NATEF Programs Top 2000

Leesburg, Va., August 18, 2003 - The National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation (NATEF) is pleased to announce that a new milestone of over 2000 programs certified was reached in July. Louisiana Technical College - Natchitoches Campus became the 2000th automotive program to become ASE certified through NATEF. Herschel Horton, Campus Dean at LTC - Natchitoches, was thrilled to hear the good news. "It is truly an honor for our program to be nationally certified", he said, "We are very happy to be associated with NATEF and ASE. The certification of our automobile technician training program will improve our ability to attract students, and will enhance our image with the business people that employ our graduates."

NATEF works closely with the automotive industry to set national standards of quality for automotive technician training programs, and oversees the evaluation process through which training programs become certified. When a program that goes through the process meets the standards, NATEF recommends that program for ASE certification.

In order to achieve certification, LTC - Natchitoches program instructor Jerry Grigsby worked with program advisory committee members and school administrators to complete a thorough self-evaluation comparing his program to the standards. Next a team of industry volunteers led by a NATEF-trained evaluation team leader performed an on-site inspection. The evaluation process included a review of the program's administration, facilities, curriculum, tools and equipment, student services, finances, and more for adherence to industry standards for a quality training program.

"The General Service Technician Program is a win-win for industry and education", said Al Duebber, NATEF Chair and owner of Duebber's Automotive Service Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. "Graduates will have the opportunity to build a solid foundation in electrical/electronics and have a general understanding of all automotive systems, which is extremely important to many employers."

Founded in 1983, NATEF is a non-profit foundation within the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) organization. The primary mission of NATEF is to improve the quality of automotive technician training programs through voluntary certification. NATEF is responsible for the program evaluation process, and makes recommendations for ASE program certification based on the evaluation. The State Departments of Education in all 50 states support ASE certification of automotive programs. For more information on NATEF, contact Shannon Vizzini, at 703-669-6643 or via e-mail at svizzini@natef.org