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BC3

May 9, 2024

Record 15 Riv-Ell Students Pitch Business Plans

A record 15 high school seniors profiting from a yearlong Riv-Ell Entrepreneurship Program pitched business plans April 25 that impressed Ellwood City area leaders and in pursuit of graduating from Butler County Community College on May 15 with a 16-credit workplace certificate funded by donors. The 11 Lincoln and four Riverside seniors in 2023-2024 represent the largest group to seek the post-secondary credential in a 6-year-old program that combines academic coursework with practical experiences. Riv-Ell is a collaboration between BC3 and Ellwood City area businesses. Private contributions to the BC3 Education Foundation fund tuition, fees and books. Graduates earn a…

May 6, 2024

BC3, Guest Students Can Work Ahead, Save Through College’s Summer Courses

Butler County Community College’s nearly 150 summer session courses lasting four to 12 weeks will provide an opportunity for BC3 and guest students to complete required courses in preparation for the fall semester or to advance toward graduation, a BC3 administrator said. Students can choose from courses instructed online, or in person on BC3’s main campus in Butler Township or at its additional locations of BC3 @ Armstrong in Ford City, BC3 @ Brockway in Brockway, BC3 @ Cranberry in Cranberry Township, BC3 @ Lawrence Crossing in New Castle and BC3 @ LindenPointe in Hermitage. Courses in the college’s three…

April 5, 2024

BC3 @ Lawrence Crossing Sets Open House For April 10th

Prospective students can explore BC3 @ Lawrence Crossing’s associate degrees in transfer and career programs during an open house from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. April 10 at 2849 W. State St., New Castle. BC3 @ Lawrence Crossing 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 Guests attending the open house can also learn about BC3 @ Lawrence Crossing’s affordability, support services, financial aid options and resources such as free tutoring. Shenango Township resident Makenzie Perretti says you meet “very nice people who are looking…

January 29, 2024

BC3 To Expand Pioneer Pantry To Lawrence Crossing As Part Of $20K Grant

New Castle, PA — A Butler County Community College food security program for low-income students will receive a $20,000 grant that will in part expand a 4½-year-old main campus Pioneer Pantry to BC3 @ Lawrence Crossing and to other BC3 additional locations in Armstrong, Butler and Jefferson counties. The state Department of Education’s designation 17 months ago of BC3 as a Hunger-Free Campus qualified the college to seek associated grants from the agency. Grants are intended to help campuses address food insecurity with measures that include enhancing access to food options, creating awareness initiatives and upgrading facilities, according to Gov….

January 26, 2024

BC3 Announces President’s List, Dean’s List and Graduates for Fall 2023

Butler County Community College is proud to announce the names of students who have made the president’s list and dean’s list for the fall 2023 semester, as well as the names of those who have graduated recently. Students who have achieved a cumulative GPA (grade-point average) of 3.75 or higher are named to the president’s list following completion of at least 12 semester hours or upon completion of degree requirements. Students who have achieved a cumulative GPA (grade-point average) of 3.5 to 3.74 are named to the dean’s list following completion of at least 12 semester hours or upon completion…

January 10, 2024

Longtime BC3 President Nick Neupauer Announces Plans To Retire At End of Year

Butler –  The president of Butler County Community College for nearly a third of its existence today announced plans for his departure from the 59-year-old institution of higher education. Lincoln High School graduate Dr. Nick Neupauer, 56, and BC3’s Chief Executive Officer for 17 years, wrote in an email sent today to BC3 employees that he will retire December. 31st. The college’s board of trustees is aware of his decision, is “working on a smooth transition plan” and will make further announcements regarding the position of president, Neupauer wrote. BC3’s board appointed Neupauer as the college’s eighth president in 2007….

January 5, 2024

Ellen O’Brien Gaiser Center, BC3 To Discuss Addiction Issues In Teens & Young Adults

PITTSBURGH – Navigating adulthood is a new and exciting time for older teens and young adults. The newfound freedom that comes with leaving home for the first time often brings fresh challenges and experiences — and new pressures. The Ellen O’Brien Gaiser Center and Butler County Community College will host an important conversation on addiction issues unique to families with older teenagers and young adults in its second annual “Discover Recovery” community forum on Monday, Jan. 8, 2024. Gaiser’s 2024 community dialogue on addiction treatment focuses on family matters, bringing together clinical and medical experts, parents and school and university…

December 14, 2023

10 BC3 Students Receive Department Of Defense-Funded Financial Awards

Steven Pander and Ralph Mulneix, both of Portersville, were among ten Butler County Community College students who received $7,500 this fall in programs that emphasize cybersecurity education and that have collectively grown in enrollment by 32 percent since January. The distribution of financial awards through the use of a U.S. Department of Defense grant brings to at least $32,287 the amount BC3 has provided in 2023 to students in four associate degree career programs and in one associate degree transfer program within its business and information technology division. BC3 has applied $18,500 toward tuition and expenses for 19 students, $12,037 to…

December 13, 2023

Legislators Must End Funding Delay for Community Colleges

NOTE: The following is an op-ed related to the state funding impasse and signed by members of the Butler County Community College board of trustees and the BC3 Education Foundation board of directors as provided by BC3 in e-mail. Nearly six months into the fiscal year, Butler County Community College and Pennsylvania’s 14 other community colleges have yet to receive operating funds authorized in the state’s FY 2023-24 budget. In fact, community colleges are the only public higher education institutions in Pennsylvania still awaiting state payments. The state budget included a two percent operating fund increase for the community colleges,…

December 5, 2023

BC3’s College Within the High School Program Sets 3 Records

A 26-year-old Butler County Community College program that offers qualified high school sophomores through seniors the opportunity to earn reduced-cost, transferrable college credits has set records this fall in enrollment, in seats occupied and in credits pursued. BC3’s College Within the High School program this fall enrolls 523 students. The all-time high includes a record 57 students in an Early College Pioneers program on BC3’s main campus, a record 16 in a Riv-Ell Entrepreneurship program in Ellwood City and a sophomore who was 14 when his three-credit BC3 course in marketing began in August at Mars Area High School. “I…