Hello everyone!

The CTI program at Aims Community College is a very well structured program. The classes seem like they will be very helpful. I am finishing my first semester of the program and can only speak for what ive taken. And so far the classes are pretty basic. Although, as time progresses they should get more into ATC.

Here is a copy of there curriculum:

1st Semester
AVT 101 Private Pilot Ground School
AVT 103 Introduction to Air Traffic Control
AVT 105 Aviation Meteorology
ENG 121 English Composition

2nd Semester
AVT 111 Instrument Pilot Ground School
AVT 113 Instrument Flight Trainer
AVT 115 ATC Phraseology
AVT 218 ATC Procedures
PHY 105 Conceptual Physics

3rd Semester
AVT 242 ATC Phraseology II
AVT 245 Non-Radar Simulation
Arts & Humanities Course
Social and Behavioral Sciences Course

4th Semester
AVT 246 Radar Simulation
AVT 247 ATC Special Procedures
MAT 121 College Algebra

The teachers are awesome! Great people! And very good at teaching. Sometimes they have there oops, but everyone does.

The one thing that I HATE is that, as of right now, there are no summer classes. Which slow down the process quite a bit seeing how thats two summers where theres nothing to do academically.

Besides the summer issue Id say its a great school and a great program! I would def recomend this school to anyone interested in the CTI program!

Also, the school is getting brand new Sims May/09. I believe there enroute sims.

Good Luck!

I just finished my first year at Aims. The classroom sizes and teachers are great. The staff have years of experience and are constantly trying to find new opportunities for their students and handing out practical advice you won't find in any text book. I only have two complaints. There is no instruction into tower operations. The courses focus almost exclusively on a center or tracon type environment. If you want to work in a tower I would suggest either studying up on it yourself, or finding a different cti. The other complaint I have is that it's located in Greeley. Not the most welcoming, clean, or beautiful city. Fort Collins and Loveland are close by though.

I just finished with my second to last semester with the CTI program here at Aims. This is the second cti school I've been in and there really is no comparison between the one I started at and this one. The head of the program will only hire controllers who have at least 25 yrs experience, and those who run the sim labs must have been actively working within the past 5 yrs. So far all the instructors come from ZDV. The only problem with having former controllers is that they don't have teaching degrees and do need help with teaching methods, but with that said they are open to suggestions from the students on how to make the program better. Right now they do focus on en route training, however that is only in the sim lab, they will teach all the FAA required lessons plus they include 2 phraseology classes to help with this second language we all have to learn. Over all this program is great, but if you're looking to go to school in a city with lots to do other than cow tipping, then think about what you want to sacrifice (I work 40+ hours plus full time at school plus study time so it really was a no brainer for me).

Overall I have been very impressed by Aims. Mainly the staff. The class room stuff was kind of bland and boring but the simulators were a blast. The price seemed high, but I was out of state, so it would have been high no matter what school I attended. The town of Greeley is ok, not as bad as people make it sound, but some things were correct. The mountains are close enough. I would recommend the school because of the sims, and the instructors running them. The curriculum is the same as OKC, and that's all you can ask for.

I am in my second semester in the ATC program at Aims, and I love it! The instructors are all retired controllers who truly loved their job, and love passing their knowledge on to the next generation. The curriculum was very well designed to prepare you. My only complaint is how many pilot courses there are because I cannot figure out why such extensive knowledge of piloting is necessary. The lab fees are very high, but it being a community college, the tuition is still affordable. While there is not a lot to do in Greeley, it is right off the interstate so it is very easy to live in a more exciting town and commute, or live in Greeley and commute to more exciting activities. Denver is only an hour south, Fort Collins thirty minutes northeast, and skiing is two hours west. I live in and commute from Longmont, which is only 35 minutes each way, and completely worth it. Choosing a class schedule to fit around your work schedule is also very easy as there are so many sections of each course; for example, I take all my classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and have MWF off for work. The instructors know what they're doing and want to see each of their students succeed. Every step of the way, you know exactly what you should be doing to best prepare yourself for a future in ATC. I cannot speak highly enough about the Aviation program at Aims.

The campus is clean and has recently been updated, so it is very nice. The student center is very modern and a good resource. Parking permits are free for students. There are a lot of restaurants nearby for lunch breaks. Living in Greeley is very inexpensive, even in the nicer parts of town. East Greeley is home to the University of Northern Colorado, so the east side is very much a college town, while the west side, where Aims is, is a more suburban family town. There is a mall in Greeley, but it's very run down and there isn't much in it, but the outdoor mall at Centerra is only 15 minutes away, featuring restaurants and a movie theater.