For the second time, Toyota Motor Sales, USA Inc. has named Monroe Community College’s Lexus\Toyota Automotive Technician Training program one of the top five training programs in the country.
Toyota first honored MCC in 2000 and followed up again this year with a second award. MCC is the first college in the nation to be named to the top-five list twice.
The ranking resulted from a yearlong evaluation Toyota made of all 51 of its Technical Education Network programs (T-TEN). Each was judged on the number of graduates, the placement of students after graduation, retention of students and the qualifications of staff.
Toyota ranked all five of its top programs equally, making no distinction between first and fifth place.
MCC’s Lexus\Toyota program, established in 1986, offers an associate’s degree program in automotive technology and serves as the main supplier of certified technicians to all Lexus\Toyota dealerships in Western New York. The college also offers associate’s degrees in its General Motors and general automotive programs.
Rob Brown, assistant professor and coordinator of MCC’s T-TEN program, said he is proud of the ranking.
“To be named as a top training site twice is a huge honor,” said Brown, named one of the top instructors in the nation by Toyota in 1990. “When I walk into dealerships, all the faces I see are our former students. It’s great knowing you’ve seen most of those faces in your class before.”
Brown and MCC President R. Thomas Flynn have been invited by Toyota to attend an awards ceremony for the top programs on Sept. 21 in Carmel, Calif.
Mark Sommer
Public Affairs
09/10/2003 |