The Automotive Lab, located in Cogan Hall, is open again for the semester! Many faculty, staff and students have taken advantage of the fantastic service the automotive students have provided throughout the years, and I’m just stopping by to once again remind everyone of the function and operation of the lab as there have been changes made recently.
The purpose of the automotive lab is to provide live “work” for our students to gain experience 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 vehicle worked on for a fraction of the price found at a regular automotive shop. Yet 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 2000.
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 for four hours in a 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, as the 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 cashier’s office, along with a current registration and insurance card are required to complete the paperwork necessary 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 (morning lab/ afternoon lab):
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!
Published: Wed, 04 Feb 2015 20:46:10 +0000 by g.raneri1