• Auto Tech

    Automotive Service Technology 1, 2 & 3

    All potential Automotive Service Technology students along with a parent or legal guardian are required to attend an individual conference and pre-course orientation with the instructor prior to full enrollment into the program. Additionally, a supply fee is required to allow students to have individualized lab appropriate work shirts, gloves and certified safety glasses. The Automotive Technology program is designed to prepare the student for entry-level in the automotive industry or for greater success in a post-secondary automotive training school. The curriculum used in this program has a heavy emphasis on computer usage and is very technical and rigorous. It also includes a significant amount of reading, writing, math and science content. Each level of instruction requires a safety unit (SP2) be completed successfully prior to students gaining access to the Lab. Automotive Service Technology is a 3 level program that studies the Industry, Maintenance, and Repair of Automobiles. This is a progressive program with each consecutive level building on the information and skills learned in the previous levels. Areas of study include, but are not limited to: Brakes, Steering and Suspension, Electrical Systems, Engine Performance, Manual and Automatic Trans, HVAC and Engine Repair. Students spend approximately 60% of program time in the classroom learning about major systems of the automobile and how to maintain, diagnose and repair them. The remainder (40%) of class time will be spent in the lab practicing on trainers and lab simulators. As we near the end of the program, depending on time, some “live” automobiles will be repaired. Level 3 students spend additional time servicing and maintaining “live vehicles” as they are available to the program. Satisfactory completion of the online safety course (SP2) will result in the student earning a nationally recognized SP2 safety certificate for Automotive Safety and Automotive Pollution Prevention. Students are also required to have proper attire, closed toe shoes, and safety glasses for this program. Each completing student has the opportunity to achieve multiple nationally recognized industry certificates.


    Program News

    Gil Valk

    In October 2015 a challenge was presented from a local business, Harper
    Corporation of America, to the students in the automotive programs at
    the Applied Technology Center to build a Rat Rod using as much STEAM
    (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) related
    instruction as possible.  The idea was to offer the students a
    challenging environment and to introduce them to a new experience in
    cognitive thought by pushing their knowledge and creativity to a new
    level.   By using the STEAM ideals to  create a vehicle from a
    collection of miscellaneous parts, the process has provided  students
    with a new perspective for hands on learning.

    Come see the progress and details within the Rat Rod project, to be on
    display this weekend at Discovery Place in Charlotte, NC  Saturday, April
    16, 2016 from 10:00-4:00pm. Learn from the students how this transformation
    has kept them eager to learn and use their prepared skills
    from start to finish of the Rat Rod project.

    More on the Rat Rod Project
             Herald April 8, 2016
             WRHI Straight Talk 4/27/2016