SUNY Canton Sets New Enrollment Record for Winterterm Session

CANTON, NY (12/23/2015)(readMedia)-- SUNY Canton's popular online Winterterm session has broken an enrollment record for the second year in a row.

Total enrollment for 2015 is 1,434, which surpasses the 2014 record of 1,322. The session began Dec. 16 and continues through Jan. 14.

According to Molly A. Mott, dean of academic support services and instructional technologies, the upward trend is due to a number of factors, including the college's reputation for excellence in online learning, its student-centered policies and the expansion of course offerings.

"This year more than 100 courses were available in an array of disciplines, including business, finance, criminal justice and social science," she said. "The variety appeals to students from not only the SUNY system, but from private colleges in New York state and across the country. They can earn credits that are transferrable to their home institution."

SUNY Canton has been offering online courses during the Winterterm break since 2005, which originally consisted of 160 enrollments and 18 courses. Throughout the past 10 years, the college has seen a dramatic increase in demand for online courses and has attracted a large contingent of students from schools such as Syracuse University, Stony Brook University, SUNY Albany and SUNY Binghamton.

The college's virtual classroom format allows students to catch up or get ahead on credits between the fall and spring semesters, which directly supports SUNY system-wide goals for access and completion. Another advantage of the online session, Mott said, is that the college guarantees every course that is advertised will be offered.

The successful Winterterm session follows on the heels of a record-breaking 2015 online Summer Session, which has seen a significant increase in enrollments during the past three years.

About SUNY Canton

SUNY Canton is Northern New York's premier college for career-driven bachelor's degrees, associate degrees and professional certificate programs. The college delivers quality hands-on programs in engineering technology, health, management and public service and recently received number one rankings in library resources, library services and tutoring services in the SUNY Student Opinion Survey. The college's faculty members are noted for their professional real-world experience in addition to outstanding academic credentials. SUNY Canton OnLine offers hundreds of flexible and convenient courses as well as ten exclusively online bachelor's degrees. The college's 14 athletic teams compete as members of the NCAA Division III.

-www.canton.edu-