Tyler

Tyler Junior College’s automotive technology program has been granted National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation certification, the college announced.

NATEF is the educational arm of Automotive Service Excellence organization, which ensures industry standards.

“We’ve come a long way in a short time,” said Jeff Parks, TJC director of industrial trades programs and department chair of automotive technology.

“Vehicles are far more complex now,” said TJC auto tech instructor Dave Barbieri. “Twenty-five years ago, you saw vehicles with one or perhaps two computers on board. Now, it’s not uncommon to have a dozen or more computers on board, all of them talking together. You’re also seeing wireless technology.”

Parks said the program emphasizes technology.

“To work in the industry today is to know quite a bit about math and physics,” Parks said. “Math and physics are two important things for students coming into any program, and they must also have an adequate reading level.

“Most of our technical manuals are written on a 12th- to 13th-grade level, and for a student to understand that, they need to be able to tackle that information and apply it in their class work.”

The program is part of TJC’s dual-credit program in which high school students can receive high school and college credit simultaneously.

“What that means is a student who enrolls in our two-year program as a junior in high school can have their first certificate done by August of the year they graduate,” he said.

“Secondly, by going through the dual-credit program, the school district pays for all the classes, and the school district will reimburse the student for the ASE certifications that they pass.”