BC3 students prepared for universities
Students who transfer from Butler County Community College to universities are seen as welcome additions to those campuses.
Rich Loughner, transfer counselor for BC3, said the top five places students transfer to, in order, are: Slippery Rock University; Clarion University; Indiana (Pa.) University; University of Pittsburgh; and Penn State University, mainly the Behrend, Erie, campus.
Betsy Stevens, interim coordinator of admission for transfer students at SRU, said the two schools "really do have a unique relationship in how well we work together."
BC3 is in an unusual position because it is one of two community colleges in the state that have state system schools in the same county, she added.
Students arriving at SRU from the community college seem well-prepared and dedicated, she said. The university has several agreements with BC3 which make an easy transition for the arriving transfers.
"It's a natural arrangement," said Stevens. "I think BC3 does a great job in the first two years."
This year, about 152 students arrived at SRU from BC3, according to Amanda Yale, associate provost of enrollment services at SRU. That number has been increasing for the past few years, she added.
Yale agreed that both colleges work well together.
"It's a seamless environment because our transfer people work on their campus," she said. "Having a community college in our backyard is a great advantage. There's lots of flexibility, I think that's a key word between the two."
At Clarion University, Diane Kahle of the transfer admission office said she enjoys working with BC3 students, taking appointments a few times a year to talk to them on the Butler campus, as well as working with the students who have already transferred.
Only one other college sends more transfers to Clarion than BC3, she said.
"I've seen them come in year after year," said Kahle. "Students are very well-prepared."
Kahle remembered one student who arrived from BC3 to study chemistry at Clarion.
"She had all the courses she needed so that she graduated on time," said Kahle. "There was no problem with the credits she brought.
"We see our liberal arts courses line up well with the ones at BC3," she added.
Brett Cione, educational consultant for the University of Pittsburgh, is generally impressed with BC3 transfers as well.
"They seem to be really focused on what they want," he said.
Pitt recently started its first degree completion program on BC3's campus, as a matter of fact, he said. That administration of justice major (criminology) has been a success so far, with between 20 and 25 students enrolled in its first year, he said.
