How ASE accreditation helped Timmy Martin build excellent automotive education programs

Timmy Martin's foray into automotive began in his father's repair shop, where, as a child, he was the gofer: “Go for this wrench, go for that ratchet." His formal career started at 15 in the quick lube industry with Jiffy Lube, followed by three years of active duty in the Army in the early 2000s as an artillery mechanic.

After his stint in the military, Martin completed Ford's ASSET program at Brookhaven College in Dallas, Texas, specializing as a diesel technician working on F250 through F650 vehicles. Martin found his passion for teaching while mentoring younger classmates during his college program.

In January 2012, he left the shop and entered the classroom at Red Oak High School, just south of Dallas, where he now teaches automotive technology on high school and collegiate levels. Since then, Martin has grown his program from modest beginnings to 89 students, with plans to exceed 100 students and hire a second instructor.

In this interview, Martin discusses how instrumental ASE accreditation has been in building program credibility, securing manufacturer partnerships, and preparing students for successful careers in the automotive industry.

Q. What's the value of making sure that your programs are accredited?

Timmy Martin: If you're trying to build a great program, ASE accreditation gives you a route … to achieve those standards that the industry is looking for. Accreditation provides this process—almost step by step—to establish those relationships with the industry, to build your program with the tools and equipment you need, to provide you with the training you need to meet those demands that your students are going to have for you, and the industry is asking of them.

Q. How do ASE-accredited programs benefit the student’s career? 

Martin: When the student knows that they are part of an ASE-accredited program, it provides some validity to them. They're not just in something that's been cooked up by somebody in their community. This is something that has the backing of a nationwide program that has relationships with manufacturers, dealerships, and independent repair shops across the board.

The other thing is that a lot of manufacturers provide web-based training. They'll provide resources to our training programs if we are ASE accredited, and so we've established a relationship with Toyota, General Motors, and Ford Motor Company. All of those manufacturers provide vehicles and web-based training. Those certifications are things that our students can take to a position in a dealership; they can hit the ground running as an 18 or 19 years old, with some of those manufacturer certifications already under their belt. That’s a huge leg up for them.

Q. What other opportunities does ASE provide to help you and your students succeed?

Martin: We get access to the weekly webinars that come out, which is a resource that not all of my students participate in, but it's just one more tool in our toolbox. And then, I'm here. I've been to the last four ASE instructor conferences, and this is just a wealth of information. I bring a small notebook with me, and almost every year, a huge chunk of that notebook gets filled up with information that I gain from fellow instructors, from the training sessions that I get here. And, a lot of what our regional representative from ASE has done in just connecting me with those dealers, those employers that are out there looking for our ASE-trained students. So as far as training goes, what I'm able to receive myself makes the work that it took to get accredited worth it, flat out, no questions asked. And then what I'm able to take back to my students is also a benefit to them.

Q. If I'm a high school or college program leader who wants to become ASE accredited, what do I need to do?

Martin: Get on ASE's website and look up the accreditation process. It seems like a daunting task and taking it one step at a time is the way to go about it. Get in there and start looking at those standards and tackling them one at a time. Reach out to your regional representative; they will walk you through that process and connect you with resources one standard at a time. So you essentially work your way through the standards.

If you don't have a process for documenting what your program is accomplishing in both academic terms, for what your students are doing, and then also the training that you are receiving as an instructor, that would be a great place to start. This way, you can show ASE that you're meeting the standards that the industry is asking for. So, once you've worked through all of those standards, you'll reach out to ASE, and you'll start the evaluation process.