10 U.S. Schools Now Let ATC Candidates Skip FAA Academy

Sacramento City College becomes the 10th American institution to join the agency’s Enhanced Air Traffic-Collegiate Training Initiative (E-CTI).

Jack Daleo

Friday, January 23, 2026 at 10:00 AM ET

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Jack Daleo

Air traffic management student Hailee Williamson trains in the tower lab at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, one of 10 Enhanced Air Traffic-Collegiate Training Initiative (E-CTI) schools. [Credit: Embry‑Riddle/Bill Fredette-Huffman]

Key Takeaways:

The FAA is actively addressing a chronic shortage of approximately 3,000 certified professional air traffic controllers (CPCs), which has led to widespread understaffing at facilities and air traffic disruptions.
A key strategy is the expansion of the Enhanced Air Traffic-Collegiate Training Initiative (E-CTI), with Sacramento City College recently joining as the 10th institution offering FAA Academy-level training, allowing graduates to proceed directly to facility training.
Beyond E-CTI, the FAA has implemented several recruitment and retention initiatives, including increased starting salaries, streamlined hiring processes, performance bonuses for new hires and those in hard-to-staff locations, and measures to retain retirement-eligible controllers.
Despite ambitious hiring targets for the coming years (aiming for 8,900 new personnel by 2028), the FAA also anticipates significant controller attrition, highlighting the ongoing challenge in fully staffing the system.

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The FAA is expanding its capacity to train air traffic controllers (ATCs) as it contends with a chronic shortage of about 3,000 certified professional controllers (CPCs).

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Thursday announced Sacramento City College in California as the 10th member of the FAA’s Enhanced Air Traffic-Collegiate Training Initiative (E-CTI). The E-CTI provides the exact same curriculum and technology as the FAA’s ATC Academy in Oklahoma City.