Clarion’s Venango campus adds 2 degrees

Staff report

Oil city, pa.

Clarion University-Venango Campus has added two bachelor’s degrees in the high-demand fields of court and community services and in ultrasound to its growing roster of academic programs.

There is still time to apply for these programs for the fall semester, which begins Monday.

“My colleagues and I are very pleased to announce these outstanding opportunities,” said Dr. Christopher M. Reber, executive dean of Venango Campus. “Job-growth projections for both programs are tremendous and offer great advancement potential for graduates.”

The bachelor of science in rehabilitative sciences with a new court and community services concentration is approved by the American Bar Association. It is designed for students who are interested in the growing human-services fields that work closely with the court system.

The program is offered entirely at the Venango Campus in collaboration with Clarion’s College of Education and Human Services and the College of Business Administration. Graduates of associate degree programs in paralegal studies, rehabilitative services or criminal justice may build upon those degrees to complete the bachelor’s degree.

“This unique academic option combines a traditional rehabilitative science program with the paralegal education necessary to bridge the gap between the courts and social services,” said Professor Frank Shepard, director of the Paralegal Studies and the new Court and Community Services degree programs. “As the only such program in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, this course of study will put Clarion University at the forefront of a growing field. The demand for paralegals and related court- directed services careers is outstanding, with job growth projected to grow by 28 percent nationally in the next seven years.”

Graduates of the rehabilitative sciences/court and community services bachelor’s degree program will work in organizations such as victim- and witness-assistance programs, protection-from-abuse programs, adoption services, child- abuse agencies such as Children and Youth, foster-care agencies and work-release agencies.

The campus will also offer a bachelor of science in medical imaging sciences, with a concentration in diagnostic medical sonography, or ultrasound, in partnership with Great Lakes Institute of Technology in Erie.

The Great Lakes sonography program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs. Students will complete the clinical portion of the program in Erie and at affiliated clinical sites and the general education components of the program at the Venango Campus or online.

The program specializes in general sonography, focusing on the abdomen, small parts of the body, obstetrics and gynecology. Students will learn to use a variety of ultrasound techniques to produce images of organs and tissues that are used in diagnosis.

For information, contact the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid at 814-676-6591, ext. 1211.