Since 1946, SUNY Erie Community College has met the needs of a diverse student body while contributing to the economic vitality of Western New York. The College offers more than 90 career-focused degree and certificate programs in the areas of Business and Public Service, Health Sciences, Liberal Arts, and Engineering and Technologies. The three-campus college provides an innovative and supportive academic environment; is ranked annually as one of the nation’s top associate degree producers; and continues to be a top choice for traditional and nontraditional students across Buffalo Niagara looking to start, restart or redirect their education.
SUNY Erie’s tuition is $4,900 per year for full-time students, a cost which ranks among the lowest for full-time students in New York State. Students can enter SUNY Erie, earn a one-year certificate or two-year degree in a variety of high-demand fields, or simply feel their way through their first college courses before deciding on an educational direction. Once ready, they can transfer their earned credits to one of many local colleges or universities like University at Buffalo, St. Bonaventure and Syracuse University, and enjoy their significant tuition savings en route to a four-year degree.
How much can a student save by attending SUNY Erie before transferring elsewhere? Based on information from 2017–18 College Board’s Trends in College Pricing, annual tuition and fees at a public four-year college costs an average of $9,970; tuition at a private four-year runs an average of $34,740. Compare these numbers with time spent at SUNY Erie — taking the same classes offered at a traditional four-year college — and there is no comparison. The College not only provides students a way to save money while earning transferable credits, but also offers more than 25 one-year certificate programs — focused on emerging fields like CNC precision machining, green building technology and mechatronics — for students eager to enter skilled labor positions. With these savings and expedited earning potential, SUNY Erie is enabling Western New Yorkers to avoid unnecessary student loan debt, now American’s top financial burden.
Do students sacrifice opportunity with these savings? Absolutely not. SUNY Erie has been recognized by national publication Community College Week annually as one of the top 100 Associate Degree producers throughout the U.S. With the addition of the College’s new Center for Nanotechnology Studies and its new $30-million Center for STEM Studies at North Campus, SUNY Erie now boasts state-of-the-art space to match students with the training necessary for positions across emerging regional health science corridors like the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus.
These facilities capitalize off the College’s already renowned career-oriented curriculum, suited for such growing course-to-career fields as nanotechnology and industrial technology, and for such locally sought-after positions as dental hygienist, construction manager and radiation therapist. Partnerships with more than 300 businesses help link students with locales eager to employ SUNY Erie alums; and more than 50,000 alums across Western New York are ready to help new graduates entering the workforce or their education.
These are just a few of the reasons why the SUNY Erie community embraces the College’s inventive, student-first experience. Evolving and enhancing to match its resurgent local landscape, the College continues to offer all students a formidable education — while connecting each classroom to career, semester after semester.