Skip to content
Bucks Cited as Top PA Community College for Transfer-Out Rate
A recent U.S. Department of Education report highlighting the top two- and four-year colleges and universities supporting student transfer was released earlier this month with groundbreaking data. Nearly 40% of students transfer at some point during their collegiate journey, and they lose more than 40% of their credits on average when they transfer from one institution to another resulting in lost time, money and all too often, the degree or certificate they are pursuing due to never completing their graduation requirements. As a result, the U.S. Department of Education has launched its “Raise the Bar: Attaining College Excellence and Equity” initiative with the goal of improving the student transfer process to boost degree completion by working with higher education leaders across the country.
The Department of Education study looked at a substantial sample of students who began their collegiate journey in 2014. Bucks County Community College has the highest transfer-out rate (44 percent) of Title IV students among Pennsylvania community colleges. Title IV funding refers to federal financial aid such as Federal Direct Student Loans and Federal Pell Grants. Of the 700 Title IV students who started a 2-year cohort in 2014, 311 of those enrolled at a 4-year institution within eight years. In addition, the Bucks County Community College and Temple University transfer partnership was recognized as having the best completion rate in the state.
“Students participating in the Temple University dual admission transfer agreement benefit from being conditionally accepted to Temple, having their application fee waived and access to merit scholarships up to $2,000 per year depending on their GPA,” according to Bucks’ Provost, Kelly Kelleway, PhD. Dr. Kelleway adds, “Bucks has dual admission agreements with 28 colleges and universities providing many options to students seeking a bachelor’s degree.” In total, the College has transfer and general articulation agreements with more than 66 institutions.
However, the Department of Education’s “Raise the Bar” initiative is not focused exclusively on four-year degree pathways. The effort involves improving access for students from all socio-economic backgrounds to succeed in whichever academic or occupational pathway they choose. In fact, the focus of the initiative in 2024 will be on improving completion rates and ensuring student outcomes lead to better employment and earnings potential.
Bucks County Community College stands ready to meet the needs of academic-minded and career-focused students alike. With 23 occupational degrees resulting in an associate degree and 27 short-term certificate programs, Bucks helps prepare students for entry-level positions in the workforce as well as career advancement in a wide gamut of professions ranging from culinary arts to diagnostic medical sonography, information technology to brewing and fermentation science, and furniture/cabinetmaking to firefighting. In total, there are more than 90 transfer and occupational majors available at Bucks. In addition, there are numerous career and technical education and training programs, many with funding provided through grants and free to eligible students.
"Skull Sessions" Group Art Exhibition Opens November 20 at BCCC
The Hicks Art Center Gallery at Bucks County Community College is pleased to announce the opening of the group art exhibition, “Skull Sessions,” on view from November 20, 2023–January 6, 2024. The Gallery is located in the Hicks Art Center building on the campus of Bucks County Community College in Newtown, Pennsylvania.
From realism to narrative installation, the artworks in the exhibition “Skull Sessions” represent a current survey of the range of genres in which artists amongst their art group peers are currently practicing.
The title of the exhibition takes its name from the strategy-building sessions that are more typically associated with athletics—especially football. In “Skull Sessions,” the art will speak for the artist with ideas shared and communicated to the viewers as if they are players on a united team. Like an art fair format, the artworks and installations in “Skull Sessions” will be arranged within the areas of Hicks Art Center designated to the following 20 different artist-run collectives and cultural organizations in the Bucks County and Philadelphia regions:
African American Museum of Bucks County
Art at Kings Oaks
Arts and Cultural Council of Bucks County
ARTWRKD
Automat
fjord
Grizzly Grizzly
Newtown Historic Association
Past Present Projects
Peep Projects
Pink Noise Projects
Rush Arts Philadelphia
Space 1026
Termite TV Collective
The Upstairs Gallery of Bucks County
Vox Populi
Zach's Crab Shack
The groups will be represented by artworks or displays from their board members, curators, directors, or members at large, some of whom do not often exhibit their own works collectively. “Skull Sessions” will offer a unique opportunity for the public to see the 20 participating artist-run spaces and cultural organizations in one location together for the first time ever.
There will be an opening reception on December 6, 2023, from 4–7:30 p.m. at Hicks Art Center. All are invited and welcome to meet the artists and cultural organizations’ members. Free and open to the public.
Gallery hours are Monday through Friday 9 a.m.–4 p.m. and Saturdays from 12–4 p.m. Please note that the gallery will be closed in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday November 22–November 25. For winter break, the gallery will be closed from December 22, 2023–January 2, 2024.
For more information, please visit Hicks Art Center Gallery or call 215-968-8425.
[Image: Avtomat, Death Buy Adidas, digital print on acrylic, dimensions variable, 2010 courtesy of Rush Arts Philadelphia]
BCCC and UBCTS Announce First Partnership to Introduce Esthetics Program
Online information session Monday, December 18 at 6 p.m. Bucks County Community College and Upper Bucks County Technical School (UBCTS) are announcing the first partnership in the institutions’ history, teaming up to introduce an Esthetics Program for adults as well as high school seniors who are interested in pursuing a career in the field of esthetics. An online information session will be held Monday, December 18 at 6 p.m. to provide details about the program as well as potential student funding opportunities.
“Given the rapidly growing demand by Bucks County employers for workforce training and the national growth rate for the beauty services industry projected as high as 19% by 2030, we see this program as a natural collaboration with Bucks County Community College,” says Dr. Michael Herrera, Executive Director, Upper Bucks County Technical School.
The Esthetics Program, which will be administered by Bucks County Community College and held at Upper Bucks County Technical School, will cover a wide range of topics including skincare techniques, makeup application, waxing, facial treatments and more. Students will receive in-depth instruction and hands-on training in a modern esthetics lab simulating salon environments and equipped with the latest skincare technology and products. The program will be led by experienced instructors with a passion for esthetics and a dedication to student success through mentorship, career guidance and job placement assistance. Graduates of the program will have the knowledge base and skills to successfully complete the state licensing exam.
“This partnership represents a significant step forward in enhancing the educational and career opportunities available to students,” says Donna Kirn, Executive Director of Community Education & Professional Certification at Bucks County Community College. “It aligns perfectly with the College’s and UBCTS’s commitment to preparing students for a successful future and contributing to the local workforce by offering industry-relevant programs.”
Classes will be held Monday through Thursday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. beginning January 16 and running through June 20, 2024, at the UBCTS Bedminster Township campus located at 3115 Ridge Rd, Perkasie, PA.
Through the state-funded Aim and Attain Grant awarded to the Bucks County Department of Workforce and Economic Development, individuals who were previously enrolled in a degree or certificate program and were unable to complete it between 2021 and 2023 may be eligible to participate in the Esthetics Program at no cost.
To learn more about the December 18 online information session, call 215-968-8409 or email veronica.drumm@bucks.edu.
Tara Tamburello Named 2023 Bucks County Poet Laureate
Tamburello will read from her works Sunday, November 12, at Bucks County Community College in Newtown Tara Tamburello of Langhorne has been named the 2023 Bucks County Poet Laureate, officials at Bucks County Community College announced.
Tamburello, a published poet who works in marketing, rose to the top of 60 entries in the 47th annual contest, said Dr. Ethel Rackin, director of the poet laureate program administered by the College. The contest is sponsored by the Bucks County Commissioners.
Tamburello was raised in Bucks County, along the bank of the Neshaminy Creek. Her poetry and prose have appeared in Ghost City Review, Bone Parade, Rust + Moth, and other journals, as well as in anthologies by Vestal Review and Sans. PRESS. She is a past winner of the Bucks County Short Fiction Contest and was a runner-up for the poet laureate competition in 2021. She lives in Langhorne with her husband, two children, and cat, and she works on the Law School Admission Council (LSAC)'s marketing team. Aside from writing, she enjoys gardening, playing video games and music, hiking, and painting. You can find more of her work at taratamburello.com.
The judges this year were Philadelphia poet Courtney Bambrick and Brooklyn poet Joanna Fuhrman. Both judges commented on the strength of this year's entries.
Tamburello will be reading her poetry on Sunday, November 12 at 1 p.m. in Tyler 142 on the Newtown Campus. She will be reading with 2022 Laureate Tom Mallouk, and they will be joined by the three runners-up, Lake Angela, Kevin Taylor, and Melinda Rizzo. Courtney Bambrick will also be reading.
The Bucks County Poet Laureate program – the longest-running such program in Pennsylvania – is another way that Bucks County Community College contributes to the cultural heritage of the region. For more information, contact program director Dr. Ethel Rackin at ethel.rackin@bucks.edu.
Rising Star Alto Saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin Performs One Night Only on Nov. 17
The Zlock Performing Arts Center at Bucks County Community College is proud to present a unique evening of jazz music with rising star, alto saxophonist, and arranger Lakecia Benjamin on Friday, November 17 at 7:30 p.m.
Voted, “Rising Star Alto Saxophonist,” in the 2020 DownBeat Critics Poll and, “Up and Coming Artist of the Year,” by the Jazz Journalists Association, charismatic and dynamic saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin fuses traditional conceptions of jazz, hip-hop, and soul. Benjamin’s electric presence and fiery sax work has shared stages with several legendary artists, including Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, and The Roots.
Phoenix, the latest and fourth studio album from Benjamin, was released earlier this year and was produced by the multi-Grammy-award winning Terri Lyne Carrington featuring a star-studded line up of specially curated guests: Dianne Reeves, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Patrice Rushen, Sonia Sanchez, Angela Davis and Wayne Shorter.
Tickets start at $30 and are free for current Bucks County Community College students with valid student ID. For more information and to purchase tickets visit the Zlock Performing Arts Center. For group sales, please call: 215-968-8469.
The Zlock Performing Arts Center is located inside the Gateway Center building on the Newtown Campus of Bucks County Community College at 275 Swamp Rd., Newtown, PA. Parking is free. The theater is equipped with audio-loop technology for the hearing impaired.
