(Butler, PA) Prospective students can learn about Butler County Community College’s selection of academic programs and its new virtual options, about athletics squads that since 2015 have won 38 championships and about BC3’s affordability during an open house April 11.
The open house at 107 College Drive, Butler Township, will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
An information session about BC3’s health care programs is scheduled from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the Pioneer Cafe within Founders Hall. The college’s 25,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art Victor K. Phillips Nursing and Allied Health Building will open in August and house BC3’s Shaffer School of Nursing and Allied Health.
BC3 will waive its $25 application fee for prospective students who apply for admission at the open house. Prospective students can RSVP at BC3.edu/open-house.
Open house guests can tour classrooms and facilities, and learn about student support services and activities, about financial aid opportunities and tuition – and about the college’s new associate degree and certificate or workplace certificate virtual programs whose courses will be instructed by BC3 faculty and accessible at any time.
A representative of BC3’s virtual programs will be available at BC3’s open house to answer questions.
Prospective students can indicate on their free application for admission their intention to pursue a virtual program that can be completed entirely online.
4 virtual options for associate degrees
BC3’s new virtual options in associate degree programs are in accounting, business administration, business management and psychology and require 60 to 62 credits to graduate.
Virtual options in certificate or in workplace certificate programs include accounting skills, basic manufacturing, business skills, human resource management specialist and management of applied technology.
Certificate programs include more general education, elective or career-preparatory courses than do workplace certificates. The new virtual certificates require 30 to 33 credits to graduate and workplace certificates, 16 to 21.
BC3’s main campus this fall will offer associate degrees in 31 career and in 22 transfer programs, and certificates or workplace certificates in 25 programs.
Students in BC3’s career programs, and in its certificate and workplace certificate programs, can develop the skills needed to enter the workforce immediately upon graduation.
Students can also apply BC3 credits toward a bachelor’s degree at public, private and online four-year colleges and universities.
Approximately 60 percent of BC3 students this spring are enrolled in transfer programs, according to Sharla Anke, BC3’s assistant dean of institutional research and planning.
Open house guests can also learn about BC3 athletics programs that since 2015 have won 25 conference and 13 regional championships, earned berths five times in national championship tournaments and produced 15 All-Americans.
The college also offers 25 student clubs and organizations.
Savings range from $172 to $260 per credit
Students who attend a community college for their first two years can save an estimated $20,000 on the cost of higher education, according to the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges.
Spring 2023 tuition and fees at regional public four-year universities start at $437.23 per credit for Pennsylvania residents for an in-person course, and start at $374.20 for an online course.
Spring 2023 tuition and fees for Pennsylvania residents attending regional state-related institutions’ branch campuses cost between $582 and $734 per credit for an in-person course, and start at $620 for an online course.
Spring 2023 tuition and fees for Butler County residents attending BC3 cost $177 per credit for an in-person course and $202 for an online course.
The BC3 Education Foundation in 2022-2023 has awarded to BC3 students a record $280,000 in scholarships, said Lynn Ismail, the foundation’s assistant director and its financial manager.
Nearly 60 percent of BC3’s Class of 2022 graduated debt-free.
Eight No. 1 rankings in state since 2015
BC3 has been ranked as the No. 1 community college in Pennsylvania eight times since 2015, most recently for 2023 by Niche.com.
Sources in Niche’s August report included the National Center for Education Statistics’ Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System; the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Post-Secondary Education and College Scorecard data; the Brookings Institution, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit public policy and research organization; and its college student survey.
BC3’s fall semester begins Aug. 21 with a 15-week Session 1 and a five-week mostly online Fast Track 1.
The college’s 10-week Session 2 begins Sept. 18. Fast Track 2 starts Sept. 25 and Fast Track 3, Oct. 30.
