The Automotive Lab is opening again for the semester in Cogan Hall! Many faculty, staff and students have taken advantage of the fantastic service the automotive students have provided throughout the years, so once again let me please remind everyone of the function and operation of the lab as there have been changes recently.
The purpose of the automotive lab is to provide live “work” for our students to gain experience on during their senior year at school. This is to help us, as instructors, evaluate the practical “hands-on” ability of our students as opposed to just learning from a book in an atmosphere that is close to, but not quite, an actual shop. In this way, we don’t have to find placements for each and every student in various shops around and outside the Capital Region.
The benefit to the college community is that there is the possible opportunity to have your personal vehicle worked on for a fraction of the price found at a regular automotive shop. But there are a number of considerations to ponder before taking advantage of this service.
1. As stated above, our first priority is the learning of our students. This includes finding jobs with the most educational value from an instructional standpoint. The Auto Lab will no longer take any job presented to us, but will screen out vehicles by type of work, labor hours necessary and our availability to any special tools that might be needed to complete the job. As a rule, we don’t take in vehicles manufactured before 1996 or those that require special tools we don’t have.
2. As a learning facility, we are not a NYS Registered automotive shop and do not fall under such jurisdiction. There is the possibility of things being damaged in the process of diagnosing and repairing your car, none of which will be our responsibility to cover monetarily.
3. For our students to get the most out of a job, the vehicle owner must agree to do the complete repair and have the means to get all necessary parts in a timely manner. The Auto Lab is unable to purchase, pick-up or exchange parts for any vehicle in our care.
4. Because a vehicle may not have the parts present for completion and the lab is only in session four hours/day, the customer must have a secondary means of transportation at the ready in the event the vehicle is not completed. We can make estimations, but no promises as to the time it will take to complete a vehicle; students all learn at different paces and we run this shop as a learning facility, not a production facility.
5. After an appointment has been approved and scheduled, a $15 lab slip from the cashiers office, along with a current registration and insurance card are required to complete the paperwork to bring the vehicle in for service.
For all community members still interested in taking advantage of this facility, you may call 629-7189 to be considered for an appointment at the following times ONLY:
Tuesday — 8:30-11 a.m. or 1:30-4 p.m.
Wednesday — 8:30-11 a.m. or 1:30-4 p.m.
Thursday — 8:30-11 a.m. or 1:30-4 p.m.
Thanks and have a great day!
George P. Raneri
Assistant Professor, Automotive Technology
P.S. Please pass this information on to your students!
Published: Tue, 25 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0000 by d.gardner