NCC’s Automotive & Light Duty Diesel Program Named #4 in the Nation

By Press release submission

Apr 8, 2022

NCC’s Automotive & Light Duty Diesel Program Named #4 in the Nation

BestAccreditedColleges.org has named Northwest Iowa Community College’s (NCC) Automotive & Light Duty Diesel #4 on their list of Best Associate Degrees in Automotive Technology in the Nation.

In an email notification to NCC a representative from BestAccreditedColleges.org stated, “We create our guides and school rankings with student education in mind, and this list will help our readers and your potential students learn about Northwest Iowa Community College’s excellent offerings. We considered hundreds of institutions across the country and ranked Northwest Iowa Community College using data around financial aid awards, the quality of education, faculty, campus resources, and more.”

According to BestAccreditedColleges.org’s website, “Our school rankings only include accredited, non-profit public and private schools. Our objective approach to judging schools uses a proprietary ranking system, which combines current data points from the U.S. Department of Education with school-specific details.”

Data points include:

1. Cost of Attendance: Tuition cost, financial aid, availability of alternative tuition,

loan default rates;

2. Accessibility: Admittance rates, education support & resources, non-traditional

credit programs, dual, AP, and transfer credit programs;

3. Quality & Value: Retention rates, graduation rates, student-faculty ratio.

Schools from across the nation that were included on the Top 5 list:

North Dakota State College of Science, Wahpeton, North Dakota
State Technical College of Missouri, Linn, MO
Saddleback College, Mission Viejo, CA
Northwest Iowa Community College, Sheldon, IA
SUNY College of Technology at Alfred, Alfred, NY

Automotive & Light Duty Diesel: Classes focus about 75% of the time in a hands-on project-based learning environment and the other 25% in the classroom with lecture. In the lab, students will learn on real world problems and with leading-edge equipment used by the industry. Students will cover all eight (8) ASE areas and have a summer internship within the two-year program. National certifications are available in: Automotive Diagnostics Scanners, Precision Measurement, Torque Fundamentals, Wheel Service & Alignment, Battery Starting and Charging, Multimeter, Pro Cut Brake Lathe and Shopkey Service Information.

As an Automotive and Light Duty Diesel Technology student you will study the vehicle from bumper to bumper and roof to road. This program will prepare you to meet the needs of today’s automotive industry including light duty diesel systems.

The program utilizes current industry trends including student laptops with access to service information databases and shop management software widely used in the field. Students also have access to factory and aftermarket diagnostic tools. In this program your time will be spent learning how to diagnose and repair systems in a hands-on environment to give you working knowledge of complex automotive and light duty diesel systems. A real-world atmosphere will prepare you to enter the workforce with the problem-solving skills you will need to be successful. This program will prepare you for employment in automotive dealerships, independent shops, performance shops, fleet facilities, or owning your own business.

NCC is a Snap-on Tool Educational Partner — Every student in this program has access to a new tool box full of new, high quality Snap-on tools from day one of their first semester. This will let the student start their education without the large expense of buying the tools themselves right before school starts. Also, all of the technology in the labs will be updated twice a year to the most current available.

Student Profile: Self-starter, good hand-eye coordination, good reading comprehension, basic science & math skills, good communication skills, computer skills also helpful.

This program qualifies for the Iowa Last Dollar Scholarship. Iowa needs people like you to fill exciting jobs in growing industries. To help keep Iowa moving forward, you can get free tuition for programs that lead to high-demand jobs and good-paying careers. This is not a needs-based scholarship. To find out more about this scholarship, including a list of qualifying programs, go to https://nwicc.edu/future-ready-iowa.

NCC was recently notified of several other national rankings by BestAccreditedColleges.org: