Part 1: Scope. Students repair vehicles as part of their academic program. All repair work must be integral to the instructional program. Vehicles are accepted for work only to meet the needs of the curriculum material. The work completed must coincide with subject matter being taught. Vehicles are accepted from LSC students, the public, and LSC employees. Vehicles owned by students in the automotive programs or owned by Lake Superior College (LSC) are used whenever possible.

Subpart A: Accountability

  1. Any items or miscellaneous projects worked on other than vehicles (e.g., bobcats, trailers, plows, etc.) must be approved by the Dean of Business & Industry in advance to assure connection to curriculum.
  2. Dean of Business & Industry must approve any variances to these procedures in advance. The Dean will communicate such exceptions to the Vice President of Administration and Director of Business Services in writing or via email.
  3. Auto Service Technology Education (ASTE) and Auto Body Technology Education (ABTE) students should be notified, verbally and in the syllabus, that they will need to be the owner of the vehicle worked on to receive preferential consideration in this procedure.
  4. Every LSC employee is responsible for reporting noncompliance of established policies and procedures to an administrator.

Part 2: Procedures. All procedures are expected to be followed by ASTE and ABTE faculty and staff under all circumstances.

Subpart A: Customer Request for Repairs & Release Form (CR)

  1. CR form is completed and is signed by the customer (on both sides of form) whenever work will be done on a vehicle on the LSC premises. All sections of the form must be completed.
    1. Vehicle drop off by appointment only to ensure form is completed and signed.
  2. Every vehicle in the LSC auto shops must have a current and updated CR on file.
    1. If the scope of the work changes, the CR form needs to be revised to include the additional work.
    2. If a vehicle is returned due to prior work complaints, a new CR must be completed documenting the complaint.
    3. CR must be completed even when instructors use their own vehicles for demonstration or assessment purposes.
  3. Everyone having a vehicle in the shop must sign a CR. This includes students in the program, ASTE/ABTE faculty, and any other college student or employee. The CR is consent and acknowledgement of the terms and conditions of utilizing the LSC Auto Service or Auto Body shops and is required by LSC’s insurance provider.
  4. CR forms must be completed for any type of vehicle or equipment being worked on; this includes but is not limited to bobcats, trailers, plows, engines, and transmissions.
  5. Parts may be purchased by the College or brought in by the customer.
    1. Generally Auto Service Technology (ASTE) has the College purchase the parts and Auto Body Technology (ABTE) has the customer purchase the parts due to the type of work done by each unit.
    2. Instructors/staff should not order parts using a customer’s credit card.
    3. Parts and supplies purchased by the College are charged to customers at LSC cost on the Repair Order (RO).
    4. Customer provided parts and materials must be listed on the CR, on a list attached to the CR, or logged into Mitchell; this includes ASTE/ABTE faculty and students.
      1. Shop fee is charged even if customer provides their own parts and materials.
      2. Enrolled ASTE/ABTE students are not charged the shop fee.
  6. “Estimate” section must be completed on the CR form.
    1. Estimate will include parts, services, and shop fee.
    2. All customers must be provided an estimate before any work in excess of $200.00 begins.
    3. Customer’s authorization will be noted with date, time, and person receiving the verbal approval. If possible, written signature should be obtained.

Subpart B: Repair Order (RO)

  1. Numbered RO must be completed on all work for which there is a charge.
    1. All sections of RO must be completed or be available on attached CR or print out from Mitchell (auto shop management software).
    2. Recommend assigning a RO number to each vehicle when it is accepted for work.
    3. Vehicles that are in the shop only for assessment, evaluation or estimate do not need a RO until accepted for work; however the CR must be completed.
    4. Copy of CR form must be attached to the RO when submitted to Business Office.
    5. ROs do not need to be completed for LSC vehicles unless another department is to be charged. CR form is required for all LSC vehicles.
  2. Each RO is numbered. All numbers checked out to the departments must be accounted for before the end of the fiscal year.
    1. Instructors/CLA will be held accountable for missing repair orders.
  3. ASTE and ABTE must match charges from vendors to the ROs each month.
    1. Business Office will audit.

Subpart C: ASTE Process

  1. Instructors ensure that each vehicle is entered into Mitchell.
  2. All parts purchased are added to Mitchell when received. All receipts must be submitted to CLA on the day of receipt.
  3. Instructors will verify completed information in Mitchell for parts, full-unit consumables, and miscellaneous items used in repair.
  4. Parts and supplies used on all LSC vehicles must be entered into Mitchell.
  5. Information in Mitchell should be verified and annotated to document that correct torques, tire pressure, type and quantity of fluids, levels of fluids, etc. have been completed appropriately.
  6. Each ASTE instructor is responsible for correct, accurate, and completed information in Mitchell prior to CLA submitting RO to Business Office.

Subpart D: Control of Bulk Purchased Supplies

  1. Bulk purchased fluids should be locked at all times when not in use.
  2. Any fluids used will be logged and entered into Mitchell as used. This includes engine oil, transmission fluid, antifreeze, gear oil, and Freon.
  3. A Demo RO should be set up in Mitchell for each instructor. Any bulk purchased items used for demonstration or class purposes should be logged on this RO.
  4. Fluids tracked on CRs, ROs and in Mitchell are expected to equal the total amount used in the bulk container when changing to the next container.

Subpart E: Charges

  1. There is no charge for labor.
  2. Parts, paint or services obtained from other vendors (e.g., heads machined) are charged at LSC cost with no markup.
  3. Customers are not charged for ordering errors.
  4. Customers are not charged for parts that students break during the learning process. This is a cost of instruction. These need to be noted clearly in Mitchell.
  5. Shop fee is a fixed amount of $25. The shop fee helps defray the cost of shop supplies.
    1. Shop fee is charged to both ASTE and ABTE customers.
    2. Shop fee is charged for all jobs unless the miscellaneous shop supplies are estimated to be less than $25.00 (e.g., oil changes, tire repair, etc.), but the customer pays for all parts and supplies (e.g., oil, oil filters, etc.)
    3. Shop fee is charged to all LSC employees including ASTE and ABTE faculty/staff.
    4. Shop fee is waived for students enrolled in the ASTE or ABTE programs. This must be documented on the RO form.
  6. ABTE materials charge is a sliding amount from $25 to $300 depending on the work being done.
    Materials charge is to cover the miscellaneous materials used in auto body repair.
    Materials charge is charged to all LSC employees including ASTE and ABTE faculty/staff and students in these programs.

Subpart F: ASTE and ABTE Enrolled Students

  1. May bring in their own parts, but they must be listed on the CR form.
  2. Are not charged the $25 shop fee.
  3. Charges are tracked on the CR form and in Mitchell.
  4. If charges exceed $200, a $200 deposit must be made to the Business Office.
  5. ROs for all charges must be submitted to the Business Office at the end of the semester even if work will continue the next semester.
  6. New CR and RO need to be created each semester.

Subpart G: Payment

  1. Down payments are not required.
  2. Payments from insurance companies are not accepted.
  3. Customers pay after the service has been provided.
    1. Customers do not receive the keys to their vehicle until the balance is paid in full. No exceptions including LSC faculty, staff, and administration.
    2. If the customer does not pay, the vehicle remains in a fenced and locked lot on campus.
  4. Customer payments must be made with the Business Office.
    1. ROs are emailed, sent via campus mail or brought to the Business Office.
    2. Customer makes the payment with the Business Office in person or over the telephone.
    3. Customer brings paid receipt to shop to pick up vehicle or verbal payment confirmation obtained from Business Office to ASTE or ABTE staff.
  5. Vehicle pick up is by appointment only.
    1. Vehicle may not be picked up after 4:30pm unless payment is made in advance.
  6. Customers who plan to pick up their vehicle after Business Office hours must make payment in advance.
    1. Business Office: Monday-Friday, 7:30 am – 4:30 pm except posted holidays.
  7. ASTE and ABTE instructors and staff are not allowed to accept payments.

Subpart H: LSC Owned Vehicles and Equipment

  1. President’s approval is not required to work on LSC owned vehicles or equipment.
  2. Like all other customers, work and costs on LSC owned vehicles or other movable equipment (snow plows, trailers, etc.) should be recorded on a CR.
    1. Same recording process should be used each time a vehicle is worked on even if it is done multiple times for instructional purposes.
  3. If another department is to be charged, a RO must be completed.
    1. When work is completed, it should be submitted to the Business Office just like other customers.
    2. Shop supplies should be assessed just like any customer.
    3. Credit will go to ASTE/ABTE cost center just like any customer.
  4. CR is required if parts or supplies are used in LSC equipment not in a vehicle, e.g., stand-alone engines, transmissions, etc.

Subpart I: Audits

  1. The Business Office tracks numbered ROs.
  2. Unannounced audits of CR forms for all vehicles on the LSC premises will occur periodically.
  3. Business Office staff audits the charges on the ROs with vendor invoices.

Subpart J: Business Office

  1. If the service is for a student, charges are added to the student’s account and then paid.
  2. If the service is for a nonstudent, charges are added to the General Receipt by Cost Center.
  3. Funds are deposited to 011262/9373 for Auto Service and 011252/9373 for Auto Body.
  4. The Business Office collection process will be used for any delinquent accounts.

Part 3: Donation of Assets

  1. All vehicles are to be donated to the Lake Superior College Foundation. See Policy 7.7 and Procedure 7.7.1.
  2. When the Foundation transfers vehicles/equipment to the College, they are received by LSC and not to a specific department or club.
    1. Administrative approval is required for vehicles/equipment to be utilized by a specific department.
    2. The Business Office maintains titles on all vehicles owned by and/or transferred to the College.

Part 4: Disposition of Assets

  1. Procedure 7.3.3, on Property Disposition, must be followed before any vehicles or equipment are scrapped or sold.
    1. Administrative approval is required prior to the disposition of any assets.
    2. This includes items that may have been designated for the “Auto Club.”
    3. Contract is required for all scrap hauling vendors.

Part 5: Conflict of Interest

  1. Parts and services are not to be purchased from businesses owned by LSC employees in order to mitigate any actual or perceived conflict of interest.
  2. LSC auto service or auto body shops are not to be used by any faculty or staff for purposes other than instruction.

Subpart A: President’s Approval Required

  1. Any repair or service work, beyond use for demonstration purposes, to be done on vehicles or equipment owned by ASTE or ABTE faculty/staff or their immediate family members (spouse and children) must be approved in advance, in writing/email, by the President or designee.
  2. Any repair or service work to be done on vehicles or equipment owned by LSC “excluded administrators” (Administrative Council members) or their immediate family members (spouse and children) must be approved in advance, in writing/email, by the President or designee.
  3. Any repair or service work to be done on vehicles or equipment owned by private enterprises must be approved in advance, in writing/email, by the President or designee.

Subpart B: Process

  1. Complete ASTE/ABTE Employee Work Request Form.
    The following information must be provided: (1) summarize the work to be done; (2) Explain how the work meets student learning objectives and supports the curriculum; and (3) Explain why this is the only option, including what efforts have been made to obtain other vehicles to use, and why LSC owned vehicles cannot be issued.
  1. Submit form to the Dean of Business & Industry.
  2. Dean will forward to the President or designee for a decision.
  3. If approved, a CR form must be completed on employee vehicles/equipment with the President’s approval attached.

Date Implemented: December 11, 2014