CRAIG I The Colorado Northwestern Community College automotive and diesel technology program has formally been awarded National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation (NATEF) and Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) Foundation accreditation for maintenance and light repair, automobile service technology and master automobile service technology.
Students participating in CNCC’s automotive and diesel technology program can now expect to receive some of the highest standards in training. As a NATEF certified program students will better prepare them to pass the ASE certification exam. Additionally, graduates from the program will only need one year of experience to qualify to take the ASE exam rather than the standard two years. This gives them an extra edge in the high demand field of automotive technology.
“We are excited about what it means for the students, community, and college,” noted CNCC automotive and diesel technology instructor David May. “It’s taken several years and a lot of long hours, but it feels good to achieve this level of recognition.”
To become NATEF certified, educational programs must go through a rigorous and lengthy screening process. There are no state certifications required by auto mechanics which places more of an emphasis on industry certifications like NATEF.
NATEF accreditation is broken into three levels which are structured in a hierarchy starting with Maintenance and Light Repair (MLR), followed by Auto Service Technology (AST) and finally Master Auto Service Technology (MAST). The intention of the hierarchical format is to build on skills from one level to the next and be more reflective of what auto repair shop owners are looking for. Although many educational institutions strive to obtain it, only a small percentage achieve all three levels of accreditation.
To learn more about CNCC’s automotive and diesel technology program call 970-824-1108 or visit cncc.edu/auto.
About NATEF: The NATEF (National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation) is the organization entrusted with approving automotive training programs for accreditation. Programs that receive accreditation are considered to be the elite auto mechanic education programs in the United States. The NATEF was created as a way of enhancing auto mechanic education as a whole. When an automotive technology program is certified, it has proven to have surpassed standards that are considered to be above the industry norm. The status of an auto mechanic education program is measured against whether it is capable of qualifying students for ASE certification upon completion of the curriculum.
