Embry-Riddle Becomes Third FAA-Approved School
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Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has earned Federal Aviation Administration approval for a critical training initiative that offers students in its air traffic control program an accelerated employment path.
The FAA announced signed an agreement allowing Embry-Riddle to take part in the Enhanced Air Traffic Collegiate Training Initiative (AT-CTI). Through this program, graduates of Embry-Riddle’s Air Traffic Management program may be placed directly in FAA facilities for controller training, provided they pass the Air Traffic Skills Assessment (ATSA) exam and meet medical and security requirements.
Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach, Florida, campus is the third university to sign an agreement with the FAA for the Enhanced AT-CTI initiative, which was first announced in February.
Embry-Riddle’s Air Traffic Management program had to undergo an extensive audit by the FAA to show that it provides the same high-level curriculum and advanced technology offered at the FAA Air Traffic Controller Academy in Oklahoma City.
The technology includes an integrated system of new simulators connected with AI-assisted voice recognition, said Dr. Mike McCormick, associate professor and Air Traffic Management program coordinator at Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach Campus. The simulators will be installed in the three Air Traffic Control (ATC) labs on the Daytona Beach Campus in December by the contractor UFA, and a new curriculum will be introduced for the Spring 2025 semester, McCormick said.
The Enhanced AT-CTI program will allow Embry-Riddle students to prepare for and take the Air Traffic Skills Assessment exam on campus, McCormick said.
“We find that when students don’t make it at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City, it’s usually because of stress,” said McCormick. “With the Enhanced AT-CTI program, they will be among their peers and living here.”
Additionally, if students do not pass on their first attempt, they have a second chance at taking the test at the academy.
“The new program will save me time and money,” said Kyra Hanson, an Air Traffic Management student graduating in Spring 2025.
McCormick has been working for months to meet the FAA’s detailed criteria for the Enhanced AT-CTI program. Tulsa Community College and the University of Oklahoma were the first two schools approved, according to an FAA announcement in October.
Embry-Riddle’s Air Traffic Management program has 242 students at its Daytona Beach Campus.
