Programs
Air Traffic Collegiate Training Initiative
The Federal Aviation Administration announced April 12 that Western Michigan University is one of five schools across the nation being added to the agency's Air Traffic Collegiate Training Initiative.
The AT-CTI program, first launched in 1990, helps recruit candidates for terminal and air traffic controller positions. WMU is the only school in Michigan to be part of the training network.
The goal is to prepare students who are ready to report directly to the FAA's Oklahoma City academy and bypass an initial five-week basics course. While jobs are not guaranteed to graduates of an AT-CTI program, about 41 percent of FAA new hires over the past five years have attended such a program.
- WMU/FAA Air Traffic Collegiate Training Initiative (AT-CTI) Partnership FAQ
- WMU/FAA Air Traffic Collegiate Training Initiative (AT-CTI) Course Planning
AT-CTI - Air Traffic-Collegiate Training Initiative
What is it?
The AT-CTI is an initiative by the FAA to allow collegiate institutions to deliver a portion of the academic part of the air traffic controllers course normally conducted at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City. The recent announcement about schools selected to be part of this, including WMU, brings the number of institutions up to 36 in the nation.
What does it do for me?
First of all, completing one of these programs does not give preference for hiring. Candidates would still have to go through the FAA selection procedure to be accepted into training as an air traffic controller. However, the program delivers the ATC Basics course, normally delivered in Oklahoma City. Thus candidates who have completed this program would, if selected, be part of a cohort which would enter the academy at a stage after the basics course - shortening the academy training by around five weeks.
What does WMU do now?
The College of Aviation has been selected to provide an AT-CTI program. At this point, this is all we know. The FAA have now sent us a package with full details including curriculum framework and timeline for implementation. Once we have studied that, we will be joining a conference call with FAA reps to gain further details. The curriculum includes the objectives for the ATC Basics course and we then have to devise a satisfactory method of delivery.
Who to Contact
Point of contact for requests for information will be Ryan Seiler on (269)964-6652 or ryan.seiler@wmich.edu. If available please refer all enquiries to him from this point forward. If not then this document is to be used as a basis for answering enquiries.
