They’ve done it again.
For years, the Toyota Technician Training and Education Network (T-TEN) program at Shoreline Community College has been among the best in the country. A recent visit by Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. (Toyota) officials confirmed that the well-earned reputation continues and is well-deserved.
Toyota’s T-TEN Program is a partnership between Toyota, community colleges such as Shoreline, vocational schools and Toyota, Scion and Lexus dealerships.
In May, the program underwent a rigorous and intensive three-day review, ending with a glowing report from Toyota’s Kevin Booth and a ceremony to certify Shoreline as a CEED Certified T-TEN Program – the highest certification for a T-TEN Program.
“I’ve reviewed a lot of programs and I’ve never done one where I could find nothing out of place,” Booth, a T-TEN program consultant, said on May 13, 2015. “Believe me, I looked; this program is exemplary.” Every program detail was reviewed and aligned with specific learning outcomes for students.
While the certification review took three days, the entire process began a year ago.
Shoreline T-TEN Instructors, Kevin Roner and Jeff Cromwell, began a top-to-bottom reworking of the curriculum in May, 2014. This included a new program structure, locking the sequence of courses, adopting a student cohort model, overhauling the individual course structures, and developing or adapting all course assets. The course assets are the syllabi, presentations, guided laboratory learning packages and assessments. In addition, predetermined vehicle faults that are used for each course were installed across the training fleet of 29 vehicles.
Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. launched a comprehensive review of its training programs in 2008. The process involved the T-TEN Instructor Community – a network of instructors at programs across the country. The instructor community began in January, 2010 in a classroom at San Diego Miramar College when a group of instructors, which included Roner, pooled together to help each other meet the new certification model.
Rick Lester, Technician Development Manager for Toyota Motor Sales USA, said he was very pleased with the outcome at Shoreline.
“Shoreline continues to be a top program,” said Lester, who also serves on the Sustainability and Oversight Committee of Shoreline’s Professional Automotive Training Center – Dealer Training Academy. Shoreline is also home to the regional training facility where Toyota/Scion technicians come to gain new certifications and refresh their skills.
Shoreline President Cheryl Roberts thanked Lester and Toyota for their continued support and Roner and Cromwell for their hard work and dedication to students. “Toyota has been incredibly supportive,” Roberts said. “When we can combine that with committed faculty such as Kevin and Jeff, then our students, our partners and our communities all win.”
All T-TEN instructors are certified as Master Technicians by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE). Shoreline’s programs are certified by the National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation (NATEF), the branch of ASE which certifies and accredits automotive education programs.
Students who successfully complete Shoreline’s two-year T-TEN program receive Toyota Certified Training, four institutional certificates and an Associate in Applied Arts and Sciences degree. While in the program, students alternate quarters between the college where they receive classroom and laboratory training and at an area Toyota, Scion or Lexus dealership where they are paid employees. Upon completion, most graduates continue full-time employment in the same dealership. Program graduates are currently working in Toyota, Scion, and Lexus dealerships all around the Puget Sound.
Since its inception, Shoreline’s T-TEN program has regularly been honored by Toyota as one of the top programs in the U.S. and that continues with the recent certification.