Green River Electric Automotive Technology (GREAT)

Green River Community College, a Washington state public community college and minority-serving institution, is updating its nationally certified Automotive Technology department to service hybrid gas-electric and fully electric vehicles (HEVs/EVs). All new cars sold within the state by 2035 must be HEV/EVs or hydrogen-fueled cars. The federal government has set a similar goal for the nation to achieve by 2050. However, few technicians are qualified to work on HEV/EVs. This is due to a lack of HEV/EV educational programs that are open to the general public, and difficulty attracting many to become automotive technicians, particularly women. The Green River Electric Automotive Technology project will address this problem in three ways. First, it will create a short-term certificate program for working technicians. Over 20 technicians will annually complete the program and earn industry-recognized certifications. The project will equip Green River College to teach HEV/EV courses and prepare instructors to teach these courses. Second, the project will establish a student club and work with Amazing Women in Automotive, a nonprofit organization, to recruit and support more women in the Automotive Technology department. Third, it will hold a summer workshop in 2025 for 6-8 high school automotive teachers to educate them about HEV/EVs, so they may inform and inspire local youth to pursue careers in this field. The project will use open-access tools and work with diverse partners, such as the Northwest Auto Care Alliance, to share its products for nationwide use by automotive educators. This project is funded by the Advanced Technological Education program that focuses on the education of technicians for the advanced-technology fields that drive the nation's economy. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.