Colorado’s Aims Community College announced Tuesday that it has been designated an Enhanced Air Traffic Collegiate Training Initiative institution by the Federal Aviation Administration following an on-site evaluation in January. Aims said it is the first community college approved to offer both terminal and enroute air traffic control training pathways under the program, which is administered by the FAA.
“This designation places Aims at the forefront of air traffic control education nationwide,” said Dr. Leah L. Bornstein, the college’s president and CEO.
The designation allows qualified graduates who pass the FAA Air Traffic Skills Assessment and meet medical and security requirements to bypass training at the FAA Air Traffic Control Academy and proceed to facility-specific training if hired.
“I am very excited to see this program adapt relatively quickly to these dynamic aviation industries,” Eric Himler, executive director of aviation programs at Aims.
The FAA’s Enhanced AT-CTI program is intended to expand collegiate training options and support controller hiring needs.
A Government Accountability Office review found FAA controller staffing totaled 13,164 at the end of 2025, about 6 percent lower than in 2015, while the number of flights handled by the system increased about 10 percent over the same period.
Aims Community College said its air traffic control associate degree includes three semesters of simulator-based lab training and has recorded increased enrollment during the 2025–26 academic year, with capacity projected at 50 students by 2027.
The college also received the FAA’s nod for its aircraft maintenance program late last year, in December, when it became a Part 147 aviation maintenance school. That program is housed at the college’s Aircraft Maintenance Training Center at Northern Colorado Regional Airport.
