Alexandria, La., May 10, 2017 — Central Louisiana Technical Community College (CLTCC) announced today that its Collision Repair Technology program has received accreditation from the National Automotive Technician’s Education Foundation (NATEF). The Collision Repair program, located at the Alexandria Main Campus, teaches students how to repair modern vehicles and prepares them for a variety of jobs in the field of Collision Repair.
To achieve this coveted recognition, CLTCC’s Collision Repair program underwent a thorough five-step evaluation process by NATEF – the application, program self-evaluation, NATEF review of application, on-site evaluation, and accreditation if the industry standards are met.
NATEF examines the structure, resources, and quality of automotive training programs and evaluates them against standards established by the industry. Nationally accepted standards of excellence in areas such as instruction, facilities, and equipment are used and reflect the skills students must master to be successful in the industry.
"This is our second programmatic accreditation in six months, and it is great news for our students, our college, and the Central Louisiana community,” said Jimmy Sawtelle, CLTCC Chancellor. “It assures our students as well as business and industry that our program meets automotive industry standards, which lets shop owners know our graduates are 100 percent employable as entry-level technicians.”
The project was led by two departments within the college – Academic Affairs and Workforce Development & Enterprise Services.
"This was truly a team effort,” said Shannon Parker, Collision Repair Technology Instructor at the Alexandria Main Campus. “Working together, we compiled all the necessary documentation, worked with the program’s advisory committee and area technicians to perform the self-evaluation, and coordinated the onsite evaluation with NATEF.”
A $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor through their Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT-TC-26445-14-60-A-1) Grants program also helped pave the way for the accreditation.
In 2014, CLTCC and three other colleges were awarded a $10 Million TAACCCT Grant as part of a multi-state consortium to train workers for jobs in the transportation industry. The $10 million was divided among the consortium, which the members officially named the “Southeastern Transportation Network.” The consortium consists of four neighboring-state institutions in the southeast – Lawson State Community College in Birmingham, Ala.; Atlanta Technical College in Atlanta, Ga.; CLTCC; and Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Wesson, Miss. Each college received $2 million. Lawson State, the lead institution, received an additional $2 million for administrative purposes.
"The grant supported our efforts to establish and grow a collision repair program in this region,” said Misty Slayter, Vice Chancellor of Workforce Development & Enterprise Services. “Our progress would not have been possible without the consortium and letters of support from business and industry. This accreditation validates CLTCC efforts to meet industry standards of excellence in our programs and to ensure our graduates are properly trained and ready to work.”
The NATEF programmatic accreditation is good for five years.
CLTCC is a two-year technical and community college offering associate degrees, technical diplomas, industry certificates, and customized training in more than 20 disciplines to support local workforce development and prepare students for good-paying jobs. CLTCC serves nine parishes in Central Louisiana through its seven locations and provides instruction in three state prisons and two federal correctional institutions. For more information, visit www.cltcc.edu.
NATEF, founded in 1983, is a national organization that is dedicated to improvement of automotive technician training programs across the U.S. NATEF certification is based on evaluation of an educational training program using professional industry standards as criteria. A program that is certified by NATEF is recognized as providing the level of training that students must master to be successful as technicians in the auto industry.
Media Contact:
Fran Phoenix
(318) 487-5443, ext. 1160
[email protected]
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