SUNY Empire State expands Empire Opportunity Program
SARATOGASPRINGS, N.Y. » SUNY Empire State College recently announced the statewide expansion of its Empire Opportunity Program.
The program, now available to students across New York state, first launched in Buffalo in February of this year.
Unlike traditional Educational Opportunity Programs, SUNY Empire’s Empire Opportunity Program will provide expanded access to college degrees for students at all stages of life and learning from historically underserved backgrounds.
SUNY Empire made the decision to bring this opportunity to all regions of New York state after receiving a high number of inquiries and requests from outside the Buffalo area.
During its first academic year, 2020-21, the program will accept as many as 60 full-time or parttime students from around New York state.
The program will offer each SUNY Empire EOP student the opportunity to work with professionals and faculty around the college who will provide support, encouragement and guidance for their undergraduate studies.
It also offers greater flexibility in supporting full-time or parttime study, allowing online, onsite, or blended study, and placing EOP students in a cohort of their peers to provide added support. The model will offer students access to the training and instruction needed to be successful in today’s job market.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and current social distancing regulations, EOP sessions for summer 2020 will be held online. Students will have online access to all support services, including admissions, financial aid, registration, advising, tutoring, health and wellness counseling, and student activities. Upon admission, all students in EOP will be eligible to receive a laptop on loan from the college to ensure their technology needs are met.
“Our mission is to expand opportunities for individuals who want to access high- quality higher education and today we are expanding our first- ofits-kind opportunity program to students across New York State at one of our many campuses,” SUNY Empire State College president Jim Malatras said in a press release. “With the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic here and around the world, it’s more important than ever to ensure that higher education provides a leg up to those who need it most, at all stages of life and learning.”
SUNY Empire State College Empire Opportunity Program director Dana Brown added, “Helping students break barriers to achieve their goals is what is most important to me,” said “I am excited to expand SUNY Empire EOP’s reach, so we can reach more students and provide the support they need to succeed in college.”
SUNY Empire EOP will offer participants targeted and ongoing financial assistance, such as stipends for full-time and parttime students to help with the overall cost of attendance, as well as enhanced additional academic support services from professional and peer tutors who work exclusively with the Empire Opportunity Program and a dedicated student success mentor to provide guidance from enrollment through commencement.
There will be a summer orientation with workshops on topics like individualized degree planning and strategies for effective communication to prepare for success in college, along with specialized year- round EOP workshops on topics ranging from resume writing to selfmarketing on social media.
Early degree planning will also be offered to help students meet their personal, professional, and academic goals.
The program is supported entirely by SUNY Empire State College with assistance from the Empire State College Foundation.
Once social distancing guidelines are adjusted, participants will be able to study onsite at SUNY Empire’s Western New York campus in Buffalo, and its Finger Lakes campus in Rochester, Capital Region campus in Saratoga Springs, Selden’s new state- of-the-art 6.6 acre site on Long Island, or online with SUNY Empire’s more than 110 online degrees and certificates, or through a blended learning approach.
Whatever the mode of study, SUNY Empire EOP students will have dedicated academic support throughout their studies.
To be eligible for the Empire Opportunity Program at SUNY Empire, applicants must be a New York state resident for 12 months prior to enrollment and meet the program’s academic and financial eligibility requirements.
More information about the program can be found online at esc.edu/eop.
“Our mission is to expand opportunities for individuals whowant to access highquality higher education and today we are expanding our first-of-its-kind opportunity program to students across NewYorkState at one of our many campuses” — SUNY Empire State College president Jim Malatras