Certificate in Automotive Service Technology - General Service Technician Track
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CERTIFICATE
Certificate in Automotive Service Technology - General Service Technician Track
Total Credit Hours: 31
About Certificate in Automotive Service Technology - General Service Technician Track
The Certificate program in Automotive Service Technology (AST) is a competency-based program designed to offer entry level training sufficient for employee success in automotive technician positions. Skills acquired in this program also apply directly to occupational areas including diesel mechanics, small engine repair, generator repair, marine engine service, fleet service, repair service order writing, and entry level automotive service management.
Graduates of the AST Certificate program demonstrate the foundational skill and knowledge to pursue further study in power plant mechanics, marine/diesel repair and automotive engineering in the automotive manufacturing industry.
Two ‘tracks’ exist within the program. Students completing the General Service Technician Track offer future employers preparatory background in four primary areas of automotive service technology (brakes, electrical/electronic systems, engine performance, and suspension/steering) and are prepared to pass the National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation (NATEF) Certification Examination in those areas. Upon passing of the exam, and after one year of automotive industry work experience, they are eligible to receive NATEF designation as a General Service Technician.
The second option within the Certificate program is the Master Service Technician track, where graduates receive preparatory background in the four above-mentioned automotive areas as well as four additional areas (automatic transmission/transaxle, engine repair, heating/air conditioning, and manual drive trains/axles). These graduates are prepared to pass the National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation (NATEF) Certification Examination in all eight examination areas offered, and upon passing of the exam, they may pursue recognition from ASE as a Master Service Technician.
| General Service Technician Track | ||
| Major Requirements | ||
| Course | Course Name | Credits |
| AST100 | Introduction to Automotive Service | 3 |
| AST140 | Suspension and Steering | 3 |
| AST150 | Brake Systems I | 3 |
| AST160 | Electrical/Electronic Systems | 3 |
| AST180A | Engine Performance I | 3 |
| AST180B | Engine Performance II | 3 |
| AST240 | Theory/Practicum: Suspension & Steering | 2 |
| AST250 | Theory/Practicum: Brakes | 2 |
| AST260 | Theory/Practicum: Engine Performance | 4 |
| AST280 | Theory/Practicum: Electrical/Electronic | 5 |
| Certificate Total | 31 | |
2024-2025 College Catalog
General Requirements for Certificates
Effective fall Semester 2003, several academic policy changes were implemented to ensure that students are adequately prepared to meet business and industry standards. All Undeclared or newly Declared Students enrolled in regularly scheduled postsecondary courses must be enrolled in or must have completed developmental coursework for Math and English or have successfully placed into post-secondary Math and English (or equivalent).
Students must fulfill the English general education requirement by the time they have enrolled in 12 credits of classes. This means that students may take only nine (9) credits before they must begin meeting the general education requirements. All declared students in Certificate programs will be required to successfully complete minimum general education course requirements. For more information, refer to the Admissions Information, General Education Policy section of this catalog.
A. General Education Requirements
Students must demonstrate proficiency in reading, writing, understanding and speaking English as indicated by one of the following:
- Test out of the English Placement Test (or equivalent), or
- Satisfactory completion of EN097 courses and
- Test out of the Math Placement Test (or equivalent), or
- Satisfactory completion of MA098 course
B. Major Requirements. Total Major Requirements vary by program. Minimum Total Credits Required for a Certificate is 30 credits.
* No course may be counted for both Major and General Education requirements.
** Placement testing is not mandatory for admission to the College. Completion of placement testing or equivalent, however, is required for enrollment into English and mathematics courses. Therefore, students who plan to enroll full-time in a program should take the placement test to be eligible for a full load of courses.
Upon successful completion of the Certificate in Automotive Service Technology program, students will be able to:
- Identify the purposes and proper functioning of the core components of an automotive engine.
- Perform a cylinder compression cranking test.
- Demonstrate the proper use of a digital multimeter (DMM) during diagnosis of electrical circuit problems.
- Diagnose, adjust, repair, or replace automotive components.
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