Dec. 9—GRAND FORKS — UND is now one of a handful of schools in the country with the ability to graduate air traffic controllers directly into the workforce, under an agreement with the Federal Aviation Administration.
The federal program allows students enrolled in air traffic management at select schools to bypass the FAA’s Air Traffic Controller Academy in Oklahoma City, instead completing that part of their training as part of their degree program.
UND’s air traffic management program is the fourth to qualify for the Enhanced Air Traffic-Collegiate Training Initiative, according to an FAA press release sent out Monday.
U.S. Sen. John Hoeven pushed for the program and
called for UND to be its first member school
in a March press event.
“Top four is good, but what’s more important is we’re going to have the best program and make the biggest impact,” said Hoeven, R-N.D.
The university is host to one of the largest air traffic management programs in the country. It was already part of the Air Traffic-Collegiate Training Initiative, which allowed graduates to skip the first five weeks of initial qualification training in Oklahoma City.
Past graduates of UND’s air traffic management program have had to wait years to enter the workforce after completing their degrees, said Craig Carlson, an associate aviation professor who serves as assistant chair of UND’s air traffic management program.
That process was further slowed by a bottleneck created by a limited number of seats at the FAA Academy.
Now, “the goal is to have them placed within a few weeks of graduation into a tower facility somewhere in the U.S.,” Carlson said.
The country is currently struggling with a shortfall of air traffic controllers, leading to current employees working longer hours and retiring later.
The FAA has announced plans to hire 2,000 new air traffic controllers in 2025, after hiring more than 1,800 this year.
Hoeven said North Dakota could use those air traffic controllers as much as the rest of the nation, pointing to demand at Fargo Hector International Airport in particular.
A handful of Class of 2025 graduates are expected to partake in the enhanced program beginning in January, Carlson said; faculty are still gauging interest in the new program.
One instructor is currently qualified to teach the new program, Carlson said, and the university is planning to hire one more for the fall.