General Motors requires that all applicants to their Automotive Service Educational Program have a high school diploma. They must also find a job at a G.M. dealership that participates in the program and hold that job throughout their education. This is because the program uses hands-on dealership experience to complement the classroom work. Applicants are also required to meet the admissions requirements of the particular college or university where they wish to enroll in the program.
Sixty-three colleges and universities in 35 states offer the General Motors automotive service educational program, most of them community colleges. The only region where the program is not available is in the northern plains states of Montana, North and South Dakota and Wyoming. It is offered at the University of Alaska at Anchorage, but nowhere in Hawaii.
Students who enroll in a G.M. Auto Service Educational Program work exclusively on G.M. cars and parts at their schools and at the dealerships. The curriculum starts with a focus on math, English and electronics, before advancing to technical training. The program is only available at schools that are certified by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence and the National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation, which set standards for what students learn, the tools they use, who is qualified to teach and how many credit hours are required.
Prospective students are encouraged to find work at a dealership that participates in General Motor's automotive mechanic school program, but schools will help qualified applicants find a dealership or service center if necessary. Students spend half of their time in the program working at the dealership and the other half on campus. Students are paid for their work at the sponsoring dealership, which can make the program more affordable than other automotive courses of study.