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Bucks County Community College's Tutors Meet the 'Gold Standard'
Bucks County Community College, which offers students free tutoring through its Academic Success Center, has retained the highest level of tutor training certification from the internationally recognized College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA).
The Academic Success Center has been renewed for all three levels of certification that the CRLA provides – basic, advanced, and master. Each level requires a minimum of 10 hours of training, 25 hours of tutoring, and a demanding evaluation process to ensure the demonstrated success of each skill covered in the training level. The peer-review certification process checks that the CRLA’s high standards are met for tutor selection, training, direct service, and evaluation as an integral part of the overall tutoring program.
“The CRLA’s International Tutor Training Program Certification is considered the gold standard in the field of learning support,” explained Lauren Humphries, the center’s director. “It confirms that our Academic Success Center meets internationally recognized high standards and rigorous training, allowing us to provide the highest quality support to students across the institution.”
It is rare for a community college to earn all three levels because of the time commitment required – it typically takes a minimum of 18 months for a tutor to achieve master level certification, Humphries noted. The center earned CRLA certification for basic and advanced levels in 2010, added the master level in 2015, and has been re-certified for all three levels every five years ever since then.
The Academic Success Center offers tutoring on each campus at Newtown, Perkasie and Bristol, as well as online. Last year, the center’s 80 tutors served nearly 2,200 students who made nearly 13,500 visits. "The team in the Academic Success Center is committed to excellence and the continuous improvement of the services we provide to students,” said Humphries. “We strive to provide top quality academic support, and this certification recognizes our efforts to remain a leader in the field of learning assistance."
Jacqueline Burger, dean of Learning Resources and Bucks Online, said this recognition affirms that Bucks students receive the highest quality academic assistance, and it highlights the center’s leadership within the field of learning support.
“I am so proud of the Academic Success Center team for earning this rare and prestigious renewal,” said Burger. “Achieving all three levels of CRLA certification demonstrates their exceptional commitment to excellence in tutor training and student support.”
For more than thirty years, CRLA has been a leader in learning assistance, reading, and academic support programs with almost 1,300 members and over 2,000 certified training programs worldwide.
The CRLA certification is another example of the high-quality education available at Bucks County Community College, which opened its doors as an open-admission public college 60 years ago this month and is consistently ranked as one of the top community colleges in the state.
Photo: Jacqueline Burger, Bucks County Community College’s dean of Learning Resources and Bucks Online, is shown with Lauren Humphries, director of the Academic Success Center, and Abigail Aldrich, assistant director, at the center’s Newtown Campus location. The center has recently retained the highest level of tutor training certification from the internationally recognized College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA). (PHOTO CREDIT: Eric Parker, Bucks County Community College).
Learn About Compassion for Animals and the Environment
Bucks County Community College invites the public to the annual Compassion for Animals and Environment (CAE) conference from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, September 27, at the Newtown Campus.
Sponsored by the College’s School of Business, Innovation, and Legal Studies, the CAE is the only conference whose goals are to respect animals' emotions and intelligence; increase reliance on plant-based foods; be kind to Earth, its inhabitants, and ourselves; and strengthen the human-animal bond.
The conference features speakers who are prominent leaders in animal welfare, rescue, science, law, and social justice. The program includes:
“Vegan for Earth’s Climate and Habitats” with speaker Lee Hall
“Strengthening the Human-Animal Bond Within the Context of Horseracing” with Patrick Battuello of Horseracing Wrongs
“Pet Loss: Honoring Your Bond and Healing from Grief” with Jenna Tarrant, LCSW
“The Untold Truth: Backyard Chickens” with Suzanne Gonzalez from Pennsylvania Voters for Animals
Cheryl Baldi of the Volta Writing Center presenting an original poem
Attendees can also learn from a myriad of exhibitors who share the conference goals, such as the Southeastern Pennsylvania-Delaware House Rabbit Society, the Bucks County SPCA, the American Anti-Vivisection Society, Tabby’s Place, Indraloka Animal Sanctuary, Rowdy Girl Sanctuary, Lancaster Farm Sanctuary, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, and more.
The $30 registration fee includes a vegan boxed lunch by V-Spot Restaurant, cookies from Fat Badger Bakery, and a donation to an animal rescue organization. The student registration fee is $18 and there are scholarships available. Register online by September 20.
The conference takes place in the Gallagher Room, located in the Rollins Center building on the campus at 275 Swamp Rd., Newtown, Pa., 18940. Parking is free. To learn more about the conference, and to inquire about student scholarships, please contact Chris Simcox at chris.simcox@bucks.edu.
Public Invited to Art Show Receptions at Bristol, Perkasie Campuses
Bucks County Community College, which has been cultivating creativity for 60 years, invites the public to the opening receptions of art exhibitions at the Gene and Marlene Epstein Campus at Lower Bucks and at the Upper Bucks Campus.
At the Gallery at Lower Bucks, located at the Epstein Campus in Bristol Township, “Ebb and Flow” features art that depicts the natural rhythm of life as experienced through highs and lows, ups and downs, fluctuations, and fluidity. The show runs from September 15 to December 11. The opening reception takes place from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, September 19, at the campus at 1304 Veterans Highway, Bristol.
Meanwhile, art lovers are invited to the “Show of Shows” at the Fickes Gallery from September 22 to October 31 at the Upper Bucks Campus. The opening reception takes place from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, September 26. The Fickes Gallery is located in the lower level of the North Building on the campus at One Hillendale Drive, Perkasie.
The Fickes Gallery is accepting submissions from the artistic community to be considered for the “Show of Shows” through September 17. Each artist may submit up to three pieces of original art for sale with a $20 fee to enter. The artist prospectus can be found on the Fickes Gallery page. For more information contact the Upper Bucks Campus at ubc@bucks.edu or call 215-258-7700.
Admission to all galleries and receptions is free. All artwork is for sale, with 25% of each sale benefiting scholarships for Bucks County Community College students.
Finally, there’s still time to catch “The Faculty Emeriti Arts Exhibition” on the Newtown Campus. Various works by 27 retired professors and administrators from 1965 to 2025 are shown throughout the Hicks Art Center, including recent and historic works that have never been exhibited in public before. The show runs through October 25 on the campus at 275 Swamp Rd., Newtown.
Wordsmiths Reading Series Features Two Award-Winning Authors
Bucks County Community College, which has a 60-year history of bringing world-renowned authors to Newtown, invites the public to hear authors Jennifer Tseng and Amy Small-McKinney read from their works on Friday, September 26 as part of its ongoing Wordsmiths Reading Series. The free event takes place at 7:30 p.m. in Tyler Hall on the Newtown Campus, and will be followed by a book-signing and reception.
Jennifer Tseng, a poet and fiction writer, was born in Indiana and raised in California by a first-generation Chinese immigrant engineer and a third-generation German-American microbiologist. Her flash fiction collection “The Passion of Woo & Isolde” (Rose Metal Press 2017) was a Firecracker Award Finalist and winner of an Eric Hoffer Book Award. Her novel “Mayumi and the Sea of Happiness” (Europa Editions 2015) was shortlisted for the PEN American Center's Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Fiction and the New England Book Award. She's also the author of four award-winning poetry books, including her most recent “Thanks for Letting Us Know You Are Alive” published by University of Massachusetts Press in 2024. Tseng is serving as the final judge for the 2025 Bucks County Poet Laureate competition, administered by the College.
Amy Small-McKinney is the author of six books of poetry. Her newest book “& You Think It Ends” was released in March by Glass Lyre Press. Her second full-length book of poems “Walking Toward Cranes” (Glass Lyre Press, 2016), won the Kithara Book Prize.
The Wordsmiths Reading Series is another way that Bucks County Community College connects the community with the region’s vibrant literary heritage. The College – which was founded in 1964 and opened its doors the following year – has a long history of hosting literary greats, including poet Allen Ginsberg and many award-winning authors.
The Wordsmiths Reading Series, which is free and open to the public, is funded by the College’s Cultural Affairs Committee. To learn more, visit the Wordsmiths page on the Bucks website or contact the School of Language & Literature at langandlit@bucks.edu or 215-968-8150.
Bucks County Community College is located at 275 Swamp Rd., Newtown, Pa., 18940, where there is ample free parking. For a campus map and directions, visit the Newtown Campus page on the Bucks website.
Faculty Emeriti Celebrate Rare Exhibition at Hicks Art Center
Artists representing six decades of legacy converged on Bucks County Community College’s Hicks Art Center August 28 to celebrate “The Faculty Emeriti Arts Exhibition.” Various works by 27 retired professors and administrators from 1965 to 2025 are shown and heard throughout the Hicks Art Center, including recent and historic works that have never been exhibited or played in public before. The opening reception on the Newtown Campus also gave the artistic community the opportunity to meet Carolina Blatt, Ph.D., the new dean of the School of Arts and Communication. The show, which is free and open to the public, runs through October 25.
Carolina Blatt, dean of Bucks County Community College’s School of Arts and Communication, addresses visitors to “The Faculty Emeriti Exhibition” August 28 on the Newtown Campus. “Bucks’ reputation as a creative wellspring in the community is due in large part to the exceptional artists who have populated our faculty and nurtured our students,” Blatt said. The Hicks Art Center show, reflecting six decades of works by retired faculty, is open through October 25. (Credit: Mel Evans for Bucks County Community College)
Bruce Katsiff, who chaired Bucks County Community College’s arts department in the 1970s and 80s before becoming the founding director of the Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, chats with Emmi Schatz, whose mother Charlotte Schatz (1929-2023) taught at Bucks for more than 30 years. Katsiff and Charlotte Schatz are among 27 artists whose works are featured in “The Faculty Emeriti Arts Exhibition” through October 25 on the Newtown Campus. (Credit: Mel Evans for Bucks County Community College)
Jon Burns (left), faculty member at Bucks County Community College, talks with gallery visitor Joe Seltzer before artwork by Bruce Katsiff entitled “Alan Goldstein (BP)” (2011, archival pigment print). Katsiff is among 27 artists whose works are featured in “The Faculty Emeriti Exhibition” through October 25 in the Hicks Art Center on the Newtown Campus. (Credit: Mel Evans for Bucks County Community College)
Gallery visitor Frank Pronesti reflects on Charlotte Schatz’s “Study for War in the Gulf” (1991, acrylic on paper) at “The Faculty Emeriti Exhibition” at Bucks County Community College’s Hicks Art Center. Schatz (1929 – 2023) taught at BCCC for more than 30 years. The exhibition, featuring the works of 27 artists, is open through October 25 on the Newtown Campus. (Credit: Mel Evans for Bucks County Community College)
BCCC Launches International Transfer Partnership with Wrexham University
Bucks County Community College officials are proud to announce a groundbreaking international partnership — the College’s first — with Wrexham University in Wales, UK, offering Bucks students a seamless and affordable path to earning a globally recognized bachelor’s degree in as little as one year abroad. This unique program allows students to explore the world, immerse themselves in a different culture, and graduate with an international degree in only three years with an option to earn their MBA in the fourth year.
This new transfer opportunity comes at a time when U.S. students are increasingly looking beyond national borders for affordable, high-quality higher education. According to a recent article in The Independent, UK universities are seeing a surge in applications from American students, many of whom are drawn by lower tuition costs, shorter degree programs, and the chance to travel abroad.
Through the new Bucks-Wrexham agreement, students completing their associate degree in Business Administration at Bucks can transfer directly to Wrexham University to complete a bachelor’s degree in either Business and Management or Accounting and Finance Management in just one additional year. Participants may also opt to stay for an accelerated MBA, completing the graduate degree in just four years total from their Bucks start.
“This is more than a transfer agreement — it’s a transformational experience,” said Bucks County Community College President & CEO Patrick M. Jones. “Our students gain access to a high-quality international education at a fraction of the cost of many U.S. institutions, while immersing themselves in Welsh culture and gaining a global perspective.”
The partnership also builds on the growing connection between Wrexham and the greater Philadelphia region, thanks in part to actor and producer Rob McElhenney. A South Philadelphia native and co-owner of Wrexham A.F.C., McElhenney has helped put the Welsh town on the map for many Americans through the acclaimed documentary “Welcome to Wrexham.” His pride in his Philly roots and genuine investment in Wrexham’s resurgence as a community highlight the deep cultural resonance this opportunity offers to Bucks students.
Moss Garde, Pro Vice-Chancellor for External Engagement and Partnerships at Wrexham University, said: “This international partnership with Bucks County Community College is incredibly exciting as it reflects our commitment to creating global pathways in education. By opening up new opportunities for collaboration and student mobility, we are delivering on our newly launched 2030 vision and strategy to be a connected, inclusive, and globally engaged university.”
Students enrolled in the program will benefit from:
A $2,500 scholarship toward tuition
Access to state-of-the-art facilities and award-winning teaching
The chance to live in Wrexham, a vibrant town situated on the Wales-England border and just a short train ride from London, Liverpool, and Manchester
Founded in 1887 and granted university status in 2008, Wrexham University is home to more than 9,000 students — including more than 1,500 international students — and is ranked #1 in Wales for teaching excellence and social inclusion.
The Bucks-Wrexham partnership is part of the College’s larger commitment to global citizenship. A proud member of the British American Business Council of Greater Philadelphia (BABCPHL), Bucks County Community College is committed to providing students innovative, affordable educational pathways that prepare them for success in today’s global economy.
For more information or to apply, students should contact the School of Business, Innovation, and Legal Studies at Bucks via email to business@bucks.edu or visit Wrexham Bound on the website.
