(Ford City, PA) U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson puts on eyeglasses before examining a floor plan whose edges nearly hang over the dark conference table upon which it’s spread.
In the classroom directly behind him are students in a computer course.
And behind that classroom – the only other one at BC3 @ Armstrong in Manor Township – are students in a psychology course.
The floor plan – examined Jan. 27 in this conference room, which doubles as a classroom, and where Thompson’s fingers trace thick-and-thin inked lines designating what could be up to six classroom spaces – will guide heavy equipment operators a half-mile away.
That’s where construction of an expanded BC3 @ Armstrong facility in downtown Ford City will begin within weeks.
“This will be like a gem”
BC3 @ Armstrong is one of two Butler County Community College additional locations created since 2013 in a Pennsylvania 15th congressional district represented by Thompson, a Bellefonte Republican, and to serve underrepresented counties in the state with higher education.
The other is BC3 @ Brockway in Jefferson County, which also serves Clarion, Clearfield and Elk counties and whose enrollment has increased as much as 248 percent since it opened in 2013.
Enrollment has increased as much as 426 percent at the Manor Township location where BC3 @ Armstrong opened in 2015.
BC3 @ Brockway is currently the only accredited community college in Pennsylvania north of Interstate 80 in the 268 miles between BC3’s additional location in Hermitage, Mercer County, and Luzerne County Community College in Nanticoke, Luzerne County.
Additional locations “are the exciting part of what Butler County Community College does,” said Thompson, a senior member of the U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee.
“It’s just an impressive school and an impressive model.”
BC3 @ Armstrong saves students an otherwise 30-mile, 40-minute drive to BC3’s main campus in Butler Township, Butler County.
An associate degree career program in registered nursing that debuted in 2018 at BC3 @ Brockway saved some students a roundtrip drive of as many as 130 miles up to four times a week to BC3’s main campus.
The state-of-the-art BC3 @ Armstrong facility in Ford City will encompass 15,000 square feet – 13,000 more than its dedicated space in Manor Township. Thompson echoed other elected officials and business leaders who have said they expect the location to spark commerce in the borough’s downtown.
“Ford City has to be thrilled,” Thompson said while reviewing the floor plan for the site at 1100 Fourth Ave. “This will be like a gem.”
Additional locations “are the exciting part of what Butler County Community College does. It’s just an impressive school and an impressive model.”
U.S. rep lauds BC3’s return on investment
Ford City is located near the center of a county whose number of jobs decreased by 9.3 percent between 2015 and 2020, according to Emsi, an Idaho research company that conducts economic impact analyses for educational institutions.
The college plans to introduce noncredit workforce development opportunities at BC3 @ Armstrong in Ford City in advance of developing associate degree career programs in technical fields.
Students in BC3 career programs can develop the skills needed to enter the workforce immediately upon graduation.
Among his goals, Thompson said, is to restore a robust rural economy, to spark a robust emerging economy and to restore populations in rural counties.
“The educational paths that you are providing in this building and in the future building,” Thompson said, “is about learning to earn …. We need a workforce. We do have opportunities here. We aren’t going to have entrepreneurs start new businesses or people who invest in our area if we don’t have people equipped to stay here.”
Thompson also recognized the impact of BC3’s affordable education during his discussion with Karen Zapp, director, BC3 @ Armstrong; Megan Coval, executive director, BC3 Education Foundation and external relations; and Dr. Case Willoughby, BC3 vice president for student affairs and enrollment management.
Seventy percent of BC3’s Class of 2021 graduated debt-free.
“When you think intermediate or long-term,” Thompson said, “it’s huge to make this affordable … There will actually be a return on their investment versus a lot of schools.”
BC3’s salary-to-cost ratio was the highest among more than 40 regional public and private colleges and universities in 2018 and 2019, according to the most recent analyses of U.S. Department of Education data conducted by the Pittsburgh Business Times.
“I know BC3 pushes financial literacy, which is so important,” Thompson said. “I don’t think we’ve always done that in the past. And so people are making some really bad decisions … I want (students) to understand that the decisions they are making have consequences. And do they understand what the consequences are?”
Thompson places his reading glasses back in his suit jacket and pushes away from the floor plan.
"I am very proud of BC3. You are in the middle of it. You may not recognize it. But you are in one of the best programs out there.”
“One of the best”
BC3’s is a “quality education, affordable and accessible, right here,” Thompson said while visiting BC3 students in those computer and psychology courses. “And that’s kind of cool.”
“Congratulations on picking a great school. I work a lot to support educational programs on a national level, not just here at home. I am very proud of BC3. You are in the middle of it. You may not recognize it. But you are in one of the best programs out there.”
Local, county and state elected officials attended the college’s ceremonial groundbreaking for BC3 @ Armstrong in Ford City in September.
Among those invited were Butler County Commissioners Leslie Osche, Kimberly Geyer and Kevin Boozel; Armstrong County Commissioners Don Myers, Jason Renshaw and Pat Fabian; former state Rep. Jeff Pyle; state Rep. Bryan Cutler, House speaker; state Reps. Abby Major and Marci Mustello; state Sen. Joe Pittman and members of Ford City’s borough council.
Construction trailers may arrive this week at the site of BC3 @ Armstrong in Ford City, according to Brian Opitz, BC3’s executive director of operations. Workers will initially install a perimeter construction fence, Opitz said.
Thompson’s congressional district also includes municipalities in eastern Butler County.
