Ohio State boosts air traffic control careers with FAA partnership

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Air traffic control has been in the news a lot lately, plagued by staffing shortages and tech issues. The Ohio State University is hoping to alleviate that shortage by training up the next generation of air traffic controllers.

The university already has a robust aviation program to get students ready to become pilots or manage airlines. However, the university is also looking to train the next generation of air traffic controllers through the FAA’s Air Traffic-Collegiate Training Initiative. 

It allows partnering colleges and universities to teach specific curriculum applying to air traffic control. Graduates will be able to bypass the first five weeks of initial qualification training at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City.

“One of the benefits of that instead of going to the academy, you get an aviation degree,” said Melanie Dickman, a lecturer for the Center for Aviation Studies at Ohio State. “We spend four years diving into aviation. We’re looking at weather, all the things affecting air traffic control and all the things affecting aviation and study it thoroughly.”

Dickman said the university’s program is expected to get the green light from the FAA by the fall and said there’s been an increasing interest in the program. She said five students who are ready to go once the school gets the go ahead. They will graduate with the requirements to bypass some of the training at the FAA Academy if they so choose to be an air traffic controller.

“We just keep growing, so I say bring them. What we hope to give the FAA is a lot of qualified graduate applicant,” Dickman said.

Being an air traffic controller is one of the most stressful careers and has a required retirement age of 56. There are waivers to allow controllers to work past 56, but it’s not common. 

“The controllers are some of the most dedicated aviation professionals I’ve ever met in my life. They’re passionate about what they do. They’re there because they want to help and understand the responsibilities,” said Dickman. “They have to be a jack of all trades. They have to think three or four steps ahead and they always have to have a plan B.”

There is also a student organization devoted to focusing on the work of air traffic controllers and the National Air Space. The Buckeye Air Traffic Control Association aims to provide a platform for students interested in the careers to come together and explore their options. The organization is currently led by air transportation student Darya Rebeta.

“I could definitely see myself as an air traffic controller,” she said. “As our OSU tower manager likes to tell us, we’re a customer service agency, we’re helping the pilots, we’re helping the passengers. We coordinate that dance for them.”

Dickman said once Ohio State gets it’s certification to be a Collegiate Training Initiative school, it plans to push for the next step of being an Enhanced Collegiate Training Initiative school. That enhanced rating would allow graduates to completely bypass the FAA Academy training because it meets all the same requirements as the academy training.