Jefferson Community College
Watertown, NY 13601
On Friday, December 18, representatives from Jefferson Community College (JCC) and the State University of New York (SUNY) at Potsdam formally signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) making SUNY Potsdam an official partner institution in Jefferson Community College’s Higher Education Center initiative.
The Higher Education Center initiative aims to provide increased access to bachelors, masters and professional certifications for residents in the North Country region. Designed to be an adult-centered learning environment, the Higher Education Center will offer, in addition to the advanced degree programs, continuing education, workforce training, and meeting space. Higher Education Center partners will provide collaborative educational offerings that will benefit the region’s workforce and economic development.
SUNY Potsdam has been offering courses on Jefferson’s campus in Watertown since the mid-1980s and currently offers five graduate education programs and one undergraduate degree completion program on JCC’s campus. On average, approximately 120–130 students enroll in these programs each year and over 1000 students have graduated from them since the mid-1980s. Many graduates are now working in K–12 school settings throughout Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence counties.
“Jefferson has enjoyed a strong partnership with SUNY Potsdam for more than twenty years,” said Carole A. McCoy, D.P.A., president of Jefferson Community College. “SUNY Potsdam becoming an official partner of Jefferson’s Higher Education Center initiative today is simply a reinforcement of Potsdam’s continued commitment to providing and expanding educational opportunities at all levels for those in Jefferson County and surrounding communities.”
Along with becoming a Higher Education Center partner, SUNY Potsdam hopes to increase the number of educational programs offered in Watertown. SUNY Potsdam is in the midst of applying to SUNY Central Administration and the New York State Department of Education for approval to designate Jefferson Community College as an official branch campus which will allow SUNY Potsdam to offer complete degree programs in the greater Watertown/Fort Drum area.
Currently, SUNY Potsdam offers graduate education programs in MSEd. Literacy Specialist, MSEd. Literacy Educator, MSEd. Curriculum and Instruction, MSEd. Instructional Communication, Technology/Organizational Leadership, and MST Childhood Education, along with an undergraduate BS Business Administration program, on Jefferson’s campus. The Business Administration program is a joint admission program whereby a student applies to both Jefferson and SUNY Potsdam at the same time. After earning the associate of science degree in business administration, the student transfers seamlessly to Potsdam’s baccalaureate program and can complete the degree by taking Potsdam courses on Jefferson’s campus. The two colleges collaborate on two additional joint admission degree programs in Early Childhood Education and Childhood Education whereby students complete their first two years at JCC and the last two years of their degree on the Potsdam campus. SUNY Potsdam also offers numerous professional development graduate courses for certified teachers on a variety of topics, including special education, at JCC.
Jefferson currently has agreements with SUNY Potsdam and numerous other four-year institutions that facilitate seamless transfer from Jefferson to bachelor-level programs at colleges and universities across the country. “The Higher Education Center initiative will bring more of those educational opportunities to the North Country,” said Craig D. Johnson, Ed.D., vice president for community engagement at Jefferson. “Ultimately we want to provide the bachelors, masters and professional certification programs requested by and needed by our community to benefit local workforce and economic development.”
In the coming months, additional academic institutions are expected to sign MOUs and become Higher Education Center partners offering classes, degrees, and integrated academic support services in Watertown. For the next five years, Jefferson’s Higher Education Center will be located in the modular building on campus, where the Small Business Development Center is housed. Long range strategic and facilities plans include the construction of a more comprehensive and community-oriented Higher Education Center on campus.
The modular building is currently undergoing renovations to accommodate Higher Education Center partner needs and will officially open in early 2010. The Small Business Development Center remains open during the renovations. Plans for a grand opening of the interim Higher Education Center are under way, with details to be announced in the coming weeks.
For additional information about programs offered in Watertown by SUNY Potsdam, please contact SUNY Potsdam’s Office of Extended Education at 315-267-2166. To learn more about the Jefferson Community College Higher Education Center, please contact Craig D. Johnson, vice president for community engagement at Jefferson Community College, 315-786-6566.
SUNY Potsdam is one of 64 units of the State University of New York (SUNY) and one of 13 SUNY arts and sciences colleges. Its origin was the St. Lawrence Academy, founded in 1816 by early settlers of the region. It continued as Potsdam Normal School in 1867, as Potsdam State Teachers College in 1942, became part of the largest university system in the United States, the State University of New York, in 1948. Throughout its distinguished history, the institution has served people of the North Country of New York State, and in particular, the citizens of the greater Watertown/Fort Drum region. Learn more at www.potsdam.edu.
One of 30 community colleges supervised by the State University of New York, Jefferson Community College is the community’s leading resource for leading better lives, offering 30+ associate degrees for career preparation or for transfer to a 4-year college; certificate programs; online learning; lifelong learning through personal enrichment workshops; business and industry training; and cultural enrichment opportunities for the entire Watertown/Fort Drum region. Learn more at www.sunyjefferson.edu.