VATUSA Training Academy

Academy Procedures

Enrollment Procedures
Division Open Enrollment Procedures
Graduation Procedures
Staff Recruitment & Eligibility

Enrollment Procedures

When a new member joins the VATUSA Division they receive an email from the Division Director which includes their password to the VATUSA site and Certification Center. In this email members wishing to learn ATC are instructed to complete the Academy enrollment form located at www.vatusa.net/training/academy_enroll.html.
Upon submitting the enrollment form new members will be assigned the Academy Entrance Exam, to be completed at the VATUSA Certification Center, and will receive notification once the test is available to be taken.
Upon successful completion of the Academy Entrance exam (80% and higher) the member receives the Student rating and is automatically enrolled in the VATUSA Training Academy. An email is sent to the student with the Academy website URL and instructions on how to login and how to check the weekly class schedule for available lectures and labs.

Note: Any member that joined VATUSA as of April 17, 2006 who wishes to control is required to enroll in the Training Academy and successfully graduate regardless of real-world training. There is no bypass system in place and no exceptions will be made.

Division Open Enrollment Procedures

Open enrollment into the Training Academy allows members within VATUSA who joined prior to April 17, 2006 the option to enroll. In order to be eligible the member MUST meet the following criteria:

The member must have joined VATSIM/VATUSA before April 17th 2006.
The member must be currently assigned to the North America Region and the VATUSA Division.
The member must have either the Observer (OBS) or Student 1 (S1) rating.

Open enrollment is strictly voluntary meaning no member of the VATUSA HQ Staff or ARTCC Staff can require a member to enroll. The member must request to transfer on their own. Since the Senior Student (S3) rating is granted upon sucessful completion of the requirements, only members who currently hold an OBS or S1 rating will be allowed to enroll. Any member that holds a rating higher than the S1 will be automatically denied.

Members who wish to enroll must use the ATC Academy Enrollment Form, located at www.vatusa.net/training/academy_enroll.html to request to transfer out of their current ARTCC and into the Academy. This also applies to those members who are no longer assigned to a current ARTCC for reasons of inactivity. The VATUSA Training Department will approve or deny each transfer request just as an Air Traffic Manager does when a member requests to transfer into his ARTCC. It should be noted that the VATUSA Training Department reserves the right to deny any request to transfer at its sole discretion. Members that are accepted into the Academy will receive an automated notice from the Academy Administration with instructions on how to login and begin their training.

Note: Members with the OBS rating who request to transfer into the Academy will be required to complete and successfully pass the Academy Entrance Exam at the VATUSA Cert Center before their request will be approved. Submitting the enrollment form will automatically assign the exam to the member. Information will be sent to the member via email confirming the test is available to be taken.

Along with the eligibility criteria that must be met prior to requesting a transfer, the member should be aware of the following:

The VATUSA 90 day transfer policy is waived for members who are approved to transfer into the Academy.
Once a member's request to transfer into the Academy has been accepted the member will NOT be permitted to transfer back out. The only way out is to successfully complete the training and have the recommendation from the Academy Faculty to graduate.
Students who decide to transfer into the Academy as a result of open enrollment and are accepted give up any rights or privileges they mave have had to actively control on the VATSIM Network. This includes controlling a position at their current ARTCC, any ARTCC in which the student has guest controlling privileges at, and working VATUSA or ARTCC sponsored events. VATUSA HQ Staff and ARTCC Staff members will be working together to ensure this restriction is enforced.

Once all requirements have been met and the student has the recommendation from the Academy Faculty to graduate, the student will be placed in one of his/her top three facility choices as per the VATUSA Academy ARTCC Assignment Policy.

Graduation Procedures

Once a student has successfully completed all lab and lecture requirements the overseeing ATC 103A Instructor will submit a recommendation for graduation request to the VATUSA Training Department via the automated system.
Once the request is made an evaluation form is issued to the student allowing him/her to evaluate his/her time spent at the Academy.
In the evaluation form the student is asked to select their top three (3) ARTCC choices, with number one being their favorite choice. Once the evaluation is complete the student will submit it to the Training Department.
The VATUSA Training Director will then approve or deny the request for graduation. If the request is approved the Training Director will then review the student's ARTCC choices. In most cases the student will be placed in his/her number one choice but it should be noted that the Training Director has the final say and that in some cases the student may be placed in either their number two or number three choice.
Once the selection has been approved by the Training Director the student is upgraded to the rank of Senior Student (S3) and is moved to their assigned facility's roster. The student's access is also removed from the Academy database at this time.
The student will receive a welcome email from the ATM of the assigned facility with instructions on how to proceed.

Note: Transferring the student off the Academy roster and onto an ARTCC roster automatically removes the student's access into the Academy. Student's wishing to review lessons in the Academy after graduation are urged to consult the VATUSA Training Study Guides, as many of the Academy lessons were transposed there.

Staff Recruitment & Eligibility

The VATUSA Training Department requires all potential Academy Staff members hold an S3 rating or higher, with at least 50 hours of controlling on the network. Preferential consideration is given to those VATUSA controllers that currently hold a Mentor endorsement or an Instructor rating at their home ARTCC. Recommendations for these members must come from the ARTCC TA or ATM. All candidates should have a clean disciplinary record with VATSIM/VATUSA and be willing to work with multiple students on a weekly basis. Most of all the candidate should have a positive attitude and be able to work in a team environment. If selected, candidates should expect to commit an average of four (4) hours a week.

Candidates may be required to successfully complete and pass the Academy Mentor/Instructor exam via the Certification Center, at the recommendation of the Academy Director. All faculty members will be expected to undergo some minor training with the Academy Administration prior to teaching a class or lab. Interested members who meet the requirements should complete the application found here.