The FAA is taking steps to alleviate the lack of air traffic controllers and UND is a part of the solution. Aviation students will be able to participate in an enhanced air traffic control program in the spring semester.

Starting in the 2025 Spring Semester, the University of North Dakota students can enroll in the newly approved Enhanced Air Traffic Collegiate Training Initiative program.

Air traffic control graduates from the University of North Dakota will be able to bypass training at a Federal Aviation Administration academy and enter the workforce more quickly. The FAA announced Monday that UND is the latest of a select group of colleges to qualify for the Enhanced Air Traffic – Collegiate Training Initiative program.

Learn more about the contracts the Federal Aviation Administration awarded to four companies to provide air traffic control services as part of the FAA Contract Tower program.

Midwest Air Traffic Control Services secured the contracts for Areas 1, 4 and 5 at a combined ceiling of $518.2 million. Robinson Aviation won the contracts for Area 3, 6, 8 and 10 that are worth up to $597.2 billion altogether.

The technology aims to improve efficiency and safety in managing the airport's high flight volume. Its designed to work alongside human controllers, helping streamline decisions about aircraft movements on the ground and in the air.

The “Paper Planes” rapper signed to Jay-Z’s label Roc Nation in 2012 before leaving two years later.

The Federal Aviation Administration announced Monday the university would be the fourth in the nation to participate in its Enhanced Air Traffic-Collegiate Training Initiative.