The two new buildings that will greatly impact students include the new Select Medical Health Education Pavilion to be dedicated Sept. 7 and the new Grace Milliman Pollock Early Childhood Education and Childcare Center which will be dedicated Sept. 19.
The new 50,130-square-foot Select Medical Health Education Pavilion on the Harrisburg Campus of HACC now houses the college's health careers programs including the nursing, respiratory therapy and dental assisting, hygiene, and expanded function dental auxiliary programs, as well as the college's nursing assistants training and EMT/Paramedic careers. The new building will enable more students to enroll in each of the health education programs.
The new 10,000-square-foot Grace Milliman Pollock Early Childhood Education and Childcare Center expands the number of children that can be served, extends the hours, and will accept children as young as 6 weeks old. HACC has offered on-campus childcare since 1977. This new facility, when finished, will have three times the space the current facility has in Whitaker Hall. It also includes a classroom and observation rooms for early childhood education students.
"We continue to have success at every regional campus of HACC where we have been adding new programs and new space to accommodate more students," said HACC President Dr. Edna V. Baehre.
The new York Center opened with 869 students, an enrollment more than double last year's, and daytime classes have been added in Hanover for the first time.
Students also continue to increase usage of online classes with HACC's Virtual Campus enrolling 2,763 students this year over last year's 2,281. Many students are combining in-class work at HACC's Harrisburg, Lancaster, Lebanon and Gettysburg campuses with online coursework.
HACC also offers classes at the Community Center for Technology and the Arts in downtown Harrisburg, HACC Penn Center in uptown Harrisburg and many locations around the region, including high schools, Fort Indiantown Gap, the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle and others.
The Gettysburg Campus began yet another option for students in the area. Beginning this fall HACC students can enroll in daytime courses in Hanover. While Hanover residents have taken HACC credit classes in the evening since 2002, the opportunity for daytime courses is new this fall.
"The Hanover community has certainly demonstrated support for this new initiative with over 200 enrollments in Hanover," said Shannon Harvey, associate dean of Academic Affairs, Gettysburg Campus of HACC. Classes in Hanover will begin the week of Sept. 6.
Students may enroll up to Aug. 29 for day, evening and weekend classes offered on the Gettysburg Campus of HACC campus and other community locations.
"We're pleased that students are choosing HACC first, whether they are looking for a career associate degree or preparing for transfer to a four-year college," said Harvey. "We know that many of our graduates also choose to stay in the region and work here."
Expansion of new programs offered both on campus and off mark the new semester for the Lebanon Campus of HACC.
New programs at the Lebanon Campus of HACC include the Administrative Office Specialist (AOS) Associate Degree and Certificate Program which provides students with computer and project management skills. Many students with this degree have been hired as executive assistants, office managers, administrative assistants, and receptionists.
The Lancaster Campus welcomed new fall semester students, some especially early to meet working students' early morning work schedules. For the first time, 7 a.m. classes were added in various programs. Most classes meet three times a week for 50 minutes.
Significant requests for early morning classes resulted in 14 classes being offered at 7 a.m. Many students work, and the new class schedule allows students to take class before the start of their work day.
Enrollment at the Lancaster Campus increased again, this fall at 6.3% over last fall.
HACC offers more than 130 different certificate, diploma and associate degree options and serves 50,000 non-credit students from HACC's 10-county service areas and beyond. Its open enrollment policy ensures that any student with a high school diploma or GED can enroll in classes.