At a recent Bristol Borough School Board meeting, the newly installed President of Bucks County Community College had a message for Bristol,  BCCC has something to offer everyone

President of the College Felicia L. Ganther, Ph.D., J.D. made an appearance at April’s meeting as she’s been visiting communities throughout Bucks County since her appointment.

Ganther highlighted what BCCC has to offer students, families, and the community in  a presentation to school district officials.

“We have something for every person who comes to us” she said as she went through a number of the programs and efforts the college offers currently.

Ganther noted the 42 transfer programs from BCCC to other colleges and  that the school is the number one educational point in the state, she said.

The new college president pointed out a number of additional reasons why BCCC is a the place to be for students new and old.

-Costs to attend are about $6,500 yearly

-Transfer agreements with other institutions of higher learning,

-Discounted costs or scholarships waiting for students transferring from BCCC to other colleges and or universities.

Ganther highlighted a newly inked agreement with Delaware Valley University in which students who are Bucks County residents graduating from BCCC with an associates degree will earn a 50 percent discount, which is a savings of about $117,000, by transferring there.

The college president also highlighted a new deal with Estee Lauder for those interested in supply chain aspects of business.

The company, she said, will pay for students, put them to work who attend BCCC and move on to Temple.  Upon graduating with a Bachelors Degree students can walk into a career with little to no debt making $70,000 yearly, she said.

“These are the types of partnerships we’re doing. These are the things we’re doing in order to make sure every young person who has dream, an idea of being successful, every family that want’s to see there son or daughter do much better than the generation before them. That we at BCCC realize those dreams, goals and hopes”

With the new Center for Advanced Technologies planning to open this summer on the Lower Bucks Campus Ganther said the new building will be used for an  array of new offerings too.

Ganther also highlighted the CDL training program offered. She said regional companies looking for qualified drivers  have partnered with the Bucks County Work Development Workforce board and Career Link searching for drivers.

Ganther spent the last section of her presentation focusing on high school students who are now just beginning to consider what it is they want to do after graduation.

Many Bristol students, like those inducted into the National Honor Society recently, will go on to area colleges and universities.

Bristol High School graduates can matriculate with up to 25 college credits completed. The courses are free to students in areas such as psychology, digital media, sociology, public speaking and more.  The offerings for students are growing yearly and are paid for by the school district.

And with the Fire/EMS curriculum beginning next fall, which will also be transferable to colleges and universities, students will be well on their way to completing a degree and in turn saving families on educational costs.

“That’s huge for our students” said Superintendent Dr.Thomas Shaffer.

“Plus students get to experience what its like to have a college instructor, which is an entirely different experience from having a high school teacher, said (Nick)

Officials said 66 students will be graduating in June.

Ganther said BCCC will hold assemblies for High School Juniors even if students think college is not a place for them.

We want students to know we have something post secondary to offer like trades, occupational degrees. If they want to seek a non-traditional educational experience that will allow students to make a good wage, we can help with that.  she said.

Ganther, said more future events, such as a career day,  will be geared  towards exposing  students to as many careers as possible.

We want to ensure that students who do not plan to attend college have a game plan towards making  a living wage – looking forward not standing still, she said.

“At Bucks we want every goal, every desire, to come to fruition. Bucks is where dreams are realized.”

School Board President David J. Chichilitti  said the board is, and will continue to work hard on providing students and families as many options as possible in order to make informed career choices.

I really wasn’t fully aware of everything our students can access and use from BCCC, he said.

We’re really proud of our partnership with BCCC and we will continue to work with Dr Ganther to make sure it continues to grow so our students can prosper, Chichilitti said.

The board expects to tour the Lower Bucks campus once all the work on the new building is completed.