JOHNSTOWN — Area institutions of higher education are not only experiencing growth, but also ushering in new programs they believe will meet the demands of students and the community.

Pitt-Johnstown

At Pitt-Johnstown, a three-year, $6 million campus-wide renovation project is ready to move into its second phase.

The first phase of overhauling the Engineering and Science Building was recently completed and involved upgrading classrooms with the latest technologies and replacing furniture and lighting.

Phase two will begin at the end of the current school year and will bring a complete overhaul to Biddle Hall.

“It has the original 1967 classrooms, so this is a full renovation to bring it into the 21st century,” said Bob Knipple, UPJ’s chief communications officer.

Office space will be added to the Student Union Building, and renovations to Briar and Hawthorne residential halls will begin this summer.

A complete makeover of Krebs Hall is phase three and set to begin next year.

School officials plan to break ground on the $10 million, 20,000-square-foot Nursing and Health Sciences Building this fall.

“This is the first year we’re offering a bachelor’s of science in nursing and we are moving quickly on recruiting and it’s attracted a lot of students,” Knipple said. “We also are looking to fill two nursing instructor positions for the upcoming year.”

Although still in the planning stages, UPJ is considering offering certification in geographic information systems and adding management information systems and human resources tracks to business degrees. Possible new majors include energy and renewable resources and justice administration.

“We’re always looking at our programs because we don’t want students to spend four years here and then there are no job opportunities,” Knipple said.

An ongoing campus-wide initiative involves energy-efficient projects designed not only to save money but to be more environmentally friendly.

Andrew Csikos, director of operations and maintenance at the Physical Plant, said the Sports Center was recently outfitted with a new lighting system and occupancy sensors.

“This is one of the most utilized facilities so we started there to see how this would work and it’s been well received,” he said.

UPJ officials also are looking at exterior lighting.

As a way to gauge performance, nine LED lights have been installed in fixtures along University Drive and four on Highfield Avenue.

Plans call for installing occupancy sensor lighting in Owen Library.

“We’re going to continue to move in this direction throughout campus and see where we can pick up savings,” Csikos said.

Landscaping work is nearing completion at the school’s Wellness Center, which is attached to the Sports Center.

The $10 million Wellness Center features a multipurpose gym, running track, fitness center and climbing wall within 40,000 square feet.

UPJ’s enrollment is at 3,000 students and Knipple expects that number to increase in upcoming years.

“We are looking to expand our freshman class and we have increased our applicants, so I see us continuing to grow,” he said.

St. Francis

Officials at St. Francis University in Loretto are hoping to break ground at the end of school year on a $25 million science building.

“It’s going to include both instructional labs and space dedicated to research,” said Provost Wayne Powel.

In addition, Sullivan Hall is set to undergo renovations and be incorporated into the new science building.

“The health science programs are scattered throughout campus and this will bring them together,” Powel said. “Our sciences are the most attractive and strongest programs, so we need to do this to attract students because we aren’t going to do that with older facilities.”

Schwab Hall, the oldest campus building, which is used for general classrooms, will be renovated next summer and be dedicated as the School of Business.

Curriculum-wise, the university is looking into adding a bachelor’s degree in public health and officials want to start recruiting students for the fall of 2012.

A revamping of some programs in arts and letters such as criminal justice and communications, also is under way.

“We want to make everything attractive and relevant,” Powel said.

St. Francis currently has master’s degree programs in the business, education and health-sciences areas and school leaders are looking at adding master’s degrees in human resource management and nursing.

“As a whole, the university is strong and the number of applications is increasing,” Powel said, “and it’s our goal to continue to provide a higher quality of education for our students.”

Mount Aloysius

At Mount Aloysius College in Cresson, construction will begin in the summer on the $25 million Athletic and Convocation Center.

“Plans are tentatively drawn up and it will have two NCAA basketball courts, a wellness center for students and the community and classrooms,” said President Thomas Foley.

In January, renovations on Alumni Hall were completed.

The upgraded auditorium now has a larger stage, state-of-the-art lighting and sound system and movable, tiered seating.

“In a 10-year period we’ve added two new dorms, additional classrooms and upgrades to the library,” Foley said.

The nursing program continues to grow and offers students the most up-to-date technology in the region. It boasts seven state-of-the-art simulation labs that are outfitted with 19 life-sized mannequins that can be programmed to provide realistic patient responses.

“We’ve taken this to the next level, and students have a real advantage when they do clinicals and are ready when they are on the job,” Foley said.

Foley said the school continues to explore ways to increase technology in the classrooms and stay on the cutting edge.

“Sixty-one percent of the classrooms are smart classrooms and have laptops,” he said. “We’re serious about technology, but as a tool and not an impediment because students need to develop critical thinking skills.”

Looking ahead, Foley said the college will continue to explore new programs and how they can better serve students.

“Five years ago we didn’t have any master’s degree programs and now we have six, so it’s all a reflection of what is needed,” he said.

Allegany College

At Allegany College of Maryland a partnership has been formed with Penn State-Fayette to begin offering an associates degree program in coal mining technology at the Somerset campus beginning in June.

Penn State-Fayette’s associates degree in coal mining technology is the only one in the state and one of the few programs of its kind in the country.

“We’ve been working on this for three years, so it’s nice to see it come to fruition,” said Jim Snider, vice president of Pennsylvania campuses for Allegany College of Maryland. “We’re looking for 20 students to start the program and we’ve been out recruiting.”

Depending on final state approval, plans are in the works for building a work-force development center to be added on to Founders Hall.

The funding comes from a $1.5 million Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant, and the college has met a matching funding requirement.

“We’re looking at it having a lot of open space on the first floor for industrial training and the second floor for culinary arts training,” Snider said.

Snider said the college continues to look at existing programs at all three of its campuses and evaluates the market to see what careers are in demand.

“Our programs need to be in line with what the community needs,” he said. “There are computer science programs and even business programs that are now obsolete, so everything needs to be brought up to speed.”

Penn HIghlands

Pennsylvania Highlands Community College unveiled its $1.2 million Workforce Education Center in January and it’s a top-notch facility where local businesses and groups can gather for conferences, seminars or strategic planning sessions.

Types of training offered include project management, professional development, industrial and manufacturing and health care.

“The reception in the community has been positive and businesses are requesting to use the center,” said Ted Nichols, vice president and dean of academic affairs.

Beginning in the fall, students will be able to take classes in business, human services, accounting, general studies and education at the new Huntingdon satellite facility. It’ll feature three classroom and a science lab.

“People have been trying for 10 to 15 years to get a community college in that area, so we’re meeting the needs,” Nichols said.

A new program being introduced is geophysical science in response to the Marcellus Shale drilling.

“We want to offer training to Cambria County and address things like environmental and water quality concerns,” Nichols said.

Associates of applied arts in communication studies was just introduced, and all programs go under a five-year review cycle to ensure they are current and adjustments are made when necessary.

“We have to keep our product fresh, viable and cutting edge and phase out the less-attractive programs,” Nichols said.

The college also has been working with MTT Aviation Services, based at the John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport, to develop a full professional pilot program.

“We’re very excited with this partnership and the prospect of offering this as an associates of applied arts degree program,” Nichols said. “When the program is fully developed, graduates will be qualified for immediate employment in a wide-range of aviation positions including flight instructors, charter and corporate pilots and commuter airline control officer.”

There are currently 1,500 part- and full-time students enrolled and that number is expected to jump to around 4,000 within the next five years.

“Our enrollment is good and we’re looking at establishing centers in Blair and Clearfield counties,” Nichols said. “People see the value in community colleges and we have to continue to ensure they are getting the best educational value for their dollar spent.”

Cambria-Rowe Business College

Cambria-Rowe Business College is preparing for its 120th anniversary with a community gathering May 7 at the Pasquerilla Conference Center.

In conjunction, the college has unveiled its new logo that symbolizes tradition meeting technology. The background is a book and on the left is a tree that represents the college’s roots in the community and on the right a wireless symbol depicting the role technology has played.

Executive Director Mike Artim said the college will be moving toward incorporating “soft skills” into curriculum.

“These are skills based in interpersonal relations, team work, problem solving, ethics and communication,” he said. “We are hearing from employers that their employees lack these skills and we want to make sure these are skills our people have.”

The curriculum will be introduced for the upcoming 2011-2012 year.

Students receive a laptop when they enroll for class work, and the goal by 2012 is to also give them an iPad so textbooks could be uploaded electronically.

“We’ll get rid of all paper books and the price will be better for students,” Artim said.

Greater Johnstown                 Career and Technology Center

At Greater Johnstown Career and Technology Center, the practical nursing program continues to grow and is one of the strongest programs.

Classes are offered at the main campus in Richland Township as well as in Ebensburg and Monroeville. The Ebensburg enrollment has grown from 15 to 27 nursing students this past year, and the Monroeville campus is bringing back part-time evening classes to accommodate working students.

“New to the nursing program is that many of the tests are done online,” said John Augustine, administrative director.

A new addition is a weatherization program that gives people a weatherization certificate to perform state-approved weatherization work. And in response to the growing movement toward wind power, windmill training has been incorporated into the electrical technology program. Also, component engineering has been added to the machine shop program.

“We listen to what employers’ needs are and create classes based on demand,” said Augustine.

The culinary arts facility at the Johns­town campus is undergoing a makeover and switching to gas equipment to keep up with industry standards.

“This was a self-funded project with money we saved, and it will be ready for the next school year,” Augustine said.

In addition, GJCTC received a $50,000 competitive grant from the state Department of Education to install new TIG welders and purchase equipment for the auto mechanic and auto body programs.

A goal administrators hope to make a reality for the 2011-2012 school year is having one-to-one computing in technical programs, meaning all students will have some type of technology, whether laptops or iPads, that can access the Internet.

“This is the healthiest the school has been, employers are happy and students are happy,” Augustine said. “Job placement is high and a lot of our students are getting jobs before they graduate.”

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