(Butler, PA) For the sixth time since 2015, Butler County Community College has been selected as the No. 1 community college in Pennsylvania, most recently by a third organization joining others that determine rankings after assessing institutions of higher education.
Niche.com, Pittsburgh, analyzed information from the U.S. Department of Education, from the Brookings Institution and from other sources in areas such as academics, value and professors in ranking BC3 first in its 2022 Best Community Colleges in Pennsylvania report.
BestColleges.com and Schools.com also analyzed information from the U.S. Department of Education in their rankings of BC3 since 2015.
In its most recent report, BestColleges.com ranked BC3 as the No. 1 community college in Pennsylvania for 2020. BestColleges.com also ranked BC3 as No. 1 in 2017, as did Schools.com in 2015, 2017 and 2019.
“What this latest ranking tells us is that our position as the No. 1 community college has been sustainable,” said Dr. Nick Neupauer, president of BC3, which has locations in Armstrong, Butler, Jefferson, Lawrence and Mercer counties.
“It’s been several years now. It also tells us that there is not just one organization that is validating us as the top-ranked community college.”
Joseph E. Kubit is chairman of BC3’s board of trustees, a BC3 graduate and a BC3 distinguished alumnus.
“I believe these rankings make it clear that the faculty, administration and staff of the college are committed to providing students with the highest quality and most affordable education and training possible,” Kubit said.
“These stellar rankings should serve to prospective students as objective indicators of the high quality of this institution that they can and should consider when choosing a college.”
“You get a better education”
Academics and value were weighted most heavily among the nine factors Niche.com considered in its rankings.
“When we look specifically at the community college rankings, those are the two areas that really stand out to us,” said Jordan Bazzani, director of customer support for Niche.com. “Academics is the crux of it all for us. We find that looking at the academics most heavily is going to give us the best indicator of the success of an institution.
“Value is an important part of the community college system in the United States. Expenses of education are really important to students and their families.”
Niche also considered student and alumni reviews.
BC3’s faculty “makes it worthwhile,” said Brittney Friters, who expects to earn an associate degree in general studies from BC3 in May.
“They really help you,” said Friters, a Karns City Area Junior-Senior High School graduate who added that students also benefit from BC3’s 14:1 student-to-faculty ratio.
“The smaller class sizes really help because the teachers have more time to be with students one on one. I have friends who attend large universities and they say that they don’t have enough time with their professors. They feel like they are in the dark. Like they are teaching themselves.”
Caleb Martin said he attended a “big-name college” in his first semester.
“You’re just a number there,” said Martin, a Seneca Valley High School graduate and BC3 computer information systems-computer support specialist major.
“Here I’m in a class with maybe 10 people and you really get to know the professors, and they get to know you. If you are struggling, they can help you. You get a better education.”
Mike Dittman, a BC3 professor who teaches writing and English courses, said he has taught 60 to 80 students in lecture halls at large institutions.
“The dynamic is completely different,” Dittman said. “You don’t know the students. You don’t know them by name or even by face. Without a doubt, the small class size is one of the big draws to BC3. It raises everyone. Small class sizes create this sense of collaboration and camaraderie that raises the level of work and discourse in the class, and raises their comfort level with making that difficult transition from high school to college.”
Parents “still paying off college”
About 70 percent of parents of current or prospective college students ages 16-18, and current or prospective college students reported that college affordability impacted their plans for college enrollment, according to Citizens Financial Group survey results published Aug. 6 by CNBC.
My parents are still paying off their college,” said Emma Rihn, a Butler Area Senior High School graduate and BC3 business administration major. “I know that a lot of students graduate debt-free from BC3. I don’t want to be in debt my whole life.”
Seventy percent of BC3’s Class of 2021 graduated debt-free. About 70 percent of BC3 students in the spring 2021 semester were enrolled in transfer programs.
According to the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges, students attending a community college for their first two years can save an estimated $20,000 on the cost of higher education.
“Twenty-thousand dollars represents to me a step ahead,” said Lorin DeGroat, an Oil City Area Senior High School graduate and business administration major at BC3 @ Cranberry in Cranberry Township. “If I did enroll in a four-year institution, that $20,000 would be put toward student loans or housing. I will be a step ahead after I graduate that I wouldn’t have been if I went anywhere else.”
BC3 students from Butler County this fall will pay $172 per credit in tuition and fees for a face-to-face class, and BC3 students from other Pennsylvania counties, $275 per credit.
Regional public four-year universities this fall will charge Pennsylvania students between $437 and $504 per credit for a face-to-face class. Regional public-related universities will charge Pennsylvania students between $572 and $1,170 per credit in tuition and fees this fall for a face-to-face class.
Three more start dates this fall
BC3’s 10-week second session begins Sept. 20, and its five-week online Fast Tracks, Sept. 27 and Nov. 1.
BC3 in 2021 was also named a Military Friendly School for a sixth time since 2013, received an anonymous $1 million gift and its sixth in that amount since 2014, and raised a record $115,000 in a golf outing that raises unrestricted funds to support scholarships and opportunities beyond the classroom. The college also announced the creation of a practical nursing program that will respond to the high-priority occupation in western Pennsylvania.
