OU air traffic control training program receives certification

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Nov 1, 2007 by Brian Brus

The University of Oklahoma has received certification for the Air Traffic College Training Initiative, a program expected to give OU's aviation students a hiring advantage with the Federal Aviation Administration after graduation, officials said Monday.

"Students that go through our program with an air traffic control minor will be granted an interview with the FAA," Aviation Department Director Glenn Schaumburg said. "And if they're accepted, they'll basically be able to bypass the first five weeks of the standard FAA academy training, which is stuff that we're teaching, and that is definitely a leg up."

The FAA began the initiative, or AT-CTI, in the early 1990s with a test program at four colleges. The University of Oklahoma was one of just 14 schools included in a long-awaited expansion of the initiative. In 2006, OU's aviation department and 32 other college programs had applied to the FAA for inclusion in the training program. Among those selected, OU met or exceeded all the standards and was ranked second in the country.

The FAA does not guarantee employment to graduates of AT-CTI schools. However, the program has evolved to become the primary source of hiring by the FAA for air traffic controller positions, Schaumburg said.

"Becoming a part of the Air Traffic College Training Initiative complements our aviation degree programs and supplements the minor in air traffic control available to our students," Schaumburg said. "We are pleased to offer this option which will further enhance our ability to train the next generation of aviation professionals."

Federal officials have said the FAA expects to lose as much as 70 percent of its air controller work force to retirement over the next decade. Many of those employees were hired when President Reagan responded to the 1981 strike of more than 11,000 air traffic controllers. The mandated age of retirement for the position is 56.

The first OU students who could take advantage of the certification will enter the job market as early as next year, Schaumburg said. Six students have completed all but one course in the minor; on graduation, they could apply for an FAA job right away, he said.

About 20 students have already declared the AT-CTI minor and have been taking those classes. Schaumburg said, "I think this is going to help our enrollment grow substantially."

The final course in the curriculum will begin in January. The lab the school is building now will look like an air traffic control tower with monitors to simulate radar screens and computer software to run traffic simulations, he said. "Ghost pilots" will provide realistic human feedback from a nearby room.