KALAMAZOO – An open house on Nov. 5 will help launch the third edition of the Kalamazoo Valley Community College Automotive Academy for which applications are still being accepted.

Just like the high-tech vehicles that it trains prospective mechanics to maintain, the academy format is being fine-tuned. It will be shorter in duration, smaller in size, and slightly redesigned in instructional delivery.

The training will be staged in the M-TEC of KVCC, located on the college�??s Groves Campus off 9th Street along I-94, instead of at the Texas Township Campus�?? automotive facilities.

That is also where the Nov. 5 open house will be staged from 4 to 6 p.m. The third academy is slated to begin Nov. 23.

The agenda will include information about the academy, remarks by lead instructor Hector Orlandi, and a seminar on �??Emerging Technologies in the Automotive Industry.�?� Refreshments will be served.

One of the new wrinkles will be a textbook-less approach. Instead, each student will have access to a laptop computer that they can use to research on the Internet for the online maintenance services offered by automotive manufacturers and suppliers.

Under Orlandi, there will also be a shift in instructional design. The first two academies, which ran for 42 weeks, featured a third segment that had enrollees, in effect, running their own repair shop under the guidance of their instructors.

The new format will have that kind of training integrated throughout the instructions. When the students are being trained in brake work, that�??s the kind of repairs they will be making right then and there instead of waiting to the end.

The theory is that will be a more effective and hands-on way of learning and training because the students will be applying that knowledge quickly instead of waiting until later when there could be a tendency to forget.

Instead of a peak enrollment of 17, the third academy will be limited to 12 enrollees. Among the selection criteria in the competitive process are the quality of the written applications, a �??documented work ethic,�?� interest in and knowledge of automotive technology, and driving records.

Within five days of submitting an application, a prospective enrollee will be notified as to whether he/she has met the basic eligibility criteria and be scheduled for an interview. Notification of acceptance into the academy will also be within a five-day period.

The fee for the third academy is $9,500. This includes uniforms valued at $300 and $7,000 in high-tech tools that automotive technicians need to do their jobs.

�??The automotive academy is like a job,�?� said Orlandi, who has more than 25 years of global experience as an automotive-service technical engineer. �??We look for students who can make a full-time commitment.�?�

Beginning on Nov. 23, the enrollees will be in class or in the lab from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Mondays through Fridays. Stressed will be the eight automotive-knowledge areas that are certified by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence and preparing students to reach those standards.

Financial aid is available, and scholarship funds awardable through the Kalamazoo Promise also qualify for the KVCC Automotive Academy.

A complete description and application can be downloaded at KVCC.Edu/Training

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