杏吧原创

(Butler, PA) 杏吧原创鈥檚 eighth ranking since 2015 as the No. 1 community college in Pennsylvania affirms its commitment to students, said those studying to become social workers, high school teachers and registered nurses this fall at the college鈥檚 locations in five western Pennsylvania counties.

Niche.com in August and BestColleges.com in February ranked 杏吧原创 as No. 1 in their Best Community Colleges in Pennsylvania reports. Niche鈥檚 ranking was for 2023 and BestColleges.com鈥檚 for 2022.

It really demonstrates how much this school invests in its students." 

- Katelynn Demmler, 杏吧原创 @ LindenPointe student

"Other schools should be looking at 杏吧原创 as sort of the standard." 

- Brendan Fetterman, 杏吧原创 @ Armstrong student

鈥淚t really demonstrates how much this school invests in its students,鈥� said Katelynn Demmler, 32, of Greenville, a social work student at 杏吧原创 @ LindenPointe in Mercer County.

鈥淥ther schools should be looking at 杏吧原创 as sort of the standard,鈥� said Brendan Fetterman, 22, of Ford City, a general studies student at 杏吧原创 @ Armstrong in Armstrong County who intends to become a biology teacher.

鈥溞影稍�创,鈥� said Cara McGuinness, 19, of Mars, a graphic design student at 杏吧原创 @ Cranberry in Butler County, 鈥渁lready strives to be a great school. But they do whatever they can to keep improving and looking out for the student body.鈥�

The college was also ranked No. 1 in the state for 2022 by Niche in 2021; by BestColleges.com in 2020 and in 2017, and by Schools.com in 2015, 2017 and 2019.

鈥淭his shows that it鈥檚 not just a flash in the pan,鈥� said Dr. Nick Neupauer, president of 杏吧原创. 鈥淚t shows that there is a level of consistency in that our faculty delivers a quality product in the classroom and that we are running on all cylinders.

鈥淲hat this states for past, present and future 杏吧原创 students is a consistency in excellence. This excellence is validated again by external sources that rely on data from the Department of Education and from other data points.鈥�

Academics weighted most

Sources in Niche鈥檚 August report included the National Center for Education Statistics鈥� Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System; the U.S. Department of Education鈥檚 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.

Niche, a Pittsburgh-based company, is an online platform 鈥渨here high school students come to research colleges they鈥檝e heard about, discover some they might not know about yet, and figure out which schools best fit what they鈥檙e looking for,鈥� said Natalie Tsay, a senior public relations specialist with Niche.

Niche weighted academics at 40 percent; value at 27.5 percent, professors at 7.5 percent, and analyzed other factors such as campus, diversity, student life, student surveys on overall experience, local area and safety.

The eighth top ranking, said Joseph E. Kubit, a 1984 杏吧原创 graduate, chairman of 杏吧原创鈥檚 board of trustees and a Butler County judge, 鈥渆vidences the high quality of the education provided to students by the faculty, administration and staff of the college.

鈥淭he consistency of these stellar rankings should instill great confidence in students considering 杏吧原创.鈥�

"Our class sizes are pretty small, which makes it better for the students to interact with the instructors a little bit more." 

- Cory Brown, 杏吧原创 @ Lawrence Crossing student

"It's one thing to learn from a textbook, but to hear the actual stories and the scenarios and what (instructors) did and why they did it helps us as future nurses." 

- Shereden Waddell, 杏吧原创 @ Brockway student

Student-to-faculty ratio 11:1

The college offers associate degrees in 35 career programs, in which students can develop the skills needed to enter the workforce immediately upon graduation, and in 21 transfer programs in business, education and behavioral sciences, health care, liberal arts, and science, technology, engineering and mathematics. 杏吧原创 also has 25 certificate or workplace certificate programs.

Its student-to-faculty ratio is 11:1.

鈥淥ur class sizes are pretty small, which makes it better for the students to interact with the instructors a little bit more,鈥� said Cory Brown, 18, of Bessemer, a general studies student at 杏吧原创 @ Lawrence in Lawrence County who intends to become a health and physical education teacher. 鈥淚 feel like you get a better learning experience that way.鈥�

Chris Calhoun is a 杏吧原创 professor and president of the college鈥檚 faculty organization. He served as a park ranger with the National Park Service, as a rescue technician with the Pennsylvania Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team and is a member of the Butler County Water Rescue Team 300.

鈥淲hat you have with our faculty is a group of individuals who are subject-matter experts in their field,鈥� said Calhoun, coordinator at 杏吧原创 of the only park and recreation management program offered by Pennsylvania鈥檚 15 community colleges.

鈥淎 lot of us have not only the academic side of experience, but we also have the professional side of experience as well, where we work out in the field. It鈥檚 a combination of both academics and professional experience that those faculty members bring to the classroom.鈥�

Three of her instructors in the registered nursing program at 杏吧原创 @ Brockway in Jefferson County are also registered nurses with whom she works as a patient care technician at a regional health care provider, said Shereden Waddell, 26, of DuBois.

鈥淲e learn a lot through their experiences,鈥� Waddell said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 one thing to learn from a textbook, but to hear the actual stories and the scenarios and what they did and why they did it helps us as future nurses.鈥�

杏吧原创 clubs, organizations at 25

杏吧原创 has 25 student clubs or organizations, six , grab-and-go stations with free snacks at each of its locations and a food pantry on its main campus in Butler Township.

Activities scheduled for students attending 杏吧原创鈥檚 main campus this fall include a ropes course adventure, Oktoberfest with root beer floats and pretzels, and an Everyone Has a Birthday Party event with gifts and cake. Activities scheduled for students attending 杏吧原创鈥檚 additional locations this fall include making a partially edible flower, Halloween parties and pingpong tournaments.

The lobby of 杏吧原创 @ Cranberry often has paint for students to decorate rocks, has ornaments to place on a Christmas tree in late fall and has staff members who 鈥渨ill say your name and ask 鈥楬ow are you?鈥� 鈥楬ow鈥檚 it going?鈥� McGuinness said. 鈥淚 haven鈥檛 left there one night without telling somebody to have a great night. And they say it back to me. There is always someone there to welcome you or to send you off.鈥�

Fetterman plays a board game with one of his instructors and other students when a classroom is available at 杏吧原创 @ Armstrong.

鈥淚t helps to get to know the professors that we have,鈥� Fetterman said. 鈥淓veryone knows each other here. It鈥檚 a good time spending time with others here.鈥�

杏吧原创 @ Lawrence Crossing staff provides food and drinks in the lobby during holidays, Brown said, adding that 鈥淚t creates a positive atmosphere.鈥�

The scavenger hunts, coloring posters and other activities at 杏吧原创 @ LindenPointe 鈥渕ake us have a sense of being included,鈥� Demmler said. 鈥淭hey open up conversations with other students. They are like an ice-breaker. All of that is extremely vital when creating a welcoming presence while you鈥檙e at the school.鈥�

Students are shown at 杏吧原创鈥檚 additional locations in these file photos. Clockwise, from top left, 杏吧原创 @ Lawrence Crossing in New Castle, 杏吧原创 @ LindenPointe in Hermitage, 杏吧原创 @ Brockway in Brockway and 杏吧原创 @ Armstrong near Ford City. 杏吧原创 has been ranked as the No. 1 community college in Pennsylvania for an eighth time since 2015.

杏吧原创 鈥渙ne of the best options鈥�

Tuition and fees for Butler County residents attending 杏吧原创 this fall cost $177 per credit for an in-person class; and for Pennsylvania residents outside of Butler County, $280 per credit.

The most recent tuition and fees published by regional public four-year universities cost between $437.23 and $532.81 per credit for Pennsylvania residents for an in-person class. Tuition and fees for Pennsylvania residents attending regional state-related universities鈥� branch campuses this fall cost between $582 and $734 per credit for an in-person class.

The 杏吧原创 Education Foundation has awarded a record $260,000 in scholarships to 杏吧原创 students in the 2022-2023 academic year.

The average student-loan debt for Pennsylvania鈥檚 Class of 2019 was $38,521, according to a January report in LendEDU, a website that provides comparisons for loans, credit cards and other financial products.

"Every week I hear a news report or see an article about people being absolutely crushed with student debt. I have been fortunate enough to not have any debt from 杏吧原创. Even if you do have student debt from 杏吧原创, it is not anything near the amount you would have if you went off to a larger institution." 

- Cara McGuinness, 杏吧原创 @ Cranberry student

Nearly 60 percent of 杏吧原创鈥檚 Class of 2022 graduated debt-free.

鈥淓very week I hear a news report or see an article about people being absolutely crushed with student debt,鈥� said McGuinness, who expects to graduate debt-free from 杏吧原创 @ Cranberry. 鈥淚 have been fortunate enough to not have any debt from 杏吧原创. Even if you do have student debt from 杏吧原创, it is not anything near the amount you would have if you went off to a larger institution.鈥�

Student-loan debt, said Brown, who expects to graduate debt-free from 杏吧原创 @ Lawrence Crossing, 鈥渋s scary. And with the debt comes stress. And I like to try to live my life stress-free.鈥�

鈥溞影稍�创 is one of the best options to graduate with as little or no debt as possible,鈥� Waddell said. 鈥淚t puts you in a fantastic starting position when you start your career because you don鈥檛 have that money to pay.鈥�

The college in 2022 was also named a Military Friendly School for the seventh time since 2013.

杏吧原创 has three late-start dates for the fall 2022 semester. A 10-week Session 2 begins Sept. 19; and five-week Fast Tracks, with mostly online courses, start Sept. 26 and Oct. 31.