DWC helps fill U.S. Air Traffic Controller shortage
training young people and adults for exciting careers in ATC

April 29, 2005 -- As the nation’s need for air traffic controllers expands over the next 10 years, Daniel Webster College is expanding its degree programs and classroom technology to prepare professionals for the growing vacancies in this exciting and well-paid career field. 

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), large numbers of air traffic controllers will become eligible to retire over the next decade, potentially creating 12,500 job openings. The median annual earnings for an air traffic controller in 2002 were $91,600.

According to DWC’s Jill Day ’06 of Manchester, a transfer student in the College’s day school, “I started taking flying lessons in Phoenix, AZ, in 1999, and found although I enjoyed flying, I was more fascinated by what was going on in the tower.” 

Day investigated a college in California, but decided to look elsewhere since the school only offered an associate degree program. “In order to become a manager in the ATC program you have to have a baccalaureate degree, so Daniel Webster College made more sense to me,” she said.

DWC is now adding an accelerated ATC program for adult learners who already hold degrees or have adequate college credits to qualify for the program. Classes begin in September 2005 and students can register now for the program and/or call 603-577-6000 for more information. Graduates will earn a Bachelor of Science degree in aviation/air traffic management in as little as sixteen months by attending classes two evenings per week.

Daniel Webster College is one of only 10 colleges offering Bachelor of Science degrees in Air Traffic Management under the FAA’s Air Traffic Collegiate Training Initiative. DWC brings a wealth of experience and one of the longest histories to the program, having offered ATC courses since 1970 and a Bachelor of Science degree in air traffic management since 1975.

With much excitement, the College recently expanded its Air Traffic Control (ATC) Lab, moving it to The Business Center at Daniel Webster College, adjacent to the DWC Tamposi Aviation Center at Boire Field in Nashua, just a 5-minute walk from the main campus.

In June, new radar simulators by UFA Inc. will replace the existing radar terminal simulators in the ATC Lab. The new simulators feature greatly enhanced communications and voice recognition features, as well as more powerful software that make it easier for instructors to program the wider variety and more complicated scenarios needed to simulate both en-route and approach control. 

The ATC Lab also features a newly installed Adacel Tower Simulation Suite, featuring the latest technology and computer features that give students realistic simulation of control tower operation. The student sits in front of three large, color flat-panel displays that simulate the windows of an airport control tower, and interacts with other students at computers who are “piloting” planes into the airport.

According to ATC Professor Roger G. Bacchieri, “The new simulators are the backbone of an expanded Air Traffic Control Lab that will allow the College to teach all aspects of air traffic control operations – tower, approach and en-route.”

“Having access to technology that simulates the latest equipment in use by the FAA means our students do not just memorize theory from a text book and regurgitate it back on a test,” Bacchieri added. “The simulations are of real life day-to-day and potential emergency scenarios they will encounter as controllers.  They have to make decision during the scenarios just as if they were actually doing it for real.”

Professor Bacchieri agrees that students have to learn that it takes effort to do well in classes, and they take that with them and do well at the FAA training.

According to Bacchieri, students have another advantage at DWC because the College has a comprehensive aviation degree program that offers more than just air traffic management.

“When the ATC students are in an air safety class with others who are majoring in aviation operations and flight, they see aviation safety issues from three perspectives – the controllers’, the airport scheduling and support personnel, and the pilots themselves. This really enhances their educational experience.”

Dr. Robert Sweo, dean of DWC’s Graduate and Continuing Studies division noted,  “There are very few fields where you can make upwards of $100,000 with just a bachelor’s degree. Our new accelerated evening program will get students through as quickly as is educationally sound while they can continue working during the day.” 

FAA regulations require that individuals receive their initial appointment as an air traffic controller before their 31^st birthday; therefore students will not typically be accepted into the evening program after their 28^th birthday.

The College is currently recruiting both full time and adjunct faculty for the air traffic management program and will continue to do so over the next several years as the program expands.

For more information about Daniel Webster College and its aviation/air traffic management degree programs serving both traditional and adult learners, visit www.dwc.edu or call 603-577-6000