Santa Ana College is introducing a new bachelor’s degree in automotive technology. Available to students beginning in the fall 2026, the automotive technology bachelor’s degree is the third to be offered at the college, joining SAC’s occupational studies and paralegal bachelor’s degree programs.

This new pathway will be in addition to SAC’s associate degree in automotive technology and the many automotive certificates currently offered, all within the school’s Human Services and Technology Division.

To gain a better understanding of workforce development in this high-demand field, SAC assembled an advisory committee comprising professionals from numerous auto manufacturers and dealerships based in Southern California.

The feedback SAC received from this committee was insightful. While dealership service managers did not express a stated need for workers to have a bachelor’s degree, manufacturer representatives did.

SAC associate professor of Automotive Technology David Roper, who also serves as the chair of Automotive & Diesel-Electric Transportation Technology, began collecting labor market data from the committee to develop the degree program application.

“I put together (an outline) to meet with them … and get their opinions on a possible bachelor’s degree that is more focused on manufacturers and getting a degree that can help students eventually work for the manufacturer,” Roper said.

After nearly 18 months of data collection from local auto manufacturers such as General Motors (Glendale), Ford (La Mirada), Mercedes (Long Beach) and Hyundai (Fountain Valley), Roper submitted the bachelor’s degree application in January of this year and received approval over the summer.

“The process was very strategic,” said Larisa Sergeyeva, SAC dean of Human Services and Technology. “If we develop something, we want to make sure that it will provide a brighter future for our students.”

Bachelor’s degrees at community colleges function as a 2 + 2 pathway, where students must first earn an associate degree before they are accepted into the bachelor’s program.

SAC’s automotive technology associate degree focuses on technical courses with hands-on learning in a lab setting. Students learn everything from how to change brakes to how to rebuild an engine transmission, with all classes following the standards set by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence, an independent professional certification group within the automotive service and repair industry.

The next task for Roper and his team is to develop and receive approval on the program curriculum, which Roper has outlined in three parts.

The pathway’s 300-level technical courses will follow Automotive Service Excellence’s advanced standards and will include engineering principles and diagnostic training. In the 400-level lecture-style courses, students will be exposed to topics such as management, supply chain and ethics, providing them with a broader understanding of what fields they can pursue after degree completion.

The degree plan will also be augmented with three general education courses that will have an auto technology emphasis in areas such as communications, environmental science and computer applications.

“A big reason for the program is to provide an opportunity for the students to think outside of the box,” Roper said. “When you get in that technician mindset … you don’t really think of what else is out there. So this program is designed to show them what else is out there and to guide them.”

Roper envisions starting in fall 2026 with a cohort of approximately 25-30 students. SAC’s automotive programs already have a strong reputation in the industry and are highly impacted, with as many as 200 students on waitlists for courses each term.

The program currently has five full-time faculty and hopes to add a sixth. If voters approve a bond measure that is on the ballot this November, the college plans to expand its facilities to support the additional course offerings.

“Santa Ana College is proud to be the home of three bachelor’s programs, more than any other community college in the state of California,” said Jeff Lamb, vice president of Academic Affairs at SAC. “Our upcoming bond, if passed by the voters, will provide us with the resources to build a state-of-the-art home for the new bachelor’s in automotive technology.”

Another aspect of the new program that will be attractive to students is the affordability of the degree. With upper-division courses currently priced at $130 per unit, the automotive technology bachelor’s degree can be completed for less than $8,000, a price tag that may open the door for those who never envisioned higher education as a feasible path.

“We are looking at the students potentially who will start in noncredit adult education, transitioning into the automotive pathway to an automotive AA degree, and then to a bachelor’s degree,” Sergeyeva said. “That would be a true example of what community college is really all about. It’s creating that opportunity.”

Originally Published: September 23, 2024 at 11:07 a.m.