Lewis and Clark Community College (L&C) is conducting a number of activities which focus on hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) technology. The project develops HEV-infused professional development programs in all eight major areas of automotive technology for community college and high school instructors of automotive technology and to emergency responders. The project also expands its outreach to high schools in the region of southwestern Illinois with the broadened implementation of its Automotive Academy and continues a focused recruitment of underrepresented groups in the region through expansion of its program called Females under the Hood. Updating the HEV-infused curriculum to include a variety of HEV car models and to transition to plug-in hybrid models is also part of the project. The project is revising and updating its articulation program with Southern Illinois University-Carbondale (SIUC). Existing partnerships with local automotive repair businesses which deal with HEVs are sustained and strengthened. The project increases understanding about instruction in HEV technology with dissemination of the results of the curriculum development activities and targets underrepresented groups and females.
