Event offers new students, and growing number now looking to take courses to transfer, an introduction to all that the Community College offers
PORTSMOUTH – Great Bay Community College will host a Virtual Open House from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 6, where prospective students can tour the campus and its facilities, meet directly with faculty members and staff, and learn about fall course options.
The Virtual Open House offers students the chance to take a closer look at the value of Great Bay and its more than 50 associate degrees and certificate programs. Great Bay has transfer pathway agreements in place with numerous four-year colleges and universities in New Hampshire and across the country, meaning students who are unsure about their college plans can load up on low-cost general education credits at Great Bay and transfer with them to a four-year school when they’re ready.
“This is very much a live event, where you can talk to people representing all of our programs, just as you would if we were hosting an on-campus open house,” said Steven J. Gorman, Director of Admissions. “Once you click in and decide what programs you might be interested in, you can talk with those professors in a Zoom environment. We are making this as close as we can to an on-campus event, as far as access of information and people.”
In addition to meeting professors, advisors and admissions counselors, people who attend the Virtual Open House will be able to participate in breakout sessions that focus on the cost of college and why attending Great Bay might make more sense than taking a gap year or attending a traditional four-year college. Other sessions will focus on how high school students can earn college credits while still in high school. The open house also is an opportunity to learn about all that Great Bay offers outside the classroom – athletic programs, a new Esports program, clubs, organizations, events and more.
Because of the uncertainty surrounding the fall semester on college campuses, Gorman said this is an ideal moment for students to consider Great Bay. “A lot of traditional high school graduates may be looking at the four-year college they had chosen to go to and waiting to hear what their fall is going to look like. Whatever that answer is, it may drive them toward us,” he said. “We will have a breakout session that will focus on the work you can get done at Great Bay rather than stay at home. And we will show them how we transfer students to hundreds of different colleges all the time. That is a big part of what we do.”
This fall, Great Bay will offer traditional online classes as well as remote learning, where classes are convened at specific times and students can interact with professors and classmates in real time.
To learn more and to register for the open house, visit Greatbay.edu/openhouse. To learn more about fall courses and course delivery visit www.greatbay.edu/openhouse.
Great Bay Community College is a comprehensive postsecondary institution offering quality academic and professional and technical education in support of workforce development and lifelong learning. Great Bay Community College is part of the Community College System of New Hampshire, a public system of higher education consisting of seven colleges in Berlin, Claremont, Laconia, Concord, Manchester, Nashua, and Portsmouth. The colleges offer associate degrees and career training in technical, professional and general fields, including transfer pathways to baccalaureate degrees. The college’s second campus in Rochester offers courses and a certificate programs in Advanced Composites Manufacturing. For more information on Great Bay Community College, visit www.greatbay.edu.
