Collegiate Aviation Schools: Stakeholders' Views on Challenges for Initial Pilot Training Programs

Collegiate aviation schools are one pathway for initial civilian pilot training in the United States and are a key source of airline pilots. Over the past 5 years, aviation stakeholders have voiced concerns that there is an insufficient supply of qualified airline pilots, citing increased airline pilot retirements, among other factors.

The explanatory statement accompanying the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2017 included a provision for GAO to review aspects of collegiate aviation schools' operations. This report examines: (1) what is known about schools with professional pilot degree programs and (2) challenges that affect schools' ability to produce professional pilots and schools' responses to these challenges.

GAO reviewed relevant statutes, regulations, and documents from the FAA, Veterans Affairs, and Education; analyzed FAA's data on flight schools, airports, and pilots; and analyzed Education's degree completion data for the 2015–2016 academic year, the most recent data available. GAO also interviewed representatives from: 18 schools, selected based on factors including program type and location; 6 airports selected based on type and location; and 11 additional aviation stakeholders representing schools, airlines, pilots, airports, and flight instructors, selected to reflect a range of perspectives about initial pilot training. The results of the interviews are not generalizable to all aviation schools and stakeholders. GAO is not making recommendations in this report. On a draft of the report, DOT provided technical clarifications, which GAO incorporated as appropriate.

GAO identified 147 collegiate aviation schools that offered professional pilot degree programs in academic year 2015–2016. All pilot students must pass the same knowledge and flight tests to obtain pilot certificates from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), but schools' programs vary. For example, 101 of these schools operated relatively more formalized, FAA-certificated degree programs. The other 46 schools operated under a model that provides flexibility and meets FAA requirements but that does not require FAA certification to conduct such training. Total annual pilot-student enrollment and graduation numbers are not known. According to FAA officials, FAA does not require schools to submit enrollment data and does not verify enrollment data that many certificated schools voluntarily submit. Regarding graduation data, schools must classify and report completed degrees by program type to the Department of Education (Education) using that agency's classification system. Education's data indicated a total of 1,356 professional pilot degrees in academic year 2015–2016. Because pilot-student graduates can be classified under a number of aviation-related programs in Education's system, the number of pilot-student graduates could be higher.

Flight instructor retention, which has been influenced by the current high demand for airline pilots, and the high cost of pilot training are key challenges that affect schools' ability to produce pilots, according to aviation stakeholders GAO interviewed.

Flight instructor retention : Nearly all (16 of 18) selected school representatives cited difficulty recruiting and retaining flight instructors as a great or moderate challenge for schools' ability to train pilots. According to most school representatives (15) and other selected stakeholders, instructors who aspire to be airline pilots are rapidly accruing the flight hours necessary to qualify and are obtaining employment as soon as they are eligible. In addition, regional airlines have recently increased hiring, generating high turnover among flight instructors, who are traditionally their main source of new pilots.

High cost of training : Nearly all (16) selected schools' representatives identified the cost of a professional pilot degree program as a great or moderate challenge to recruiting and retaining pilot students. High education costs are not unique to these programs. Nonetheless, in addition to tuition, flight training fees alone often exceed $50,000, well above the cap for federal financial aid available to eligible students.

Schools and regional airlines have taken a range of actions to address these challenges. For example, eight selected school representatives reported increasing flight instructors' compensation and benefits. In addition, some regional airlines' cadet programs provide mentorship and incentives such as bonus pay or tuition reimbursement to select students while they are still in school. The Department of Transportation (DOT) has also launched an initiative to assess the level of interest among veterans in becoming pilots and to examine strategies for employing military veterans as pilots.

The aviation system is an important part of the United States’ economy  and the airline industry is a key provider of domestic and international  mobility for passengers and cargo. Over the past 5 years, aviation  stakeholders have voiced concerns that there is an insufficient supply of  available and qualified pilots to support current and future demand from  U.S. regional and mainline airlines. Many have cited the increased rate  of airline pilot retirements and first officer airline pilot qualification  requirements,  among other factors contributing to the current tight labor  market for professional pilots.

We have previously reported on issues related to pilot supply and  demand. In 2014, we found that, among other things, the number of pilot  certificate holders—those individuals who have completed pilot training  and passed Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) pilot certification  requirements —decreased about 1 percent from 2000 through 2012,  while the growth rate for pilots’ employment decreased by 12 percent in  that period. In addition, available evidence suggested that by 2012 fewer  students were entering and completing pilot training programs since 2001  and that regional airlines reported difficulties finding sufficient numbers of  qualified airline pilots. Recently, some regional airlines, which are  particularly reliant on newly trained pilots, have been reducing flights and  eliminating routes to some markets, reportedly due to lack of qualified  pilots.

Collegiate aviation schools with professional pilot degree programs are a  key source of new commercial pilots. These programs have been  generally perceived by aviation industry stakeholders as providing a high  level of civil aviation pilot training because they are designed to produce  professional pilots for airlines. In addition, airlines generally prefer to hire  pilots with college degrees, reportedly because they perform better in an  airline’s training program when hired.

The explanatory statement accompanying the Consolidated  Appropriations Act of 2017 included a provision for us to review certain  aspects of collegiate aviation schools’ operations. This report addresses: what is known about collegiate aviation schools with professional pilot  degree programs in terms of location, types of training programs  available, and enrollment, and challenges that affect collegiate aviation schools’ ability to produce  professional pilots and schools’ response to these challenges.

To determine what is known about collegiate aviation schools we  analyzed several sets of data. Specifically, to identify schools that  operated pilot programs for fixed wing aircraft in academic year 2015– 2016 and the airports at which they operated, we obtained and reviewed  FAA’s data on pilot schools that had received certification from FAA to  operate, as of August 19, 2016. We also obtained and reviewed school  information from two industry associations and school websites. These  data were the most applicable given the academic year we reviewed. To  determine what is known about the types of programs available at these  schools, we analyzed the Department of Education’s (Education) data on  institution type, college-wide tuition and fees, and graduations in  academic year 2014–2015 (the most recent year available). To determine  what is known about enrollment at collegiate aviation schools, we  analyzed enrollment and certificated flight instructor data voluntarily  reported to FAA by some schools between October 2015 and October  2017. We also analyzed FAA’s pilot data to identify, for a number of  categories, the number of new pilot certificates FAA issued from 2012  through 2016 and the total number of pilot certificate holders for those  years. We reviewed documents and interviewed Education and FAA  agency officials, as well as representatives of industry associations and  an accreditation entity to determine that these data were the most  complete sources available. While these data were limited, we  determined that they were sufficiently reliable for the purposes of our  reporting objectives.

To determine challenges that affect collegiate aviation schools’ ability to  produce professional pilots, we reviewed federal laws and regulations  pertaining to pilot requirements and FAA’s oversight of collegiate aviation  schools’ pilot programs and interviewed FAA officials. We reviewed  documents and interviewed a non-generalizable sample of 18 collegiate  aviation schools about their pilot programs and key challenges that affect  their ability to produce professional pilots. We selected these schools to  represent a mix in terms of geographic location, institution type, program  type, and estimated enrollment where that information was available.  While the sample allowed us to learn about challenges that affect these  schools’ ability to produce professional pilots, it was designed to provide  anecdotal information, not findings that would be representative of all  collegiate aviation schools. We also reviewed documents from additional  stakeholders and interviewed them, including representatives of 6  selected airports where collegiate aviation schools operate and 11  industry organizations representing collegiate and non-collegiate pilot  schools, airports, flight instructors, pilots, regional airlines, and mainline  airlines. In addition, we reviewed documents and interviewed Education  and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) officials about regulations and  policies related to pilot programs’ eligibility for federal student financial aid  and the use of veterans’ education benefits. Further details about our  scope and methodology can be found in appendix I.

We conducted this performance audit from September 2016 to May 2018  in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.  Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain  sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our  findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that  the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and  conclusions based on our audit objectives.

Civil aviation in the United States can be generally divided into two broad  categories—general aviation and commercial aviation. All civilian pilot  students undergo their initial pilot training in the general aviation sector,  which comprises all aviation activities other than military and commercial  airlines. Once hired in the commercial aviation sector for businesses that  carry passengers or cargo for hire or compensation, pilots may receive  additional, employer-specific training.

FAA is responsible for regulating the safety of civil aviation in the United  States, including the administration of pilot certification (licensing) and  conducting safety oversight of pilot training. Regulations for initial pilot  training and certification are found in two parts of the Federal Aviation  Regulations—pilot training requirements  and requirements for obtaining  a pilot school certificate.

Pilot training requirements: These regulations prescribe the minimum  training, knowledge, and experience requirements for acquiring a  private, commercial, or airline transport pilot certificate, and for  becoming a certificated flight instructor (CFI). Individual  flight  instructors can provide pilot training to individuals under these  regulations and the training is not subject to direct FAA oversight  beyond the initial flight instructor certification and subsequent  renewal.

Requirements for obtaining a pilot school certificate: These  regulations prescribe requirements pilot schools must meet to obtain  an FAA certificate and the general operating rules applicable to a  school’s holding a certificate. FAA-certificated schools are required to  meet prescribed standards with respect to training equipment,  facilities, student records, personnel, and curriculum. Schools’ pilot  program curriculum can vary in content, but FAA provides core  training guidelines that schools must follow to receive a certificate. To  ensure safety, FAA requires its inspectors to conduct on-site  inspections of each FAA-certificated school at least once a year,  focusing on pilot school operations and training aircrafts’  airworthiness.

Schools that provide initial pilot training generally fall into three  categories: (1) collegiate aviation schools, (2) non-collegiate vocational  pilot schools, and (3) non-collegiate, instructor-based pilot schools.  Collegiate aviation schools that provide initial pilot training typically offer a  2- or 4- year undergraduate degree in an aviation-based major along with  the pilot certificates and ratings necessary to become a commercial pilot.  All pilot schools must comply with FAA’s pilot training requirements, but  some may elect to become FAA-certificated as well. Instructor-based  schools offer flexible training environments where the training sequence  can be altered to meet specific students’ needs and time commitments.  Upon completion of the training, the students can obtain pilot certificates  for which they were trained, as long as they pass FAA’s tests. FAA-certificated vocational schools do not allow flexible training environments  as the training sequence outlined in the curriculum cannot be altered.  FAA requires annual inspections of these schools, unlike flight instructor- based schools.

As we have previously reported, it takes years of training to meet FAA’s  certification and aeronautical experience qualifications to become an  airline pilot. Once cleared by a medical examination, an individual  may  obtain a medical certificate and a student pilot certificate from FAA. Pilot  students may then begin training, acquiring the knowledge and flight  training to obtain a private pilot certificate, instrument rating, commercial  pilot certificate, and multi-engine rating (see fig. 1).

To be eligible for hire as either a captain or first officer for an airline,  individuals must also obtain an airline transport pilot (ATP) certificate in  addition to the other certificates and ratings. In July 2013, FAA began  requiring all first officers to have an ATP certificate, which requires 1,500  hours of flight experience. Pilots with fewer than 1,500 hours can obtain  a “restricted-privileges” ATP certificate (R-ATP), under which specific  academic training courses can count toward the required hours of total  flight time. FAA made this change for airline first officers following the  2009 Colgan Air Inc. crash in New York,   and subsequent legislation  that required FAA to modify, among other things, first officer  qualifications. In our 2014 report, FAA and industry stakeholders  estimated that it could take an additional 1 to 2 years for pilots coming out  of school to meet the 1,500 hour requirement.

Consistent with airline representatives’ views from our prior report,  regional airline association representatives have recently cited the revised  first officer training requirements and several other factors as contributing  to a tight pilot labor market. By increasing the minimum number of  required flight hours for a first officer, entry into the airline pilot profession  may take longer, which may decrease the pool of eligible pilots that  mainline and regional airlines can hire as a first officer. In addition, as we  previously reported, the civil aviation industry has been a historically  volatile industry because demand for air travel is sensitive to economic  conditions, as well as political, international, and even health-related  events. After several years of industry contraction during the 2007-2009  economic recession, demand for air travel has increased since 2012, and  FAA projects continued future growth. In addition, since 2014, pilot retirements have been increasing, further tightening the labor market,  according to one study. That study forecasts between 2,000 and 3,000  annual mandatory age retirements from the mainline airlines between  2018 and 2021. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most of the  newly hired pilots in the next 10 years will be replacing retiring pilots.

While Some Information on Collegiate Aviation Schools’ Pilot Degree Programs Is Available, Enrollment and Graduation Data are Limited

Collegiate Aviation Schools Are Located across the Country and Offer Different Types of Pilot Degree Programs

We identified 147 U.S. colleges and universities that offered at least one  professional pilot degree program in academic year 2015-2016. These  collegiate aviation schools are located throughout the country, as shown  in figure 2. They may offer pilot programs within different academic  departments, such as aviation or business. Within a department, pilot  programs may be offered as a stand-alone program, as an integral part of  a larger major, such as flight education or aviation management, or as a  specialty or track within a major.

Professional pilot degree programs at collegiate aviation schools may  vary in several ways:

School type: About three-quarters of collegiate aviation schools are  public (110 out of 145), while the remainder are either private non- profits or private for-profits, according to Education’s data (see fig.  3).

Program degree length: A majority of collegiate aviation schools offer  4-year degree programs, as shown in figure 3. Program degree length  may affect how long it takes pilot students to meet FAA’s  requirements and their career options once they complete training.  For example, pilot students in 2-year degree programs may complete  the program and acquire a commercial pilot certificate and ratings in  less time than the 4-year degree program, which may save the  students time and money. However, according to associations  representing pilot training providers and pilots, mainline airlines prefer  pilots with a 4-year degree. In addition, representatives from one  mainline airline told us that the airline requires a 4-year degree for  employment as a pilot. Regardless of which school and degree  program a pilot student graduates from, all pilot students must pass  the same knowledge and flight tests to obtain pilot certificates and  are, by FAA’s standards, eligible for the same career opportunities.

FAA Regulations and academic curriculum: Forty-six collegiate  aviation schools we identified operate their pilot programs solely  under FAA’s pilot training requirements. The remaining 101 collegiate  aviation schools’ pilot programs are certificated by FAA under FAA’s  pilot school requirements. As previously discussed, FAA-certificated  schools must meet prescribed standards, have structured programs,  and FAA must approve their pilot program’s curriculum. In addition,  each pilot program’s academic curriculum may differ, though all must  meet FAA’s pilot training requirements and, if the school is  certificated, FAA’s pilot school requirements.

R-ATP authorization: Only FAA-certificated collegiate aviation schools  may apply to FAA for authority to certify eligible graduates for an R- ATP certificate with a reduced number of flight hours. Since FAA  promulgated the new first officer qualification rule and established the  R-ATP certificate in 2013, FAA has issued R-ATP authorizations to  more schools each year. As of August 22, 2017, 86 collegiate aviation  schools hold R-ATP authorizations. In addition, the number of R-ATP  certificates FAA has issued to eligible graduates each year has  steadily increased, from 37 in 2013 to 2,190 in 2016. The number of  R-ATP certificates issued in 2016 represented about 18 percent of all  ATP certificates. The reduced flight-hour eligibility may save students  time and money on their path to becoming a professional pilot,  depending on how they gain flight experience, which may motivate  more students to consider attending collegiate aviation schools that  are authorized for R-ATP certificates, compared to other training  alternatives.

Aviation Accreditation Board International accreditation: Schools’  professional pilot programs may choose to pursue program  accreditation in addition to the school’s institutional accreditation.  Thirty-two collegiate aviation schools we identified have pilot  programs accredited by the Aviation Accreditation Board International  and an additional 4 schools have pilot programs that are candidates  for accreditation, as of December 27, 2017.

The collegiate aviation schools we identified require that students  complete training that includes both classroom (ground) and flight  training. Ground school aims to provide students with the required  aeronautical knowledge and cognitive skills necessary to perform the  tasks required to become a pilot. Flight training focuses on teaching how  to manipulate the controls of and safely operate an airplane. Most schools  (89 of 147) conduct their own flight training using university-owned or – leased aircraft and university employed CFIs (in-house flight training).  The number of CFIs employed by collegiate aviation schools varies and is  one of the primary determinants of a school’s enrollment capacity. The  remaining 58 schools contract out their flight training to one or more pilot  schools or allow students to complete their flight training at a pilot school  of the student’s choosing.

Schools that provide in-house flight training operate at a relatively small  number of all domestic airports, which vary greatly in size as measured  by annual passenger enplanements (see fig. 4). Approximately 69  percent of these schools operate at non-primary airports—those with  fewer than 10,000 passenger enplanements a year. Flight training may  comprise a large proportion of an airport’s activity, particularly at smaller  airports, according to representatives from seven schools and two airport  authorities. The remaining 28 percent of the schools that provide in-house  flight training operate at primary airports with over 10,000 passenger  enplanements a year. There are advantages to operating at small and  large airports. Representatives from three schools and five stakeholders  representing flight training providers, airports, and pilots told us that  operating out of smaller airports may be advantageous because they are  less crowded, a condition that can save waiting time for take-offs and  allows students to practice certain maneuvers that may be more difficult  to perform at larger airports. Conversely, according to representatives  from two schools, two pilot training provider associations, and one airport,  operating at larger airports can be advantageous because students can  learn to fly in the controlled environment that airline pilots will eventually  fly in.

Pilot Student Enrollment and Graduation Data Are Limited

For several reasons, there are no comprehensive data on pilot student  enrollment at collegiate aviation schools. First, because non-certificated  schools are not subject to periodic FAA inspections, FAA does not collect  any enrollment data for these schools. Second, enrollment data are  available for only some FAA-certificated schools because reporting that  data is optional for those schools during FAA’s certification and inspection  process. In addition, FAA does not verify the data to determine their  accuracy. As previously noted, FAA is responsible for regulating the  safety of civil aviation in the United States. As such, according to FAA  officials, FAA requires data collection when such a requirement serves a  safety purpose, such as data required for pilot school certification and  FAA oversight. FAA officials told us that other data on collegiate aviation  schools, such as enrollment numbers, do not serve FAA’s primary safety  purpose.

The size of collegiate aviation schools appears to vary greatly. Although  voluntary, almost all FAA-certificated collegiate aviation schools  submitted enrollment data to FAA. According to FAA’s data provided to us  on October 5, 2017, 92 FAA-certificated schools had reported average  yearly enrollment data for their pilot programs. Reported enrollment at  these FAA-certificated collegiate aviation schools varied greatly—from 5  professional pilot students to 850. Despite this wide range, most (66) of  these schools reported that they enrolled 100 students or less in their pilot  programs. A majority (15 of 18) of representatives from selected  collegiate aviation schools noted an increase in enrollment over the past  5 years.

Additionally,  the data on graduations from professional pilot programs are  not comprehensive. Education requires schools, including collegiate  aviation schools, to report how many students they graduate annually.  School officials classify and report completed degrees by program type to  Education using the agency’s classification system. One of Education’s  program codes—for “Airline/Commercial/Professional Pilot and Flight  Crew”—appears to best capture graduates from professional pilot  programs. Education’s data for professional pilot degrees awarded by  collegiate aviation schools under this code totaled 1,356 in academic year  2015–2016. However, of the 147 collegiate aviation schools we identified  for academic year 2015–2016, 72 reported pilot student graduates using  the code. This might be because collegiate aviation schools may report  their pilot student graduates under other program codes, such as  “Aeronautics/Aviation/Aerospace  Science and Technology, General” and  “Aviation/Airway  Management and Operations.” According to an  Education official, while the agency expects schools to provide precise  reporting of graduations from each degree program, he said it is possible  that some school officials may not perceive their programs consistently  with Education’s program classifications, despite specific definitions for  each program category. Because pilot student graduates could be  reported under a number of aviation-related program codes in  Education’s system, the number of professional pilot graduates could be  higher.

According to Education’s data, the number of professional pilot degrees  awarded by collegiate aviation schools under the  Airline/Commercial/Professional Pilot and Flight Crew code fluctuated  from year to year between academic year 2010–2011 and 2015–2016.  Almost half of the representatives from our selected collegiate aviation  schools (8 of 18) noted increased pilot student graduations over the past  5 years. The number of these graduations could continue to increase in  the next few years since, according to representatives from seven  schools, student enrollment generally responds to industry need and the  perception of a more stable career pathway. According to one of these  representatives, graduations increase with a lag relative to the increased  industry demand and student enrollment, given the time it takes to  complete the degree program. Given the observations from school  representatives of increasing enrollment, graduations may continue to  increase as well.

Flight Instructor Turnover, Cost of Training, and Other Factors Affect Collegiate Aviation Schools’ Ability to Produce Pilots

Retaining Flight Instructors Is a Key Challenge for Collegiate Aviation Schools’ Ability to Produce Pilots

Selected school and other aviation industry representatives we spoke  with generally agreed that retaining and recruiting flight instructors is one  of the key challenges facing collegiate aviation schools.  Representatives from nearly all (16 of 18) of the schools identified  recruiting and retaining flight instructors as a great or moderate challenge  and a majority stated that it was their greatest challenge affecting their  ability to produce pilots (see app. I for a summary of the responses.).  According to representatives from 3 aviation industry stakeholders, in the  current environment some schools are unable to recruit and retain  enough flight instructors to train all the pilots that they otherwise have the  resources to accommodate in their pilot programs. To illustrate,  representatives from 2 schools reported an inability to accept some  qualified students because they did not have sufficient flight instructors.

Meanwhile, representatives from 4 other schools said they have been  able to hire enough new instructors to keep up with flight instructor  attrition. In addition to presenting a management challenge, instructor  turnover may hinder training effectiveness. For example, one pilot  association representative told us that the quality of instruction tends to  be lower when students are routinely subject to new instructors since  there is little instructional continuity.

Representatives of 6 of the collegiate aviation schools we interviewed  said they recognize that instructor turnover is unavoidable because most  pilots do not pursue flight instruction as a long-term career. Regardless,  the rate of turnover in recent years has increased, according to selected  school and other aviation industry representatives. As previously  discussed, school representatives told us that most pilots use flight  instruction as a stepping stone to accrue the required flight time to  become an airline pilot, which commands a higher salary and greater  prestige than flight instructor positions. Flight instructors generally seek  employment with an airline as soon as they are eligible, according to most  school representatives (15 of 18) and other stakeholders we spoke with.  According to two aviation industry stakeholder representatives, the career  progression of civilian-trained pilots from flight instructor to commercial  airline pilot has typically worked in this way. However, stakeholders have  stated that in recent years, airline industry growth, increasing pilot  retirements, and other factors previously discussed have caused  commercial airlines to accelerate pilot recruitment, ultimately causing  pilots to move through the instructor ranks more quickly.

Regional airlines now hire qualified pilots as soon as they accrue the  minimum hours required by FAA, according to representatives from one  airline pilots association. According to one study, in the mid-2000s most  of the larger regional airlines set minimum flight-hour requirements for  first officer applicants of 800 to 1,000 hours, which were well above the FAA requirements at the time. Furthermore, applicants needed an even  higher number of hours to be competitive for those positions prior to that  time—between 1,500 and 2,000 hours, according to representatives of a  pilots’ association.

Recruiting and retaining flight instructors with more advanced  qualifications, such as instructors qualified to train other pilots to be flight  instructors and chief instructors, can be a particular challenge for  collegiate aviation schools:

Flight instructors qualified to train flight instructors: FAA requires flight  instructors to have a minimum 2 years of instructor experience before  they may train other pilots to obtain their CFI certificate.  Representatives from almost half (8 of 18) of collegiate aviation  schools reported challenges with retaining flight instructors long  enough for them to meet that requirement. According to some school  representatives, flight instructors typically accrue the minimum hours  required to qualify for their ATP or R-ATP within 2 years or soon  afterward. The resulting attrition of experienced flight instructors can  therefore hamper schools’ ability to train enough pilots to become  flight instructors, an ability that is crucial for turning out the next  generation of instructors and pilot students.

Chief Instructors: FAA requires certificated schools to have a chief  instructor who meets minimum regulatory qualifications, such as at  least 2,000 hours of flight time as “pilot-in–command.”  Representatives from two schools told us that because of high  instructor turnover, few instructors meet these qualifications and the  schools find it challenging to recruit qualified chief instructors.

Four school representatives and two other aviation stakeholders we  interviewed noted that the revised first officer requirements have helped  collegiate aviation schools retain flight instructors. As previously  discussed, these revised requirements increased the minimum number of  flight hours a pilot must have to become a first officer, so instructors  continue to instruct longer than they might have otherwise. The school  representatives noted that while they are still experiencing high flight  instructor turnover the situation would be more challenging without the  new requirements. In addition, representatives from two large collegiate  aviation schools stated that when there is a high demand for pilots, they  would not be able to recruit and retain any flight instructors in the absence  of FAA’s first officer requirements.

As shown in table 1, several of the collegiate aviation schools we  interviewed have taken some actions to address the challenge of  recruiting and retaining flight instructors.

At least 6 regional airlines offer cadet programs, which may provide  additional incentives for graduates to remain at their alma mater as flight  instructors until they meet FAA’s first officer qualification requirements,  according to school representatives we spoke to. These programs may include incentives such as bonus pay for a number of flight hours, health  benefits, or tuition reimbursement. Students who sign onto the cadet  programs typically accept a provisional employment offer and are  expected to work for the airline upon obtaining the number of hours  necessary for the ATP certificate and completing an airline’s new hire  training. Representatives from two schools said that few students  participated in these programs, attributing lower participation to students  who may not want to commit to one airline.

In addition to actions that schools can take to retain flight instructors,  school representatives suggested additional actions that would require  cooperation from airlines. Representatives from one state university told  us that the school negotiated an agreement with one airline to initially hire  its graduates as part-time pilots, allowing the pilots to continue to work  part-time as flight instructors. The school is attempting to go one step  further by negotiating agreements whereby airlines will not hire its  instructors until the school is ready to relinquish them. According to the  school’s representatives, two regional airlines have recognized that  keeping instructors at the school longer could be to their benefit,  increasing the school’s capacity to produce more pilots that the airlines  will then hire. Another school representative suggested that airlines might  consider loaning out their pilots to instruct for schools, but a  representative from an airline association said that airlines do not have  extra personnel to spare. Representatives of a pilot school said they are  working with airlines to change the seniority system so that pilots can get  their seniority number while they are instructors, which could reduce the  strong incentive to become an airline pilot as quickly as possible.

School representatives and a stakeholder described additional actions  that could be taken to address this issue, including encouraging students  to obtain their CFI, encouraging retired airline pilots to instruct, and  raising the profile of the flight instructor profession as a possible career  path. Collegiate aviation schools may require their students to obtain a  CFI to graduate. Those schools that do not require a CFI may produce  fewer graduates who are qualified to instruct. A representative from one  school told us that it is now encouraging students to obtain their CFI as a  way to increase the number of potential flight instructors. Representatives  from three industry associations said the FAA should consider changing  its requirement for instructors to have 2 years instructing experience  before they may train other pilots to obtain their CFIs. In addition, in 2017  the FAA Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee issued a report  recommending that FAA permit completion of an FAA-approved  standardized course at FAA-certificated schools as an alternative to the  2-year experience requirement. According to FAA officials, the agency  is drafting a proposed regulatory change to allow appropriately qualified  flight instructors who have met proficiency requirements to train other  pilots to obtain a CFI.

The Cost of Flight Training Is a Challenge for Some Colleges in Recruiting and Retaining Students

There was general agreement among the majority of school  representatives we interviewed that in the last 5 years more students  have shown interest in the pilot profession by applying for and enrolling in  pilot programs at collegiate aviation schools. Representatives from eight  schools and one aviation industry stakeholder noted that students may be  interested in becoming pilots because there appears to be more pilot  career opportunities and a greater likelihood of a secure and lucrative  career path. Some airlines have created career path programs that  document the requirements to move along the career path from pilot  school to a particular regional airline and on to a particular mainline  airline. According to an association representing pilots, they have done so  to encourage more students to enter the pilot profession. Nonetheless,  representatives from nearly all schools we interviewed identified the cost  of a professional pilot degree program as a great (10 schools) or a  moderate (6 schools) challenge to recruiting and retaining students.

While high education costs are not unique to pilot programs, these  programs can be particularly expensive, and therefore unaffordable to  many students. As previously reported, professional pilot students incur  flight training “lab fees” in addition to general college tuition and fees, that together often exceeds $100,000. Schools’ tuition and fees can vary  significantly. Factors affecting cost include whether the school is public,  private non-profit, or private for-profit, whether the school offers a 2-year  or 4-year program, and the student’s resident status. According to  Education’s data, annual in-state tuition at public collegiate aviation  schools we identified ranges from approximately $1,100 to $13,000.  However, annual out-of-state tuition at a public 4-year program can cost  as much as approximately $28,800. Private school tuition can cost more.  For example, one 4-year private for-profit collegiate aviation school lists  estimated annual undergraduate tuition of nearly $36,000, not including  room and board or flight training costs.

Flight training costs also vary considerably. According to the University  Aviation Association’s 2016 directory of collegiate aviation schools, a  majority of pilot programs (27 of 45) have total approximate flight training  costs of more than $50,000, with an upper cost of about $81,000. Flight  training costs may vary, depending on the school requirements, student  interest, and aptitude. Pilot program curriculum may differ and some  students may choose to take additional classes. Each additional  certificate and rating adds to the total cost of the training. Also, the time  required for students to complete their certificates and ratings varies.  Compounding the issue of cost is that the maximum federal financial aid  available to eligible students is well below the full cost of a collegiate flight  education, a factor that is also not unique to collegiate aviation students.  For academic years 2017–2018 and 2018–2019, the maximum federal  Pell Grant award is currently $5,920, and annual federal loan limits range  from $5,500 up to $12,500 depending on the student’s year in school,  dependency status, and other factors. Most students need to either use  family resources or take out private loans to pay for the total cost of a pilot  program, according to representatives from four schools. Not all students  have the means to do so, as private lenders may require a co-signer with  good credit and a minimum income level. Also, representatives from two  schools said that some students who initially secure private loans for flight  training are unable or unwilling to secure loans needed later on to  complete this training, causing them to leave the pilot program. This  financing challenge may pose a significant barrier for lower income  students to enter the pilot profession.

There are lower cost alternatives to collegiate aviation schools, though  they are not entirely equivalent. Students may obtain a flight education  and achieve the same FAA certificates and ratings from a non-collegiate  pilot school and incur flight training expenses without the added cost of  college tuition. As previously discussed, a pilot with non-collegiate flight  training could be eligible for the same employment opportunities with  regional airlines, but according to five stakeholders, airlines prefer or have  typically hired pilots with a 4-year degree. Military  service is another lower  cost alternative for flight training, as service members are compensated  for their time while they are training. However, one school representative  noted that service members may enlist in the military with the intention of  pursuing flight training, but they are not guaranteed to receive a flight  assignment.

Representatives from two stakeholders told us it is not possible to  significantly reduce the cost of flight training because it is inherently  expensive, and four school representatives said that costs are  increasing. One approach to controlling costs for students is to make it  easier for them to transfer from public 2-year pilot programs to 4-year  programs, since public 2-year programs are typically less expensive. A  representative from a state university told us that he is developing a  degree completion program for professional pilot students from U.S. 2- year colleges. This program would enable students to complete their  bachelor’s degree online with the university after they have obtained an  associate’s degree in flight. Similarly, a community college has transfer  agreements with several 4-year universities, and most of its students aim  to obtain a 4-year college degree. We previously found that when  colleges provide their students with information on transfer agreements  they help students save on tuition costs by enabling students to predict which credits will transfer and reducing the likelihood that they will need to  repeat coursework. Two schools have opened satellite campuses for  their flight programs, and two other schools are considering that option,  both to expand their capacity and to provide options for students to  receive flight training while living closer to home, according to school  representatives.

Other actions schools have taken focus on ensuring that students are  able to pay for the program and offering assistance with costs where  possible. Representatives of three schools told us that they are raising  money for departmental scholarships, and a representative of one school  said the school raises awareness about outside scholarships that may be  available to its students. A representative from a community college  said that there are scholarships available for women and minorities.  According to one industry representative, there are not enough women  and minorities in aviation, which will negatively affect the supply of future  pilots. One state university offers in-state tuition for flight students who  are residents of nearby states, with the aim of both reducing some  students’ costs and increasing enrollment at the school. Representatives  of four schools told us that they emphasize communication with potential  students about costs before they enroll to improve pilot student retention.  In addition, one school we spoke with requires students to pay their flight  training fees for each certification upfront in one lump sum to ensure that  students will be able to complete the training.

Initiatives to assist students with funding and reduce costs of flight  training have been in place for a long time with limited impact, according  to one flight training provider association. Other aviation stakeholders  noted that regional and mainline airlines could have a greater effect than  previous efforts by working together. For example, airlines could provide  scholarships and subsidize students’ flight training while students are still  in school. The airlines could also work together as an industry to provide  scholarships to students. However, as one aviation association noted,  airlines are reluctant to provide scholarships to students who are likely to  fly for a competitor. Representatives from two stakeholders suggested that increases to limits on federal student loans could provide additional  resources to help students pay for flight training costs. To some extent  and even if additional actions are taken to help defray some of the  educational costs, some students may not be able to afford the cost of  collegiate aviation schools.

A Variety of Other Factors May Present Challenges for Some Collegiate Aviation Schools

Some selected school representatives also cited other challenges, though  these challenges were cited by fewer representatives, and most of the  representatives characterized these challenges as moderate or slight.

Purchasing and maintaining aircraft. Representatives from 13 schools  said that purchasing or maintaining aircraft, or obtaining the requisite  purchase approvals can be challenging. New single-engine training  aircraft could cost more than $300,000, while a new multi-engine  aircraft can cost around $750,000. Purchasing older, used equipment  is one possible way to defray aircraft costs, but older equipment  requires more time offline for maintenance. Representatives from  two schools stated that aircraft used for training requires extensive  scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, which can interfere with  their ability to train students.

Airport infrastructure and airspace constraints. When asked about  challenges related to airport infrastructure, representatives of six  schools identified challenges related to space constraints. Issues  included insufficient space to store and maintain aircraft, insufficient  classroom and office space, and crowded airspace that cannot  accommodate the desired flight operations to train the number of pilot  students they could with their existing resources. Few representatives  identified infrastructure availability at the airport as a great (1 school)  or moderate (3 schools) challenge, while 6 representatives reported  that infrastructure posed only a slight challenge and 7 said it was not  a challenge at all.

VA education benefit program administration—publication of specific  training hours and costs. Representatives from eight schools and two  stakeholders expressed some concern about new enforcement of VA  education benefit rules from the Post 9/11 GI Bill, as amended by the  Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Improvements Act of  2010. VA issued two policy advisories in 2015 to notify collegiate  aviation schools about statutory education benefit policies and bring  them into compliance. One policy advisory notified schools that they  must publish the specific number of training hours, as well as the  specific cost of training, for each flight course, effectively setting a  maximum number of training hours and fixed fees for each course  taken as part of a standard degree program. According to VA,  before the agency issued the policy advisories there was great public  and congressional outcry about individual pilot students receiving  hundreds of thousands of dollars from VA for their education. VA  issued the policy advisories to specify what pilot training activities are  appropriate uses of VA money, and under what circumstances. VA  funds cannot be used to pay for pilot training to proficiency because  that would entail an unlimited amount of funds to be available for an  individual’s flight training.

Representatives from five selected schools reported that this rule  made it difficult to provide efficient and effective flight training for all  pilot students. Depending on the program structure, students who  cannot finish the course in the set number of hours must either pay  out of pocket for additional training or accept a failing grade and take  the course again. VA education benefits pay for eligible beneficiaries  to repeat the course if needed. In contrast, FAA imposes a minimum  but not a maximum number of hours per certificate, because the  training goal is to achieve a certain level of proficiency for each  certificate. One school representative stated that the school allowed  its VA education benefit eligibility  to lapse because it allowed them the  freedom to train students to proficiency without maximum training  hours; however, veterans can no longer use their benefits to enroll in  that program.

VA education benefit eligibility for contracted flight instruction.

Representatives of two out of the five schools we interviewed that  contract out flight training and one stakeholder reported a challenge  concerning a rule described in the second VA policy advisory; the rule  places restrictions on collegiate aviation schools that contract out  flight training to a non-collegiate school. Previously, veterans  received benefits for flight training conducted at non-collegiate pilot  schools through the institution of higher learning that contracted out  the flight training. However, in its policy advisory VA stated that this  practice was not consistent with the rules of the education benefit  program because there are different rules for non-collegiate pilot  schools; VA benefits cannot be used to pay for training toward private  pilot certification at non-collegiate pilot schools. In addition, federal  law states that the VA cannot approve the enrollment of an eligible  veteran in a course if it involves contracted training that is either  otherwise barred from being approved or has not obtained approval  on its own.

As a result, to remain eligible for VA education benefits, a collegiate  aviation school cannot include private pilot certification training  provided by a non-collegiate pilot school in its degree program since  such training is statutorily barred from approval at the contracted non- collegiate pilot school. Therefore, all students enrolled in such  programs must have already earned their private pilot certificate  before matriculating in the program, whether they use veterans’  education benefits or not. According to VA, it issued its policy advisory  to clarify the statutory limitations of education benefits under the GI  Bill relating to private pilot certificate courses. Representatives from  two schools said that they are currently not eligible for VA education  benefits as a result of this rule, which representatives of one school  said has affected the school’s enrollment of veterans. Furthermore,  industry stakeholders have expressed concern about greater limits on  VA education benefits for flight training based on possible future  legislative action. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Transportation  has announced a new “Forces to Flyers Initiative”  with two objectives:  (1) to assess the level of interest among veterans in becoming pilots  and (2) to help veterans who are not former military pilots to receive  the training they need to become commercial pilots. Though  representatives from five schools identified this issue as a great  challenge, overall its impact is limited because not all schools have  students using veterans’ benefits for their pilot programs, and a small  percentage of students overall use veterans’ benefits to pay for their  education.

We provided a draft of this product to the DOT, Education, and VA for  comment. DOT provided technical comments, which we incorporated as  appropriate.  Education and VA declined to provide formal or technical  comments.

We are sending copies of this report to the appropriate congressional  committees, the Secretary of the Department of Transportation, the  Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of the  Department of Education, and other interested parties. In addition, the  report is available at no charge on the GAO website at  http://www.gao.gov.

If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please contact  me at 202-512-2834 or vonaha@gao.gov.  Contact points for our Office of  Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last page  of this report. GAO staff who made major contributions to this report are  listed in appendix II.

Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

For our review we addressed (1) what is known about collegiate aviation  schools with professional pilot degree programs in terms of location,  types of training programs available, and enrollment; and (2) challenges  that affect collegiate aviation schools’ ability to produce professional pilots  and schools’ response to these challenges.

To address both objectives, we reviewed a range of reports from GAO,  Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Congressional Research Service,  and Bureau of Labor Statistics: these reports included general  background information on a variety of related issues on pilot training,  issues such as pilot certification and training issues in the United States;  FAA regulatory training requirements for different levels of pilot  certification; types and requirements of pilot training schools; current  supply and demand, and forecasts for commercial airline pilots; and  airport infrastructure financing. Furthermore, we reviewed the Federal  Aviation Regulations related to training and certification for pilots under  Part 61 and Part 141. We also reviewed provisions of the Airline Safety  and Federal Aviation  Administration Extension Act of 2010 (Pub. L. No.  111-216) related to “Flight Crewmember Screening and Qualifications”  and “Airline Transport Pilot Certification.”

To determine what is known about collegiate aviation schools we  analyzed several sets of data and interviewed representatives from  collegiate aviation schools and other aviation stakeholders. To identify  colleges and universities with professional pilot degree programs for fixed  wing aircraft in academic year 2015–2016, we compared FAA’s data on  FAA-certificated pilot schools as of August 19, 2016; the Aircraft Owner  and Pilot Association’s list of colleges and universities with aviation  programs as of September 19, 2016; and the University Aviation  Association’s 2016 directory of collegiate aviation schools. These data  were the most applicable given the academic year reviewed. We verified  schools on all three lists by checking school websites, typically the  program’s webpage or course catalog detailing degree program  requirements. For schools that were included on only one or two of the  lists, two staff members independently reviewed school information and  categorized the school as inside or outside of our scope. Disagreements  between coders were reviewed by a third staff member and resolved  through discussion. In a few cases where website information was  unclear, the staff member contacted school officials to verify that they  offered a professional pilot degree program. To determine the airport and  airport types at which schools with professional pilot degree programs  operated their flight training, we reviewed information from FAA’s National  Plan of Integrated Airport Systems, the Aircraft Owner and Pilot  Association, and school websites. We also selected and interviewed  representatives of six airports of varying types (e.g., medium-hub, small- hub, and non-hub) and in different geographic areas of the country, all of  whom had collegiate aviation school tenants. Because we selected the  airports as part of a nonprobability  sample, our findings cannot be  generalized to all airports with collegiate aviation school tenants.

To determine what is known about the institution type, college-wide tuition  and fees, and graduations at these schools, we analyzed data from  Education’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS).  Of the 147 collegiate aviation schools with professional pilot degree  programs that we identified, 146 of them have an IPEDS identification  number. According to Education officials, schools with an IPEDS  identification number are likely to participate in Title IV financial aid, be  accredited, and consequently be monitored by Education through several  mechanisms including IPEDS, federal student aid compliance, and  accreditation. With respect the institution type, the categories of schools  included in our analysis included degree-granting institutions of the  following types: public, private non-profit, and private for profit with either  4-year baccalaureate or 2-year associates degrees. With respect to  tuition and fees, we reviewed both in-state and out-of-state costs schools  reported to Education. Data were not available for academic year 2014–2015 for two collegiate aviation schools we identified. In a few instances  schools offered lower-cost tuition and fees to local students (in-district).  For purposes of comparison, we did not include these costs in our report,  since not all schools offer in-district discounts. With respect to the  graduations data, we analyzed graduations data in academic year 2015– 2016 in 10 aviation-related categories within Education’s Classification of  Instructional Programs (CIP) for schools we identified as having  professional pilot degree programs. We determined that IPEDS data  were sufficiently reliable for the purposes of our reporting objectives  based on prior testing of the data from these systems and interviews with  knowledgeable officials at Education’s National Center for Education  Statistics.

To determine what is known about enrollment at collegiate aviation  schools, we analyzed enrollment and flight instructor data voluntarily  reported to FAA by some schools between October 2015 and October  2017. Through interviews with FAA officials, we have determined these  data were the most complete sources available and, while limited, were  sufficiently reliable for the purpose of illustrating the variety in the size of  professional pilot degree program enrollment. We also obtained and  analyzed FAA’s pilot certificate and instrument rating data to identify, for a  number of categories, the number of new pilot certificates FAA issued  from 2012 through 2016 and the total number of pilot certificate holders  for those years. One limitation associated with the database in which  FAA stores certificate-holder information is that the agency does not have  an active process in place to discover and deactivate deceased pilots.  This lack may lead to an over count in the number of active pilot  certificates. However, airline transport pilot certificate holders must  regularly renew their medical certificates to remain active. We found that  the data were sufficiently reliable for the purposes of reporting the number  of “restricted privileges” airline transport pilot certificates FAA has issued  since 2013.

To determine challenges that affect collegiate aviation schools’ ability to  produce professional pilots, we reviewed documents, interviewed, and  administered a standardized question set to a non-generalizable sample  of 18 collegiate aviation schools about their pilot programs and key  challenges that affect their ability to produce professional pilots. To select  our non-generalizable sample of schools, we used information from FAA,  the Aircraft Owner and Pilot Association, school websites, and initial  interviews with aviation stakeholders. Based on the schools’ geographic  location, we selected schools in each of FAA’s nine airport regions. In  order to provide a variety of perspectives in our selection, we included  schools of each institution type (public, private non-profit, and private for- profit), of each program type (2-year and 4-year), some that were FAA- certificated and some that contracted out flight training. While the sample  allowed us to learn about challenges that affect these schools’ ability to  produce professional pilots, it was designed to provide anecdotal  information, not findings that would be representative of all collegiate  aviation schools with professional pilot degree programs in the United  States. Our initial selection included 20 schools, of which 19 responded to  our request for interview. Of these 19, 18 schools responded to our  question set, and representatives of one additional school provided us  with general information about their program.

In our question set, we asked schools to rate 10 factors that we identified  in preliminary interviews as potentially affecting schools’ ability to recruit,  retain, and train professional pilot students—thereby affecting their ability  to produce pilots. Schools rated each factor as a great challenge, a  moderate challenge, a slight challenge, or not a challenge to the ability to  recruit, retain, and train professional pilot students. After our interviews  with officials from the selected schools, we analyzed and aggregated  responses to these questions, and identified two factors that schools most  frequently cited as the most challenging to their ability to produce pilots.  In addition, 3 other factors were cited by multiple schools as a great or  moderate challenge. Schools generally cited the remaining 5 factors as a  slight or moderate challenge.

To describe stakeholders’ views of factors that affect collegiate aviation  schools’ ability to produce pilots and actions that have been or could be  taken to address these factors, we reviewed and summarized schools’  comments. We also reviewed documents and interviewed FAA officials,  representatives of airports and industry organizations representing  collegiate and non-collegiate pilot schools, airports, flight instructors,  pilots, regional airlines, and mainline airlines, selected to reflect a range  of perspectives about initial pilot training. (See table 4.) In addition, we  reviewed documents and interviewed Education and Department of  Veterans Affairs officials about regulations and policies related to pilot  programs’ eligibility  for federal student financial aid and the use of  veterans’ education benefits.

Appendix II: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments

In addition to the contact named above, Gerald Dillingham, Ph.D.  (Director); Vashun Cole (Assistant Director); Jaclyn Mullen (Analyst-in- Charge); Amy Abramowitz; Danielle Ellingston; Dave Hooper; Delwen  Jones; Serena Lo; John Mingus; Natasha Oliver; Malika Rice; Michelle St.  Pierre; and Elizabeth Wood made key contributions to this report.

To address concerns about the airline pilot supply, we looked at one pathway for aspiring pilots: colleges and universities offering professional pilot degree programs. We identified 147 such schools.

Nearly all of the school representatives we interviewed said that recruiting and retaining flight instructors and students was a challenge. They said that they often lost instructors to airline employment and cited student program costs as a disincentive, with training fees often exceeding $50,000 on top of tuition.

Schools have raised instructor pay and airlines have offered tuition reimbursement, among other steps to address these challenges.