Bristol Community College plans to begin offering daytime classes in Taunton this fall.
The Taunton School Committee voted 7-1 Wednesday to allow Superintendent Julie Hackett?s administration to move forward with a plan to allow BCC to use space at the Cohannet School building.
?Taunton has a critical need for access to higher education in the city,? BCC President John J. Sbrega said. ?Taunton has always been an important part of our service area, and while we have provided direct services in the evening, it is clear from city officials and business leaders that there are residents who can benefit from college courses during the day. We are happy to serve those students.?
The community college plans to offer daytime general education courses in English, math, history and behavioral sciences at Cohannet in the fall. The credits from the courses will be able to be applied to any degree or certificate program, according to the college. Developmental courses will also be offered for students who need to improve their skills before doing college-level coursework.
?This is the start of bringing an institution of higher learning to downtown for all the citizens of Taunton,? School Committee member David Souza said.
The news comes just two weeks after Boston-based Bay State College got approval to relocate its Middleboro satellite to Myles Standish Industrial Park in Taunton.
BCC has a main campus in Fall River and satellites in New Bedford and Attleboro. The community college currently offers evening courses in Taunton at Friedman Middle School.
Cohannet, which was originally a middle school then served as the temporary home of Taunton District Court, currently houses Taunton?s alternative high school.
?We haven?t worked out any details,? Hackett said. ?What we would be talking about for a September start date would be a couple courses at a time. We?d have a small impact to begin with, then see how it goes.?
Josephine Almeida, who cast the lone vote opposing the plan to bring BCC to Cohannet in the fall, raised concerns about community college students and alternative high school students being in the building at the same time. She also said she thinks Cohannet School should be the future home of the superintendent?s office and central administration.
?I think BCC is a wonderful program, however, I don?t think September is the time to start it at Cohannet,? Almeida said.
Almeida complained that the School Committee hasn?t been given time to thoroughly discuss the proposal.
?There?s an old adage that you strike while the iron is hot. As far as I?m concerned the iron is hot right now,? Christine Fagan said. ?We should seize the opportunity here. It doesn?t come around very often that a high school can partner with a community college of BCC?s stature.?
Preliminary plans call for the a total of four classes to be offered, no more than two at any given time in the day. The classes, Hackett said, would end in the morning before the alternative high school?s day begins.
Sbrega credited state Sen. Marc Pacheco, D-Taunton, Mayor Thomas Hoye Jr. and Hackett for working to help launch the BCC day program.
?It?s going to be a tremendous shot in the arm for Taunton?s economic development and a great opportunity for students who may not have enjoyed those opportunities,? he said.
According to BCC?s enrollment data, approximately 10 percent of its 12,000 students are from the Greater Taunton area. Sbrega expects to see that number spike once day classes are established in the city, mirroring a trend he saw when the community college established programs in New Bedford and Attleboro.
?This is a great partnership with the city and with Bristol Community College, and it?s a great opportunity for our students,? Hackett said.
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