Embry-Riddle Students Provided Accelerated Path to ATC Jobs

In February 2024 the school and the agency entered into an agreement to create a program—Enhanced Air Traffic-Collegiate Training Initiative (AT-CTI)—to shorten the time between the classroom and the cab of a control tower. The program allows the students to receive FAA-academy-level training through ERAU Daytona.

The first four students have entered the testing process that includes a written exam and evaluations in simulators at the newly enhanced air traffic control labs on the Daytona Beach, Florida, campus.

The program was created to help the FAA boost the hiring of air traffic controllers (ATCs). In 2023 the agency hired 1,500 controllers and 1,800 in 2024. When hired out of a traditional academic program, the applicants must undergo training at an FAA facility.

The Enhanced AT-CTI program at Embry-Riddle lets students bypass training at the FAA’s academy in Oklahoma City, provided they pass the same rigorous evaluations. The agency has certified two faculty members at Embry-Riddle’s Air Traffic Management (ATM) program to evaluate the students, who are on track to complete testing before they graduate in May.

Students who pass the Air Traffic Skills Assessment (ATSA) exam and meet medical and security requirements may be sent directly to ATC facilities for further training.

“Whereas previously it would take one to two years for students to go through the process post-graduation, now they are able to enter into the workforce immediately,” said Mike McCormick, associate professor and ATM program director at Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach campus.

McCormick added that 26 Embry-Riddle students are on track to be assessed by the end of fall 2025.

 “Embry-Riddle is proud that these talented students are on track to have an immediate impact in strengthening the controller workforce,” said Embry-Riddle president P. Barry Butler.  “Thanks to our leading Air Traffic Management program, they are well prepared to help safeguard our nation’s aviation system and the flying public.”

According to the university, to earn approval for the Enhanced AT-CTI program, Embry-Riddle’s ATM program underwent an extensive audit by the FAA to verify that the curriculum and experience acquired in the simulators delivers the same high-level training administered at the agency's academy.

Much of the work is done in the Embry-Riddle ATC training labs incorporating the latest in simulator technology from UFA. The system offers an “all-in-one” air traffic control training platform featuring 270-degree control tower simulations with high-fidelity visualizations, state-of-the-art radar controller suites, and AI-enhanced speech recognition for real-time pilot interactions.

McCormick describes it as an “immersive, dynamic, air traffic environment” that meets and even exceeds the latest capabilities at the FAA’s training academy.

“Students feel as if they are working live air traffic and look, think and act as a professional air traffic controller,” he said.

Kyra Hanson, a senior at Embry-Riddle, is grateful for her involvement in the ATM and Enhanced AT-CTI programs.

“I think I have been given an amazing opportunity, and I am on the right track to be successful,” Hanson said. “The ability to get that time back and go straight into the workforce is a dream."

The Air Traffic Management program at the Daytona Beach campus has 122 students pursuing bachelor’s degrees and 148 students minoring in the program. All are eligible to take part in the Enhanced AT-CTI program. 

Embry-Riddle is one of the first three universities to begin evaluating students through the Enhanced AT-CTI program, according to an FAA spokesman.

Robert Sumwalt, former National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) chairman and executive director of the Boeing Center for Aviation and Aerospace Safety at Embry-Riddle, said programs like Embry-Riddle are needed.

“It’s essential to have Enhanced AT-CTI programs like the one at Embry-Riddle to improve air traffic controller staffing and contribute to the safety of our national airspace,” Sumwalt said.

At this time the Enhanced AT-CTI program is only available at the ERAU Daytona campus. However, school officials note that the Air Traffic Management program at ERAU in Prescott, Arizona, is in the process of getting an upgrade to its simulation system, and the program will undergo an FAA audit for inclusion in the Enhanced AT-CTI program. School officials said the program has 43 students and is the largest minor at the Arizona campus.

“There is clearly an increased demand for air traffic control specialists nationwide,” said Kyle Wilkerson, assistant professor and program chair of Air Traffic Management at the Prescott campus. “Embry-Riddle can help to meet this need by producing qualified and skilled candidates through elite training at our location in the West.”