Central ND News

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Senator John Hoeven and leaders from the University of North Dakota’s (UND) John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences have put forth plans to collaborate with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in order to tackle the air traffic controller (ATC) shortage. Senator Hoeven expressed his vision for UND to become the pioneering university in the country where ATC program graduates can seamlessly transition into the workforce without having to attend the FAA’s ATC Academy in Oklahoma.

"UND is the number one aviation school in the nation, with more than 500 faculty and staff and 2,000 students creating a world-renowned center for aviation education, research and training. We made UND the first UAS CTI school in 2020 and the first Vets2Wings program in 2022. With our ATC Hiring Reform Act, we enhanced UND’s ability to expedite ATC training. As a CTI school, UND ATC graduates skip the first five weeks of initial qualification training at the FAA Academy, and now UND has the opportunity to again lead the way as the first school to send ATC graduates directly into the workforce," Senator Hoeven highlighted.

"This first-in-the-nation partnership opportunity at UND is all about getting graduates into the workforce quicker. By empowering this world-class aviation school to enhance its ATC training program, we can remove bottlenecks and better meet demand for qualified air traffic controllers in North Dakota and across the nation," added Senator Hoeven.