A Degree of Acceleration

Pact signers: left to right, UAlbany Vice Provost Jeanette Altarriba, Dawn Sohns, assistant provost of SUNY Delhi, Laurence Spring, superintendent of Schenectady City Schools, and Steady Moono, president of SCCC.

ALBANY, N.Y. (Oct. 27, 2017) — UAlbany has partnered with Schenectady County Community College (SCCC), the Schenectady City School District and SUNY Delhi in a program that allows high school students earning associate’s degrees at SCCC to transfer credits toward a bachelor’s.

The program is being funded through a $1.08 million grant awarded to SCCC by the New York State Education Department.

The Smart Transfer Early College High School Program (ST-ECHS) grant will make it possible for Schenectady High School students to earn an SCCC associate’s degree while still in high school, and then transfer those credits to complete their bachelor’s degree in two additional years.

Officials from SUNY SCCC, the Schenectady City School District, UAlbany and SUNY Delhi held a signing ceremony on Tuesday on the Mezzanine Terrace of Elston Hall at SCCC.

"Our collaborative work to form partnerships with these institutions underscores the importance of community within the State of New York and the ways in which we can partner together to bring opportunities to students that can help to assure their success in completing their studies in a timely manner," said Jeanette Altarriba, vice provost and dean for Undergraduate Education. "We hope to expand upon these partnerships in ways that bring other opportunities to students in terms of experiential learning and engagement with faculty members across the various campuses."

SCCC will receive the ST-ECHS grant over the next four years. UAlbany and SUNY Delhi have committed to accept ST-ECHS graduates’ college credits so that graduates with either 60 credits or an associate’s degree can complete their bachelor’s within two years. Completion of high school and graduation with a Regents diploma and 60 college credits or an associate’s degree will be considered successful completion.

“The University is pleased to be part of this multi-partnered grant that will provide students with a pathway to a bachelor’s degree,” said Ann Marie Murray, associate provost and chief of staff in UAlbany’s Office of the Provost. “We applaud Schenectady County Community College on its efforts in receiving this grant and look forward to participating in its implementation.”

SCCC President Steady Moono said, “We take great pride in empowering our students and are pleased to play such a valuable role in the lives of high school students as they gain the advantage of completing college-level work during their high school years, embarking on higher education, and pursuing their dreams.”

“SUNY Delhi is pleased and excited to form a new partnership with Schenectady County Community College, the Schenectady High School, and the University of Albany on the Smart Transfer grant,” said Dr. Kelli Ligeikis, SUNY Delhi Provost. “Collaborating with SCCC and high school faculty will ensure course content that not only prepares students for college work but provides the pathways for seamless transfers and a successful college experience.”

Students will take the college-level courses at their high schools and on the SCCC campus, starting in summer 2018. The courses will be offered at no cost to students and will be taught both by high school teachers and SCCC faculty members. Programs offered include business administration, criminal justice, liberal arts: humanities and social sciences, and science.

“This program will help us build on our already successful early college programs at Schenectady High School,” said Pam McCall, director of college and high school partnerships. “It has been proven time and time again that exposure to college courses at the high school level promotes high school completion and post-secondary enrollment.”

Laurence T. Spring, superintendent of schools for the Schenectady City School District, said the program “represents a tremendous opportunity to accelerate student access to college programming.”

For more news, subscribe to UAlbany's RSS headline feeds