Air traffic control program offers students an accelerated employment path
FLUSHING, N.Y., April 9, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved Vaughn College to offer a training program for an accelerated employment pathway to become an air traffic controller.
The FAA announced on April 9, 2025 that it had signed an agreement with Vaughn College to partner on the Enhanced Air Traffic Collegiate Training Initiative (AT-CTI). Through the Enhanced AT-CTI program, graduates may be placed directly into FAA facilities for controller training (bypassing training time at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma), provided they pass Vaughn's requirements, the FAA's Air Traffic Skills Assessment exam and meet medical and security requirements.
Vaughn College's is the fifth institution to sign an agreement with the FAA and the first in northeast.
"We are proud to be among the first institutions to be included in the Enhanced AT-CTI program and to be a critical partner in the effort to attract and expand the number of air traffic controllers," said Vaughn College President Sharon B. DeVivo. "The workforce demand is particularly critical in the New York metropolitan region and graduates will contribute to the ongoing safety and convenience of our national airspace system."
Since 1997, Vaughn has offered air traffic controller training and graduates are employed throughout the region including LaGuardia, John F. Kennedy International and Westchester airports and across the country in facilities such as Miami and Alaska.
To provide this new accelerated pathway to employment, Vaughn's program underwent an extensive review by the FAA to demonstrate that it provides a high-level curriculum, taught by well-qualified, knowledgeable instructors who have held positions as air traffic controllers themselves, and utilizes advanced technology mirroring the training experience offered by the FAA.
"A clear Vaughn advantage to training here is the instructors," said Vice President of Training Domenic Proscia. "Students are excited to be learning from instructors who spent their careers managing some of the most complex airspace in the world who are invested in creating the next generation of controllers."
Another clear advantage to training at Vaughn is that students can stay in New York while completing their training. In addition, students who do not pass on their first attempt are able to have a second opportunity at the Academy.
"It's a testament to their program, that Vaughn is working with the federal government—right in Queens—to help make our skies safer, our travel better and ATC training local." —U.S. Senator Charles Schumer
ABOUT VAUGHN COLLEGE
Founded in 1932, Vaughn College is a private, nonprofit four-year college that enrolls more than 1,300 students in master's, bachelor's, and associate degree programs in engineering, technology, management, and aviation on its main campus in New York City and online. The student-faculty ratio of 14 to 1 ensures a highly personalized learning environment. Ninety-five percent of Vaughn College graduates, seventy-eight percent in their field of study, are placed in professional positions or choose to continue their education within one year of graduation. Vaughn College serves many first-generation Americans and first-generation college students and is recognized by the US Department of Education as a Hispanic-serving institution. In a study conducted by The Equality of Opportunity Project and reported in The New York Times, Vaughn was ranked number one in upward mobility nationwide. For more information on Vaughn College, please visit http://www.vaughn.edu.
Media Contact
Nicholas Ingenito, Vaughn College, 718-429-6600, [email protected], vaughn.edu
Maureen Kiggins, Vaughn College, 718-429-6600, [email protected], vaughn.edu
SOURCE Vaughn College
Share this article