A training initiative at Max Westheimer Airpark could give the OU aviation program a leg up on other universities’ programs.

OU is one of nine colleges to be awarded the expansion of the Air Traffic Collegiate Training Initiative by the Federal Aviation Administration.

“The FAA is sponsoring selected colleges that have programs that offer the basic training for air traffic control,” said Cynthia Haley-Seikel, FAA air traffic control project manager.

This spring, OU aviation students will be able to take courses that will allow graduates to skip initial air traffic academy training upon employment with the Federal Aviation Administration.

The Max Westheimer Airpark, owned by OU, will house a new air traffic simulation lab created as part of a new aviation expansion. The project will be completed in December in preparation for the spring semester.

The lab is being created to offer students an environment similar to a real air traffic tower, Haley-Seikel said. It will have the same setup and feel, she said.

“Essentially, students will be looking at what they would be seeing in real life,” said Glenn Schaumburg, director of OU aviation.

The simulation lab will be the main focus of the final course in a six-series class requirement for a minor degree in air traffic control.

There are approximately 75 students currently enrolled in the air traffic minor program, Haley-Seikel said. This selective course will allow six students per semester to enact the roles of both air traffic controllers and pilots, learning in a real-world simulation.

“Students who complete the training will be eligible to bypass a five-week new-hire training required by the FAA,” Schaumburg said.

The FAA seeks new hires in three different categories: military, collegiate training initiative students and “off the street,” Schaumburg said.

Sixty percent of FAA employees come from training programs similar to OU’s, he said.

“We anticipate this to be a popular program, and we are thinking about opening extra sections,” Schaumburg said.

Among 32 other university programs that applied for the program, OU ranked second in the country for the disbursement of the program.

“We ranked highest in several areas in the evaluation process,” Schaumburg said.

The new training initiative will be required to be accredited each year to ensure the program is growing, Schaumburg said.

Haley-Seikel said through this program, OU’s aviation program will develop a deeper relationship with the FAA.

“We are excited because this project will broaden our horizons and our involvement with the FAA,” she said.