LANCASTER – A partnership between Lancaster County’s two-year colleges makes it easier for area students to complete requirements for a degree in heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC).
HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College, and Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology have signed an agreement that allows HACC students to transfer seamlessly into a new evening HVAC program at Thaddeus Stevens. Successful graduates will earn an HVAC degree from both HACC and Thaddeus Stevens at the same time.
“This is the first time we can say our students can stay right here,” said L. Marshall Washington, Ph.D., vice president of HACC’s Lancaster Campus. Currently, HACC’s Lancaster Campus students who want an HVAC degree must complete the coursework at HACC’s Midtown Technology and Trade Center in Harrisburg.
“Instead of duplicating resources, we are maximizing the resources that are available,” said William Thompson, Ed.D., vice president for academic affairs at Thaddeus Stevens.
Thompson added that the program prepares graduates for jobs that provide family-sustaining wages. “HVAC students find jobs almost immediately, usually walking away with several job offers.”
The partnership between the two, two-year institutions is a result of open communication that will continue to expand in an effort to improve educational opportunities for the whole community, Washington said.
“We’re just very pleased to continue to partner with Thaddeus Stevens,” he said. “They have been a gemstone institution here locally and within the state.”
Students can start at HACC this summer and begin HVAC evening courses at Thaddeus Stevens this fall. Having two degrees in HVAC will enhance a student’s employment opportunities across Central Pennsylvania.
For more information about the program, call HACC’s Lancaster Campus at 358-3966.
