Reading Area Community College student, and Phi Theta Kappa Vice President, Valerie Mackey, has been selected as a 2020 Phi Theta Kappa Guistwhite Scholar and will receive a $5,000 scholarship. Guistwhite Scholars are chosen based on academic achievement, leadership accomplishment, and engagement in Phi Theta Kappa programs. Fifteen Guistwhite recipients were selected by a panel of independent judges from more than 3,400 applicants this year.

Each Guistwhite Scholar is awarded a medallion and a $5,000 scholarship for their baccalaureate studies. Your student has received an email with details of the award. An accompanying press release is attached to be shared with your college’s public relations department. Winners were selected from among 3,400 applicants nationwide, and their selection was based on academic excellence, leadership accomplishments, and engagement in Phi Theta Kappa programs. They will also receive a commemorative medallion.

This is the second-highest scholarship offered by Phi Theta Kappa. It is named in honor of the late Margaret and Dr. Jack Guistwhite, who established the first transfer scholarship designated exclusively for Phi Theta Kappa members to Florida Atlantic University in 1975.

“What Dr. Guistwhite started 45 years ago has become a transformational force in the lives of PTK members and has resulted in more than 800 colleges and universities designating transfer scholarship for our students,” said Phi Theta Kappa’s President and CEO Dr. Lynn Tincher-Ladner. “It is fitting that we continue to honor our students who excel in scholarship and leadership as Guistwhite Scholars in celebration of Jack and Margaret.”

Phi Theta Kappa is the premier honor society recognizing the academic achievement of students at associate degree-granting colleges and helping them to grow as scholars and leaders. The Society is made up of more than 3.5 million members and nearly 1,300 chapters in 11 nations, with approximately 240,000 active members in the nation’s colleges. Learn more.

Reading, PA- Alpha Sigma Rho, Reading Area Community College’s Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Chapter, joined the PTK Middle States Regional Convention virtually on March 28. The Hallmark Awards, one of the major programs of PTK International, engages members to participate in activities which support the Society’s Hallmarks of Scholarship, Leadership, Service and Fellowship. Chapters submit reports on their work in several areas. These submissions are judged competitively and individuals, chapters and regions are recognized for their excellence in support of these hallmarks. Awards are given on both a regional and international level. The Middle States Region includes eighty chapters from Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Washington D.C.

During the annual PTK Middle States Regional Convention, the chapter received several significant awards:

• Five Star Chapter
• REACH Chapter
• MSRGold Chapter
• Distinguished Chapter - #2 in the Region
• College Project - #5 in the Region
• Honors in Action - #1 in the Region
• Honors in Action - Highest in the Theme "Economies of Everything"

In addition to these chapter-based awards, the following individuals received awards:

• Distinguished Chapter Member - Emma Wright
• Hall of Honor - Carol Tapia and Aaron Valentine
• MSR Superhero - Valerie Mackey

To learn more about developing leadership potential through participation in Phi Theta Kappa programs at RACC, contact Danelle Bower.

The Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges is pleased to announce that on January 8, 2020 Pennsylvania's 14 community colleges signed a statewide articulation agreement with Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU). The historic agreement -the first of its kind in the Commonwealth -will provide Pennsylvania community college graduates, employees, and the immediate family of employees the opportunity to enroll at or transfer to SNHU to pursue a bachelor's degree at a 10 percent tuition reduction.

A significant number of Pennsylvania's community college students pursue transfer to four-year institutions and attainment of a baccalaureate degree. Each year, more than 30,000 Pennsylvania community college students transfer, and nearly 85 percent of those transfers are to institutions in Pennsylvania. The colleges currently have thousands of articulation agreements with higher education partners to help our students realize their postsecondary goals. We remain committed to these partnerships and look forward to expanding them as opportunities arise.

However, some of our students prefer the flexibility offered through virtual learning opportunities, and many of our students are challenged by the high cost of higher education -two hurdles that the SNHU partnership seeks to address.

SNHU is already a popular transfer destination for Pennsylvania's community college students, with more than 1,500 community college students currently enrolled. Nearly 500 Pennsylvania community college students transferred to SNHU in the 2018-2019 academic year and SNHU awarded 166 Pennsylvania community college graduates a bachelor's degree in the 2018-2019 academic year. With the articulation agreement and tuition reduction being offered by SNHU to community college graduates, the pathway to a baccalaureate degree will be more seamless and affordable than nearly every other public option in Pennsylvania, depending on a student's program of study and credit load.

The negotiation of this agreement with SNHU demonstrates the commitment of Pennsylvania's community colleges to be efficient, innovative and responsive to the needs of the Commonwealth, its communities, our students, and employers. The Commission and its member colleges will continue to seek additional opportunities to ensure that Pennsylvania can achieve its attainment goal of 60 percent of Pennsylvanians aged 25-64 with a postsecondary degree or industry recognized credential by 2025, with a focus on closing attainment gaps for historically underrepresented populations.

Reading, PA – Reading Area Community College, in partnership with Tower Health, is proud to announce a new 15 week Pharmacy Technician Program beginning in the spring of 2020. The program, designed by administrators from both institutions, will prepare students to take the national certification examination administered by the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB). Students who complete the pharmacy technician program can seek employment in a hospital or retail pharmacy setting.

“We are very excited about this partnership with Tower Health. For students who want to enter the pharmacy technician field, enrolling in this program is the fastest way to get great training and enter the workforce. Because of the shorter time to completion, the courses will be quite focused. The curriculum is designed to teach students the exact skills they will need to work as a pharmacy technician,” says RACC president Dr. Susan Looney.

According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, employment of pharmacy technicians is projected to grow almost ten percent from 2018 to 2028, faster than the average for all occupations. To prepare students for this career, the program will provide classroom content lectures, hands-on lab training, and practicum experience in a hospital setting.

“RACC is a wonderful educational institution in the community,” says William M. Jennings, president and CEO, Reading Hospital. We are pleased to partner with them to offer a Pharmacy Technician training program that will provide students the hands-on experience needed for a successful career as a Pharmacy Technician. We are privileged to provide the students the opportunity to shadow Reading Hospital pharmacists and technicians in different areas of the facility to fulfill their training.”  

The Pharmacy Technician Program will be held from 5:30-9:30 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. The program start date is January 13, 2020 and ends April 16, 2020. Learn more or call 610.375.8188.
 

Reading, PA – On August 20, 2019, Reading Area Community College (RACC) President Dr. Susan Looney and Kutztown University of Pennsylvania President Dr. Kenneth Hawkinson signed an agreement for Kutztown University (KU) to teach a Bachelor of Science in Education (BSED) with Prek-4 Teacher Certification program at Reading Area Community College’s (RACC) campus starting fall 2020.  

The agreement frames a teacher certification pathway through leveraging Berks County public institutions, Reading Area Community College, Kutztown University, Reading Muhlenberg Career and Technology Centers, and Berks Career and Technology Center and addresses workforce projections for qualified early childhood teachers in the region.
Students will be able to begin taking college courses this fall at the Career Technology Centers (CTC) through the Teacher Academy, a college-credit bearing career pathway in CTC Early Childhood Education taught at both CTC’s. Students will be able to complete their AAS in Early Childhood Teaching in a year after graduating from high school before transitioning to Kutztown University’s BSED (PreK-4 Certification) program offered at RACC’s campus. At the center of these agreements, which creates a seamless pathway from the CTC’s to Kutztown University, are the students who graduate from RACC’s AAS Early Childhood Teaching program and need an accessible and affordable pathway to better employment opportunities through earning a  Bachelor of Science in Education in the community where they live, work, and raise their families. 

“The BSED at RACC’s campus will help our students achieve their career goals and help our community with well-trained early childhood teachers. These students want to stay in Berks County and teach our very youngest students in Berks County. To partner with the Career Technology Centers so high school students can begin their career programs with college credit helps accelerated the pathway to completion,” says Dr. Susan Looney. 

For more information about KU – BSED Cohort starting fall 2020 at RACC’s campus, please contact Jim Garraway, KU’s Assistant Director of Transfer Admissions, 610.683.4787. For more information about the Teacher Academy contact Jodi Corbett, director of academic partnerships/special assistant to the president, 610.607.6219.