Butler County Community College officials say a new radiologic technology program will prepare students for a high-demand career.
The college plans to launch a radiologic technology program in August 2027.
“We saw, across the board, a need for radiological technologists,” said Julia Carney, Butler County Community College’s dean of nursing and allied health. “We felt this was the next level for our allied health division.”
Radiologic technologists perform diagnostic imaging exams to help physicians diagnose and treat patients.
There is a need for radiologic technologists, Carney said. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the need for radiologic technologists is expected to grow 5% through 2034. The bureau projects about 15,400 openings each year over the next eight years.
Vacancy rates for radiologic technologists “are at or near historic highs,” said Jeffery Mechling, director of imaging services at Butler Memorial and Clarion hospitals. The American Society of Radiologic Technologists in July reported that 15.6% of available positions were unfilled.
Mechling attributes the growing need to an aging workforce, an insufficient number of new graduates to replace those leaving and a growing patient population.
The median annual pay for radiologic technologists in 2024 was $78,980, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Prospective students can apply between Aug. 1 and Dec. 1 for an August 2027 start. Carney said Butler County Community College has heard interest in a radiologic technology program from prospective students for years.
She said it’s too early to tell if the closure of Penn State New Kensington at the end of the spring 2027 semester will contribute to an uptick in interest at Butler County Community College. Penn State New Kensington had one of the university’s only two-year radiological sciences programs. Penn State officials will move that program to the Greater Allegheny campus near McKeesport.
The Community College of Allegheny County also has a radiologic technologist program.
“We knew we were losing eight to 10 students to CCAC because they had a rad tech program,” Carney said.
Butler County Community College anticipates 20 students in its first radiologic technology class, Carney said. It is a two-year program, and students will graduate with an associate’s degree of applied science and radiologic technology.
The curriculum will include courses such as radiographic technology, radiographic physics and imaging, and clinical experiences in general radiography, fluoroscopy, trauma, surgery and other imaging procedures.
Students will undergo 1,200 hours of clinical training at Butler Memorial Hospital and with other health care providers. Graduates will then take the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists national certification examination in radiography to begin practice.
Butler Memorial Hospital donated decommissioned devices that will allow the college to create a simulated x-ray lab within its Nursing and Allied Health Building on the college’s main campus in Butler Township.
About $100,000 in private donations will go toward construction of a radiologic technology education center that will house the simulated x-ray lab.
“It is really critical to prepare students for the real-world environment that they’ll be soon practicing in,” said Matthew Schnur, president of Butler Memorial and Clarion hospitals. “Whatever steps we can take to collaborate with our friends at (Butler County Community College), including donating equipment, furthers us along that path so students are that much more prepared when it’s time for them to graduate and step into practice.”
Radiologic technology will join registered nursing, practical nursing, physical therapist assistant and massage therapy as a selective-admissions career program within the Shaffer School of Nursing and Allied Health. The nursing and allied health school is Butler County Community College’s most populated academic division with 569 students enrolled as of January.
“We anticipate to have a lot of exposure with this program into other modalities outside of radiologic technology,” said Aaron Schlott, director of the radiologic technology program. “I hope it leads the way for our allied health division. Being a community college, I hope this allows us to serve the community in a greater capacity with students being able to find jobs as soon as they’re done.”