Reading, PA-Wednesday, January 19 - Over 50 people attended the official ribbon-cutting ceremony of the newly completed Academic Learning Commons and Tutoring and Learning Center in the Yocum Library on the Reading Area Community College campus. In a 2021 survey of RACC students, several hundred survey respondents expressed a need for more spaces on campus for private study, group study, and to meet with a tutor or instructor outside of the classroom. 

RACC administrators were more than happy to meet this need, and by all accounts, the new space has exceeded their expectations. The Learning Commons will provide an excellent environment for collaborative learning in a state-of-the-art facility. Features include private and communal seating and collaboration areas, advanced connectivity, as well as accommodations for eating and refreshments. Those using the space will be able to draw inspiration from the panoramic views of the City of Reading, including the Penn Street Bridge and the Schuylkill River. 

In addition to modifying the 6,600 square foot space, which was previously used as meeting and conference areas, the project also includes a renovation of the library’s iconic “Tower Room,” which is a 500 square foot glass-enclosed meeting room overlooking the east side of the campus.

“The new spaces support RACC’s academic mission and interactive teaching format, combining collaborative spaces with small to mid-sized classrooms. To provide an opportunity for physical and intellectual collaboration, the Learning Commons is proportioned to give student, tutors and instructors room to move around and interact, and for students to interact with each other,” says RACC President Dr. Susan Looney.

”We have acted strategically to address this critical need in a way that provides students with options.  In this space, they will now have an area in which to study alone, to study in groups, to meet with an instructor outside of the classroom and to work with a tutor, depending on their need,” says RACC Dean of Instruction, Kevin Coots.

“The Commons will encourage learning and practicing working together in groups to accomplish goals.  We know the increasing value of this skill set in the eyes of employers as we prepare our students for the workforce of the present and the future,” he continues.

To learn more about the Academic Learning Commons and Tutoring and Learning Center on the RACC campus, call 610-607-6224.

The League for Innovation in the Community College is an international organization with a mission to cultivate innovation in the community college environment.

The League’s Innovation of the Year Awards were devised as a way to recognize significant innovations at board and alliance member colleges. These innovations reflect significant achievements and the continuing renewal of the spirit of innovation and experimentation upon which the League was founded.

The award honors faculty, staff, and administrators who have created and implemented innovative programs, practices, partnerships, policies, and activities that improve the institution’s ability to serve students and the community.

This year, the winners from Reading Area Community College are:

• Auria Bradley, Director, Continuing Education
• Diane Conrad, Faculty, English
• Brenda Creasy, Scholarship Coordinator, Foundation for RACC
• Lynette Davis, Faculty, STEM
• Anthony DeMarco, Vice President, College Advancement, and Executive Director, Foundation for RACC
• Dan Glass, Senior Academic Advisor and Completion Coach
• Yvonne Hall, Administrative Assistant, Academic Affairs
• RuthAnn Heaney, Records/Financial Aid Assistant
• Jay Hyneman, Manager, Accounts Receivable
• Marty Kelly, Webmaster
• Kristen Marcinko, Assistant Director, Community and Academic Partnerships
• Steven Mathews, Instructional Technology Specialist
• Tracey Rudnick, CRM Administrator    
• Brian Schell, Associate Dean, Communications, Arts, and Humanities
• Anthony Vega, Faculty, Art

Reading, PA, Tuesday, October 19, 2021 – Reading Area Community College (RACC) President Dr. Susan D. Looney and Albright College President Dr. Jacquelyn S. Fetrow, signed a transfer agreement that will offer guaranteed admission to Albright College for RACC graduates to pursue their bachelor’s degrees.

The guaranteed admission and seamless transfer agreement between RACC and Albright College will provide an affordable pathway through select associate degree programs to parallel bachelor’s degrees. This agreement provides guaranteed admission and junior standing for all RACC graduates of A.A. and A.S. programs, as well as select A.A.S. programs. In addition, Albright College will provide many robust scholarship opportunities for RACC graduates, including one full scholarship. In addition, a reverse transfer agreement will offer RACC students who have earned a minimum of 15 credits, but who enter Albright College before completing their associate degree, an opportunity to transfer Albright credits back to RACC to earn an associate degree.

“RACC is committed to creating academic partnerships, especially in Berks County, that encourage students to complete their associate degree before transferring to a four-year institution,” says Dr. Looney. “Our graduates are highly valued by our college and university partners, and we are excited that Dr. Fetrow and Albright College have committed to a seamless transfer to their bachelor’s degree programs.”

“At Albright, transfer students will expand their horizons within an academically talented community that comes from more than 25 states and a dozen countries. And they’ll benefit from nationally-recognized proactive support — academic, social and financial — all resources crucial for their success,” said Fetrow. “My goal, and the goal of all of us at Albright College, is to guide these students to exceed their own expectations.”

Reading Area Community College is an accredited, comprehensive, open-enrollment education institution that provides associate degree and certificate programs with ten programs offered fully online; workforce and career-focused training; transitional coursework; personal enrichment programs and public service activities. Sponsored by Berks County, the College provides affordable access to meet identified community educational needs. 

Named a top national college by Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education and U.S. News & World Report, Albright College (founded 1856) is home to a diverse community of learners cultivating integrity, curiosity, connection and resilience. The college's flexible curriculum encourages students to combine and cross majors to create individualized academic programs. Close faculty mentorship and numerous experiential learning options create opportunities for Albright graduates to exceed their own expectations. Located in Reading, Pa., Albright is home to undergraduate students, adult learners and graduate students.

Reading, PA – In an effort to better support its students’ basic needs, Reading Area Community College (RACC) has opened a food pantry on campus, joining more than 560 other colleges and universities nationwide that provide food to students via pantries. The mission of the pantry is to provide free, non-perishable food items for RACC students experiencing food insecurity or difficulty buying food as well as offering a resource to help students create healthy meals.

Students and other members of the college community will be able to visit the pantry and select items they need free of charge. In addition to food items, the pantry also has diapers, household and personal care items, as well as gently used second hand professional attire.

The college officially opened the pantry on Thursday, September 30, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the pantry location in the Student Union Building on the RACC campus. Present were representatives from the RACC community, and representatives from Helping Harvest mobile market, which is a community partner of RACC. The lead funding for the pantry came from two important sources, Dr. Jerry Marcus, one of the leaders of the RACC Foundation Board, and the Berks County Community Foundation, led by President Kevin Murphy.

“As a leader in the community, very often our responsibilities go beyond teaching in the classroom, and extend to improving and supporting the personal lives of our students. We established the RACC Food Pantry in an effort to minimize the burdens that food insecurities can place on some of our students,” says RACC President Dr. Susan Looney.

The pantry will be open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Fridays from 9am to 5pm; and Wednesdays from 9am to 3pm.

If you would like to contribute to the RACC Food Pantry or have additional questions, please contact Student Life Coordinator Jamica Andrews at 610.236.3943.

Reading, PA, June 7, 2021 – Reading Area Community College (RACC) along with its valued partners, Pennsylvania State University (PSU), Berks County Career and Technology Center (BCTC) and Reading Muhlenberg Career Technology Center (RMCTC) have signed articulation agreements that result in a 2+2+2 engineering pathway. 

Career and technology center students enrolled in the Technical Academy Mechatronics/Engineering Automation Programs can earn up to 25 credits toward a RACC Associate of Science (AS) in engineering prior to graduating high school. The AS in Engineering transfers to a Bachelor of Science in Electro-Mechanical Engineering Technology or Mechanical Engineering at Pennsylvania State University-Berks Campus.

This integrated pathway involves early and intensive advising for high school students seeking to earn an ABET-accredited engineering degree and also want hands-on experience offered by the CTC and the Schmidt Training and Technology Center. Faculty from both RACC and Penn State Berks discussed curricular changes needed for RACC’s AS in Engineering, even sharing syllabi and discussing in-depth learning outcomes in order to help create a seamless pathway.  

“RACC is very fortunate to have deeply connected K12 and university partners that continue to improve our transfer pathways in order to provide students of Berks County access to an affordable college education,” says RACC President Dr. Susan Looney.

To learn more about partnership pathway programs at RACC, please contact Director of Community and Academic Partnerships, Kristen Marcinko at kmarcinko@racc.edu.