification exams this students was trained for.
Look, I'm not saying that he could not have achieved such a range of qualifications as well and successfully completed the other courses within the noted time frame...
I just mentioned that it is questionable for someone unaware of the format & curriculum layout with respect to the course materials used in order for this student to complete this amount of training in such a short amount of time, and to such a specific AWS SENSE level course in order to meet it's minimum requirements... Unless there were only a relatively few amount of total students which would in turn provide an environment that would be very conducive to accelerated learning potential...
So you see Shane, It is indeed quite possible that the student did accomplish what is stated in the certification paper providing that the conditions were optimal so that one could produce such results. However, without enough details mentioned, and as an educator who has taught a variety of curriculum with respect to welding science & physics, and welding technology & metallurgy, I will instinctively question this achievement for further clarification regarding the details of the course environment to satisfy my curiosity & skepticism regarding the comparatively short amount of time used to complete such a course of this scope and size.
Finally, if one has never taught to AWS SENSE level qualification courses, one would not understand in depth the details & assignments necessary in order to meet their minimum requirements... I on the other hand have taught all three level courses many times... And these entail AWS qualifications with their respective WPS which do not fall under the scope of ASME Section IX, so the two processes are indeed considered separate according to the referenced code found in the certification paper.
And AWS SENSE Level One does not include a portion of the listed mandatory qualifications (GTAW 6G carbon steel isn't a requirement in Level I as Larry pointed out to us previously, and would require an additional amount of time in order to adequately train the student to this procedure) shown in this students certification... The average amount of time necessary for a student to complete the Entry Level qualification is usually a bit longer than what is listed yet, for all intended purposes, this student might just be above average as well.
So I also congratulate the student for successfully completing such a course under such extraordinary conditions.
Respectfully,
Henry