SUNY Canton to Offer Online Degrees as Part of 'Open SUNY+'

CANTON, NY (10/17/2014)(readMedia)-- State University of New York Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher recently announced that SUNY Canton will offer ten online degree programs as part of the Open SUNY+ initiative, the university system's signature online learning program.

The college is one of 17 SUNY schools that were chosen to participate. The SUNY Canton programs that were selected met a number of criteria, including student interest, accreditation and their capacity to meet current and future workforce demands throughout New York State. They are:

• Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance

• Bachelor of Business Administration in Management

• Bachelor of Technology in Emergency and Disaster Management

• Bachelor of Technology in Dental Hygiene

• Bachelor of Technology in Health Care Management

• Bachelor of Science in Nursing

• Bachelor of Technology in Veterinary Services Management

• Bachelor of Technology in Criminal Justice: Law Enforcement Leadership

• Bachelor of Technology in Homeland Security

• Bachelor of Technology in Legal Studies

"We are proud to have our programs chosen to be included in the Open SUNY initiative," said SUNY Canton President Zvi Szafran. "This SUNY-wide effort will allow us to reach even more students and provide them with the knowledge and skills they need for successful careers in these high-needs fields."

In all, more than 60 programs will be offered as part of Open SUNY+ and are expected to reach as many as 6,000 students next semester.

"Open SUNY embodies all of the ideals we aim to uphold in service to our students – increased access to quality higher education and improved avenues for degree completion and career success," said Chancellor Zimpher. "The growth of Open SUNY in its first year is remarkable. We are more confident than ever that, at full scale, Open SUNY will emerge as the world's largest online learning environment."

Through a comprehensive set of support services unique to Open SUNY+, online students and faculty are able to connect in the same way traditional, on-campus students and faculty connect. For students, these new support services include:

• A 24/7 HelpDesk that assists students with technical questions;

• Access to online readiness tools;

• A personal student concierge who connects students to representatives from their home campus when needed; and

• Expanded access to applied learning opportunities that enhance student knowledge and give students a competitive edge by providing them with hands-on work experience in their field prior to graduation. SUNY is committed to providing every student with an applied learning opportunity, including all those attending exclusively online through Open SUNY.

To aid in degree-planning and student completion, the Open SUNY website includes a searchable database of offerings for students, faculty and advisers. For more information, visit open.suny.edu.

About the State University of New York

The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive university system in the United States, educating nearly 460,000 students in more than 7,500 degree and certificate programs on 64 college and university campuses, and online through Open SUNY. SUNY students and faculty across the state make significant contributions to research and discovery, resulting in nearly $1 billion of externally-sponsored activity each year. There are 3 million SUNY alumni worldwide. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunity, visit www.suny.edu.

About SUNY Canton

SUNY Canton is Northern New York's premier college for career-driven bachelor's degrees, associate degrees and certificate programs. The college delivers quality hands-on programs in engineering technology, health, management and public service. 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 eight exclusively online bachelor's degrees. The college's 14 athletic teams compete as provisional members of the NCAA Division III and the USCAA.