HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. – The I-CAR Education Foundation has announced a new program for collision career and technical schools and colleges. Starting this fall, all secondary and post-secondary technical schools and colleges that have a collision repair program will be invited to complete a “Collision Repair School Solutions” survey. The Education Foundation will use the results to track general program information, key academic performance indicators and program needs for new tools and equipment to train the students.
As an incentive to complete the survey, Mitchell International has made an unlimited donation of its RepairCenter with TechAdvisor and Ultramate Basic software to collision repair school programs. These products, valued up to $2,500 per multiple-user license, will serve as a teaching tool for instructors, and give students experience navigating the same systems that are used in collision repair businesses today. Depending on the number of schools that complete the survey, Mitchell International’s annual donation could exceed $600,000.
“The Collision Repair School Solutions survey is designed to look closely at the state of collision education and identify areas where we can help,” said Scott Kruger, executive director of the I-CAR Education Foundation. “Everyone knows that technical education in this country needs support, but it has been difficult to draw a direct line between donations and better performance in the collision industry. This survey will provide the data to not only track historical trends, but also to see if we are actually helping schools and meeting our organizational goals.”
The I-CAR Education Foundation is currently working with other information solutions, systems and software providers, including independent providers and OEMs, to offer their repair and estimating information systems to collision repair schools. Schools will be required to retake the survey on an annual basis to renew their subscription to the Mitchell software and any other software licenses.
“Mitchell’s gift is both extremely generous and the catalyst to creating real change for the better within our collision repair schools,” added Kruger. “Both of our organizations are very excited to see how students will benefit from having this information in hand and the creative ways educators will use the system in the classroom and on the shop floor.”
In addition to the pledge of their software products, Mitchell International has also pledged $10,000 to the Collision Repair Education Campaign, and has donated several reconditioned laptops to be distributed to collision repair schools and students.
The questions on the “Collision Repair School Solutions” survey were designed to provide the Education Foundation with important information about collision school enrollment, placement, personnel, facilities and equipment, and will help the Education Foundation create metrics in which to measure the success of the collision education system going forward. In addition, the survey will gather information from schools on their individual, specific needs so that the Education Foundation can approach potential industry donors with these specific needs in mind.
For information on how to donate to programs supported by the Education Foundation visit www.ed-foundation.org.
