Ranken Partners with Virginia Community College and Nuclear Company

Employees at Babcock and Wilcox, located in Virginia will now have the opportunity to get their Bachelor’s degree through Ranken Technical College without ever leaving the state. The company recently partnered with Central Virginia Community College (CVCC) and Ranken to create a program in which students take their technical courses and general education courses at CVCC then can complete the business and management courses for their Bachelor of Science degree through Ranken. Courses will mainly be taught online but Ranken will also be sending instructors to Virginia to teach some of the courses.

It is expected that employees who begin the Bachelor of Science in Applied Management (BSAM) through Ranken will have completed an Associate degree through CVCC or are very close to obtaining one. Their past on-the-job training will also be evaluated and may be used as credit toward the program. Students should be able to complete the program in two to three years.

"All of the parties involved saw this as a great opportunity," said Stan Shoun, Ranken’s president. "Babcock and Wilcox were really interested in our BSAM program in order to further the education of their skilled technical workers and to give them supervisory skills."

The new satellite BSAM program with Babcock and Wilcox is being piloted at their Lynchburg, Virginia site but plans include expanding it in January to the other five sites which are located around the world. The hope is to also eventually offer the program to all students at CVCC.

Shoun and John Wood, Ranken’s vice president for student success will be making a trip to Virginia to kick off the program with an open house on August 11 and classes are set to begin on August 22. This semester two classes will be offered, each being an eight-week session. Students have the opportunity to earn up to six credit hours per semester.

"We are really excited about this new partnership and see great potential for expansion," continued Shoun. "We are doing what we do best; providing superior education in the technical arena; now we are doing it from three states away."