Hagerstown Business College adding career tech center

October 07, 2000

Hagerstown Business College adding career tech center

By STACEY DANZUSO / Staff Writer

Hagerstown Business College will add a new building to its campus after two years of booming enrollment.

The college announced last week a $1.3 million plan to build a career technology center and additional parking.

Waynesboro Construction Co. of Waynesboro, Pa., will begin grading the site later this month, said Teresa Adams, a college spokeswoman.

A record enrollment this fall forced the college to delay the start of classes by three weeks while it converted part of its dormitory to classrooms to accommodate the influx.

"The college is waiting on the final architectural drawings, but the 13,200-square-foot building will house classes in graphic design and informational technology, including a Macintosh lab and art studio," Adams said.

There will be additional computer labs, classrooms, faculty offices and a new student lounge.

Plans also call for a new campus entrance and 66 parking spaces on the 7-acre campus on Crestwood Drive.

"The addition of the career technology center will provide us with a state-of-the-art facility that will enable us to continue meeting the area's career training needs," college President W. Christopher Motz said in a written statement.

Enrollment swelled to 774 students this fall, a 15 percent increase over last fall, Adams said. Faced with more students than classroom space, the college converted several apartments in Fawley Hall, the on-campus housing facility, into three classrooms last month.

Adams attributes the growing enrollment to the addition of the graphic design and information technology programs, as well as an improved marketing strategy.

A 95 percent placement rate of August graduates brought more students than ever to the college, Adams said.

"We are offering people what they want, and they are getting jobs when they graduate," she said.

The college offers associate degrees and certificates in medical assisting, phlebotomy, health information technology, business administration, accounting, computer applications, information technology, legal assisting and graphic design.

The college's parent companies - Quest Education Corp., Kaplan Inc. and The Washington Post - are financing the plans.

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