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BCC Partners with Princeton Review to Expand Health Care Education in Downtown New Bedford By Brian Boyd bboyd@s-t.com March 24, 2010 12:00 AM NEW BEDFORD - Hundreds of students who are eager to break into the fast-growing health care industry could one day earn their degrees or certificates in the heart of downtown New Bedford. That is the goal behind a new partnership between Bristol Community College and The Princeton Review, one of the country's leading test-preparation companies. They are teaming up to expand health care education. "Almost every year, we have 1,000 nursing applicants for 72 positions, and yet on the other side of that funnel, if you will, there is great demand in the community for nurses and for other health care fields," BCC President John J. Sbrega said at a news conference announcing the program Tuesday. As part of a long-term commitment, The Princeton Review is expected to spend about $2 million in the first year, and potentially more in the future, for hiring instructors, developing online education and creating additional educational spaces. The exact number of students, instructors and the location of the program remain to be determined. But the plan is for a program in the downtown area that will make a dent in the demand for health care education. In the next four years, Massachusetts will have a need for 114,000 health care workers, and the state has the capacity to train only 25,000, according to Michael J. Perik, president and chief executive officer of The Princeton Review. At a time of high unemployment, he said, the balance of jobs would be filled by people from outside the state or left vacant. "What we are doing here today is one very significant large step towards filling that gap," Perik said, "and it will make a lot of people's lives better." Perik said the program could be a model for the rest of the country. The college plans to start the first new classes this fall, including massage therapy, and eventually create six to seven associate degree and certificate programs in the health care field at a downtown site, college officials said. "Over the next three years, we're rolling out a variety of health programs," said Theresa Romanovitch, dean of the New Bedford campus, after the announcement. The campus now offers nothing in the health sciences. Bristol Community College and The Princeton Review are looking for 10,000 to 20,000 square feet downtown for the program, Sbrega said. The college will use a mix of in-person teaching and online education. The software and technology for the program's online component will be developed by Kavanaugh Software Innovations. The company's co-founder, Gerry Kavanaugh, said they build a lot of the software for The Princeton Review, and he and Perik had come up with the concept. They met with six state governors to see if they were interested. Then they met with Sbrega two years ago, and were persuaded to become partners with BCC on the initiative. Since then, they were working on that goal, Kavanaugh said. "Downtown New Bedford has been so good to the Kavanaugh family," he said, referring the Keystone Furniture Store that his family used to own on Union Street. "We had three generations of family members who earned their livings here. I'm thrilled to bring something back." Students can do a lot of their course work online, allowing them to balance their education with their family and professional lives. At the same time, they would have a chance for in-person training from faculty. The college will provide traditional classes in the new program and the "hybrid" online classes, which include the in-person academic support, said Sarah Garrett, vice president for academic affairs. Even though the online education "allows that flexibility for taking the classes, you still have that opportunity to interact face to face, to have that type of connection, that personal connection with your teacher," Garrett said. BCC already offers hybrid courses, she said. Elected officials, college leaders and the business partners heralded the program at the announcement. In addition to the educational benefits, they also said the new program will give the downtown economy another boost. "It's a win for the downtown, and it's a win for the students, and it's a win for the health care consumer, who is in deep need," said Sen. Mark C.W. Montigny, D-New Bedford. 227 Union Street, Suite 206, New Bedford, MA 02740-5946 PH 508.979.1504 • FAX 508.979.5680 E-mail: Webmaster@gnbwib.org |