At a glance
The
School of Applied Technology at Alfred State
College is pleased to announce the first recipient of the automotive parts
technology scholarship provided by UNI-SELECT, the leading network of
independently owned auto parts dealer in Canada and a rapidly growing parts
provider in the United
States.
The
School of Applied Technology at Alfred State
College is pleased to announce the first recipient of the automotive parts
technology scholarship provided by UNI-SELECT, the leading network of
independently owned auto parts dealer in Canada and a rapidly growing parts
provider in the United
States.
Andrew
Schmitt, of Hornell, has been awarded $4,000 to begin his studies in the AAS
degree program.
The
agreement between ASC and UNI-SELECT allows freshman students accepted into the
auto parts technology program to be awarded $1,000 per semester for up to four
semesters if they remain in good academic standing (a 2.0 grade point average
out of a possible 4.0).
The
automotive parts technology program is a two-year AAS (associate in applied
science) program-the first of its kind on the Wellsville campus which has
traditionally conferred only AOS (associate in occupational studies) degrees.
Up until now, there has been no college-level automotive parts technology
curriculum in the state that fills that need, according to college officials.
Fall
2007 is the inaugural semester for this new program which complements the
existing automotive trades curriculums: automotive service, auto body repair,
heavy equipment/truck and diesel, and motorsports technology.
Because
the existing automotive programs all require access to aftermarket parts, a
local business runs an active auto parts store on the
Wellsville Campus, where students are regularly exposed to its operation. This was made possible by ASC industry partner
Fred Roberts Auto Parts. The partnership
was developed with the vision of developing a two-year automotive parts
technology program for the industry.
This hands-on program and its courses have been developed based upon
input from experts in the automotive parts store industry.
A
task force of automotive parts store representatives has been working with ASC
on development of this program since 2002. This has included developing the
on-campus parts store.
James
E. Buzzard, executive vice president, UNI-SELECT USA, notes that Alfred State
College's "continued commitment to excellence in education and desire to expand
the program offering and degree level" make this partnership possible. "This [program] will give our industry and
company the future employees with the needed technical and business training."
Craig
R. Clark, ASC interim vice president for academic affairs, concurs: "This new
program is a great example of how industry and education can work together in a
true partnership; in fact," he noted, "We are pleased to announce the first of
many scholarship award winners for this great new program."
Because
the goal of the program is to graduate students who are not only great
technicians, but who will also be great managers, the curriculum includes general
education and business courses to help students build communication and
business skills.
The
program has also been designed to allow its graduates to articulate easily with
Alfred State's technology management (BBA) degree which
allows students who earn an associate's degree in a technical or professional
area to complete a bachelor's degree using a 2 + 2 format. While Alfred State
has a strong reputation for graduating students with outstanding technical
skills, these two-year students have lacked management and business training,
which is crucial for future entrepreneurs. Technology management fills that
need, college officials said.
Graduates
of the program will find employment in automotive parts stores, automotive
dealerships, and larger fleet operations at construction companies or
municipalities as well as at larger institutions that have their own fleets and
maintenance organizations.
Alfred State College's Automotive Trades programs boast one of the largest automotive-related
college level enrollments in New
York State. Currently, the automotive trades
programs serve 260 students with 16 faculty and over 80,000 square feet
of facilities to provide hands-on learning.