Suggested GRCC Program:
Associate in Applied Arts and Sciences
Note: This program is articulated with the bachelor’s degree program in Automotive Management at Ferris State University.**
The Automotive Technology associate’s degree program prepares students for the fast-paced, highly technical field of automotive care and repair. Electronic fuel injection, turbocharging, rack and pinion steering, transaxles and McPherson strut suspensions are a few of the modern technologies that students study in the program.
The first year of the program is arranged in four 7 1/2-week periods and one 3-week Summer session. Courses are structured so that students may enter the program at the beginning of any 7 1/2-week period. With a few exceptions, courses may be taken in any order so that students may plan their program around their job schedule.
Instructors plan their teaching to supply the background and theory that technicians need in order to maintain and repair complex modern automobiles. About 60 percent of the time spent in automotive classes is devoted to learning in laboratories and shops so that students actually “learn by doing.”
The capstone courses in the program, Applied Auto Servicing and Advanced Auto Servicing, help students bridge the gap between school and full-time work in the automotive field. Students spend the three-week Interim Session in eight-hour days learning in a supervised, on-the-job training environment. GRCC graduates are successfully employed in a variety of technical automotive jobs in an industry that employs one of every six workers in the United States.
Students are not required to purchase hand tools to participate in this program; however, it will be necessary to purchase hand tools to be successfully employed as an automotive technician. Some advanced-standing credit may be granted to entering graduates of high school vocational programs that are members of the Kent Metropolitan Articulation Project.
Students who complete the first 36 credits listed below with at least a 2.0 grade point average are eligible for the Certificate in Automotive Servicing (see Curriculum Code 921). The instruction, course of study, facilities and equipment at GRCC have been evaluated by the National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation and meet the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence standards of quality for the training of automobile technicians in the following areas: Automatic Transmissions and Transaxles, Brakes, Electrical and Electronic Systems, Engine Performance, Engine Repair, Heating and Air Conditioning, Manual Drive Train and Axles, Suspension and Steering.
The following scheme is presented as a guide only. Courses may be taken in any order as long as all requirements are met. Students entering this program should have at least a 10th grade reading level and a 9th grade algebra level.
Total Credits: 64
+ Students need to enroll for all the courses indicated at the time of registration.
** Students intending to transfer to Automotive Management at FSU should take PH 125 instead of TE 114 and MA 107 instead of TE 103 . Also, they should take EN 101 and EN 102 instead of the corresponding BA courses.
** Students intending to transfer to Automotive Engineering Technology at FSU should take PH 125 instead of TE 114 and MA 108 and MA 110 instead of TE 103 . Also, they should take EN 101 and EN 102 instead of the corresponding BA courses.
Attention: GRCC now grants college credits for current Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) certifications. For details, contact the department at (616) 234-3204 or the College Web site at www.grcc.edu.
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