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 working to address a chronic shortage of approximately 3,000 certified air traffic controllers, which has led to widespread understaffing across over 90% of facilities and contributed to air travel disruptions.
A key strategy is the expansion of the Enhanced Air Traffic-Collegiate Training Initiative (E-CTI), with Sacramento City College becoming the 10th member institution to offer the program.
The E-CTI program replicates the FAA Academy curriculum and technology, allowing graduates to proceed directly to facility-specific training, thereby significantly boosting controller training capacity.
Complementary efforts to recruit and retain controllers include raising starting salaries by 30%, offering hiring and retention bonuses, streamlining the hiring process, and providing incentives for retirement-eligible controllers to continue working.

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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.