New, expanded programs and partnerships provide more opportunities for students, the community
Sept. 17, 2018
HARRISBURG, Pa. – HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College, celebrates the fall 2018 term with new and expanded programs and partnerships. Highlights include:
Apprenticeship Agreements
HACC is expanding apprenticeship agreements to include logistics, cyber security, hotel associate and emergency medical technician. HACC launched Pennsylvania’s first Industrial Manufacturing Technician Apprenticeship Program in February 2017, followed by apprenticeships in hospitality and construction trades.
Classroom and Technology Upgrades
HACC staff recently updated and modernized nine classrooms throughout the College. The College also replaced over 1,500 computers and laptops that were reaching end of life.
Additionally, HACC staff built a One Button Studio at HACC’s Harrisburg Campus. The studio is a hardware and software combination that allows nontechnical users to record, edit and package instructional videos for use both online or within a classroom.
Wireless network improvements are underway at the Harrisburg Campus. HACC staff will improve the Wi-Fi networks at the Gettysburg, Lancaster, Lebanon and York campuses this fall.
Dual Enrollment
HACC’s Dual Enrollment Program continues to grow, with the largest cohort of over 350 high school students enrolled in courses at HACC’s Gettysburg Campus. The program allows qualified students to fulfill high school requirements while earning college credits at a reduced rate on campus, online or at their high school as early as their junior year. These credits count toward HACC programs and transfer to many other colleges and universities.
HACC’s Gettysburg Campus will host a Dual Enrollment Parent Night on Nov. 14 at 6 p.m. to provide an opportunity for parents and prospective dual enrollment high school students to learn about the program.
HACC on Instagram
HACC recently piloted an Instagram
account for HACC’s York Campus and will launch a collegewide Instagram page later this year. In addition to our
Twitter and
Facebook pages, HACC’s Instagram page will give you an inside peek into life at HACC!
Inclusion and Diversity Efforts
HACC will continue to promote and support the hiring of a workforce that reflects the diversity of our students. We know that HACC students will be more engaged, more apt to return and more inclined to graduate if they are positively impacted by diverse instructors. This fall, HACC employees will have an opportunity to participate in training that focuses on implicit bias, and review job candidates’ statements about diversity as part of the application process.
The Gettysburg Campus Diversity Committee is promoting a series of free campus and community events this fall to help us EMBRACE (Educate, Model, Broaden, Respect, Accept, Connect, Empathize) our diversity.
New Degree Requirements
HACC has changed degree designations for 30 of the College’s 105
programs to improve transferability or workforce preparation.
New and Expanded Programs
Among the new and expanded programs are:
- Virtual Learning has added 14 new workforce development courses, with five more coming in 2018-19.
- The Automotive Service Advisor Certificate has been added in response to input and best practices from automotive professionals and local employment needs.
- A two-day Medical Cannabis workshop will be held Nov. 2-3, with plans to offer a virtual option in the near future.
- HACC is partnering with DARTDrones to deliver professional drone pilot training.
- In February 2019, HACC will become the only educational institution in Central Pennsylvania to offer a Nursing Home Administration Program.
- Construction will begin this fall at HACC’s Gettysburg Campus to double the Mechatronics Program with a second cohort of students in January 2019. The College’s noncredit Industrial Manufacturing Technician (IMT) Apprenticeship Program will utilize the new classroom and lab in the evenings.
- HACC’s Gettysburg Campus will offer a Winemaking and Grape Growing Certificate in January 2019.
- The College’s tutoring programs have expanded:
- HACC’s Harrisburg Campus added tutors in the classrooms of Biology 111 and Math 090.
- The tutoring program at HACC’s Lancaster Campus added sections in the classrooms of biology, developmental English, English, math and nursing.
- Tutoring in the classroom expanded to include biology and accounting at HACC’s York Campus.
- HACC’s Harrisburg Campus also is offering on-demand tutoring in the new Math 090 class, which provides an instructor-guided environment for individuals to fill in gaps to accelerate remediation in math skills. HACC’s Lebanon Campus successful math boot camp will be offered in January 2019 for students who placed below the lowest level of developmental math.
- Radiology Informatics Program students at HACC’s Lancaster Campus will have access this fall to a picture archival computer system (PACS) to support a blended model of delivery that combines online work with an intensive weekend of lab exercises.
- Students enrolled in biology classes at HACC’s Harrisburg Campus have four new digital microscopes with cameras set up in biology labs, which provide a means for students to enlarge and save images to study on their own.
Partnerships
Innovative partnerships this fall include expanding HACC’s S.T.E.P. Program and skills training for pre-apprenticeship opportunities in Lebanon and York. HACC’s Lebanon Campus hosted over 40 students in two local districts in spring 2018 and has added a third school district this fall. In York, the program will be offered at Crispus Attucks to serve underserved residents. HACC also has expanded the program in school districts in Dauphin and Lancaster counties.
HACC is a member of the Workforce Pipeline Commmittee in Lancaster, which partners with manufacturers, the Lancaster County Workforce Development Board and local high schools to create pathways into manufacturing in the Lancaster region as a solution to the skills gap in industry.
HACC is partnering with Highmark Caring Place to begin a virtual grief support group this fall to help children, teens or young adults process grief.
HACC’s Lancaster Campus is partnering with the Community Action Program of Lancaster/Lebanon for an on-site navigator so students can access local resources to preventive and supportive services and financial issues.
The HACC Foundation has an AAA Travel and HACC Alumni Association partnership to offer two trips this fiscal year. The trips are open to the public, so these are great experiences that we hope will bring students, employees, alumni and the community together for HACC!
Scholarships
The HACC Foundation has achieved two of its fundraising campaign goals and is well on the way to achieving its
third fundraising goal. Most importantly, we have quantitative data to prove that a significant percentage of students who receive scholarship funds and emergency assistance funding remain at HACC and maintain at least a 2.0 GPA. The funding helps to alleviate barriers that stop many HACC students from completing their credentials.
Nursing students at the Gettysburg Campus will benefit from the
Margaret J. Keyser Memorial Nursing Scholarship that was recently established by the Keyser family.
The HACC Foundation Board has elected new
Board members to help support exciting projects and initiatives at HACC.
Website
Google Translate has been added to
hacc.edu so that visitors can read the College’s website in more than 60 languages.
For more information, please contact newsroom@hacc.edu.
About HACC
HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College, is the first and largest of Pennsylvania’s 14 community colleges. HACC offers over 100 career and transfer associate degree, certificate and diploma programs to approximately 19,000 students. Also, the College serves students at its Gettysburg, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Lebanon and York campuses; through virtual learning; and via workforce development and continuing education training. For more information on how HACC is
uniquely YOURS, visit
hacc.edu. Also, follow us on
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About the HACC Foundation
The HACC Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that was established in 1985 to raise private and corporate revenues in support of HACC, Central Pennsylvania's Community College. The HACC Foundation provides funding for student scholarships, innovative academic programs, state-of-the art training equipment and modernized facilities. To learn more about the HACC Foundation, please visit
haccfoundation.org.
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