Warren Community College is proud to announce that it has been selected by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for its Unmanned Aircraft Systems-Collegiate Training Initiative (UAS-CTI).

“Being a part of this initiative paves the way for our students to enter the fields of drone technology and piloting with the reassurance that their education prepared them for jobs in government and beyond,” said Dr. Will Austin, President of Warren Community College and the college’s Chief Pilot. “We are only one of a few colleges around the country to have this program. It is an incredible opportunity for the college and a nod to how the industry acknowledges what we’ve done already with our drone program in just a few short years. This will be a tremendous benefit for our students in myriad ways and I would anticipate that this program will also attract many students from not only the region, but from throughout the Northeast.”

Dr. Austin added, “This will be the first of many industry-based certifications we plan to achieve by the start of the Spring 2021 semester. My plan is for Warren to be recognized by more professional organizations than any other drone program in the world.”

The FAA’s UAS-CTI program recognizes institutions that prepare students for careers in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), commonly referred to as drones. In order to qualify, schools must meet degree-offering criteria and provide a curriculum that includes hands-on flight practice and covers maintenance, uses, applications, privacy concerns, safety, and federal policies.

As part of the initiative, WCC will be part of a collaborative relationship that will include opportunities for dialogue between the college and government, law enforcement, and regional economic development groups. The initiative aims, in part, to help address labor force needs in this rapidly growing field.

This is not the first time the FAA has put its mark of approval on WCC’s burgeoning drone training program. In early February 2020, WCC became the first community college in the nation to get an FAA waiver to fly drones over people not directly involved in their operations. Many major news outlets and Fortune 500 companies still have not earned that designation.

The drone training program at WCC was established about four years ago as UAVs became more and more prominent in a growing list of fields, from photography to inspections, to agriculture, to national defense, to search and rescue. To aid its quickly growing program, the college built a state-of-the-art training laboratory and one-of-a-kind outdoor flight training center.

Warren Community College offers degree and certificate pathways on a variety of levels in drone technology. Learn more at warren.edu/drones.