April 23, 2010—Citing the cost of the program and low employment rates after graduation, Craven Community College in New Bern, N.C. will shut down its auto body repair program at the end of the year, according to a report in the New Bern Sun Journal.
The Craven Community College Board of Trustees accepted the recommendations of a periodic review to shut down the school’s auto body repair program. Mark Faithful, dean of career programs, told the board the program’s cost outpaced its revenues, very few of its students became employed in the profession, and that student completion rates were “at the bottom” compared with other programs.
The program will be closed in December 2010, after 20 students are able to complete the one-year diploma program.
Although the auto body program will come to an end, Faithful said the school’s automotive systems technology program will continue to grow, possibly in the area of computerization of autos.
