Berkshire Community College Receives $5.5M for One Stop Student Success Center

PITTSFIELD — Berkshire Community College (BCC) has been awarded $5.5 million for a major project that will transform the first floor of the Field Administration building into a One Stop Student Success Center.

Gov. Charlie Baker announced this award on July 10 at Westfield State University. Baker launched a capital investment plan for public higher education and encouraged the submission of proposals that would benefit the Massachusetts economy and support student success and completion.

The governor’s plan includes $190 million in FY19 for public higher education. BCC was selected as one of six projects for higher-education institutions across the Commonwealth.

The One Stop Student Success Center concept was conceived in 2015. It will transform the student experience by making the entire admissions and enrollment process easier. The project will renovate the first floor of the Field Administration building, which currently houses Enrollment Management, Advising, Career and Transfer services, Financial Aid and Student Accounts, and Admission and the college registrar.

“The vision for this project was to create a comfortable and inviting central location where students and community partners have all of their college service needs met efficiently in one place,” said Ellen Kennedy, BCC president. “Receiving the funding for this project is an exciting opportunity for both the college and the Berkshires. We will continue to expand our efforts to reimagine not only our buildings and grounds, but also, most importantly, how we can best serve our students so they thrive in the local and statewide economy.”

BCC is currently completing $34 million in campus projects for the renovation of Hawthorne and Melville halls, including a connector with upper and lower courtyards, paving of the parking lots and access roads, and installing a community turf field for football, soccer and lacrosse.

“When we originally designed the One Stop Student Success Center, we were focusing on student engagement, retention, and graduation rates,” said Adam Klepetar, vice president of Enrollment Management. “The One Stop will do this by making the first floor of Field a student-facing space — a welcoming environment with all key onboarding offices located in one central place — while also creating opportunities for office efficiencies and providing collaborative workspaces for community-based partnerships.”