An over $1 million renovation project currently underway at Butler County Community College’s Cranberry campus will leave the school’s first branch location with a new look and learning environment.
Upgrades to the south side of the 22,500-square foot building at 250 Executive Drive began in late June and are on schedule to be completed by the first day of the fall semester on Aug. 27. These renovations include the instillation of lab equipment to allow for chemistry instruction.
Once the south side is complete, work will begin on the north side renovations which include new carpeting and paint as well as new heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. The second part of the project should be wrapped up by the end of October.
BC3 at Cranberry opened in 1990 after courses were held for three years in a rented office in a nearby plaza.
Wavy panels will diffuse energy-efficient LED lighting in a lobby that will showcase two laptop bars and three glass-faced study rooms, amenities that will appeal to the site’s nearly 200 students between its 61 credit and six noncredit classes this fall, said Lauren Buchanan, BC3 @ Cranberry director.
BC3 @ Cranberry, she said, responded to results of a survey in which students reported they sought more study or meeting spaces and access to electrical outlets.
“We took all of that into consideration,” Buchanan said. “We often had students sitting in the lobby at tables. We’d see them move the tables over to an outlet. These areas are going to help. They are not going to have to move anything. They will be able to sit down and plug in. We are meeting their needs. They would prefer to stay here instead of going home or somewhere else between classes.”
BC3 @ Cranberry will have 11 classrooms, the natural science lab, a photo studio, a multi-purpose room, a tutoring center, five administrative offices and suites, Buchanan said. It will also include a new information center with two computer stations where prospective students can research BC3 and its programs, Opitz said.
To accommodate construction on the north end of the building, three credit courses – abnormal psychology, business ethics and yoga – are tentatively scheduled to be held this fall at the Cranberry Township Public Safety Training Center two miles north and along Route 19, Buchanan said.
BC3 @ Cranberry is the only of BC3’s additional locations to offer associate of applied science degrees in digital audio and visual production, graphic design and in photography, programs that will allow graduates to develop the professional and technical skills necessary to start a career upon graduation. It also offers an associate of applied science degree in business management.
BC3 @ Cranberry also offers transfer programs in business administration, criminology, early childhood education (Pre-K), general studies and psychology, in addition to coursework for pre-nursing, after which its students can pursue an associate of applied science degree in registered nursing from BC3’s main campus.
An open house for the renovation project may be held in November, Opitz said, months after students’ initial surprise at their new learning environment.
“It will have a whole new look,” Buchanan added, “and a whole new feel.”
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