Butler County Community College is beginning a feasibility study that looks into moving one of their branch campuses onto a Penn State campus.
BC3 says they are looking into a proposal that would move their BC3@Lindenpointe in Hermitage to the Penn State Shenango campus.
“The plan, which will be investigated, will be for both institutions to maintain their accreditation. This is not a merger. This is two institutions who would be on the same location and an opportunity to match community needs with high priority occupations,” BC3 President Dr. Nick Neupauer said. “And even further look at affordable, quality educational offerings.”
The study comes as public school enrollment declines in Mercer County. It’s estimated that the public school population will be 28,000 students in the next 10 years. That would be a decline of nearly 37 percent since 2004.
“Penn State Shenango looks forward to discussing the opportunity to strengthen our partnership with Butler County Community College and continuing to work together to ensure that our residents have access to post-secondary education,” Dr. Jo Anne Carrick, Penn State Shenango’s campus director said.
Penn State Shenango has served the greater Sharon region since 1963 and Butler County Community College, since 1997.
BC3’s Lindenpointe campus currently has around 55 students.
