The two presidents and vice presidents from both colleges got together at the Institute for Advanced Manufacturing to officially sign the memorandum, ensuring the acceptance of CCC students to Potsdam.
Photo by Sarah Elizabeth Morris
PLATTSBURGH | Clinton Community College (CCC) held an official signing of the new memorandum between CCC and SUNY Potsdam on Nov. 14. The two colleges signing off on this memorandum guarantees admission of transfer in Potsdam for all students of CCC who earned their associate degree and have a GPA of at least 2.0, including their credits.
The official signing took place on the first floor of the CCC Institute for Advanced Manufacturing and President of Clinton Community College Ray DiPasquale, SUNY Potsdam President Kristin Esterberg, SUNY Potsdam vice president for Academics Bette Bergeron and Clinton Community College Vice President for Academics John Kowal were there to speak at the signing.
“Students who want to go to Clinton have a seamless pathway to go to an outstanding four ear school - Potsdam,” CCC President Ray DiPasquale said. “It gives our students one more opportunity to have a chance to move on and achieve the dreams that they’ve always had and with no barriers in the way. Do your homework, do your schoolwork, graduate from Clinton, and you’ve got an automatic acceptance.”
Some majors, like education, require a higher GPA or special courses. SUNY Potsdam also includes the Crane School of Music, which requires an audition.
“The goal is to start talking to students very early to understand what are their interests, make sure they’re taking courses that’ll make most sense for them so that we set them up for success,” Potsdam President Kristin Esterberg said.
The two schools are nearly two hours apart, both located in the North Country. Potsdam is one of the first colleges in the United States, and is the oldest SUNY school in New York. Roughly 3,600 students are enrolled at Potsdam, graduate and undergraduate.
“It helps students stay in the North Country,” Esterberg said. “We love our region and I think when you look at the beautiful countryside between Clinton Community College and SUNY Potsdam, this is an area that really needs to serve young people and provide opportunities to young people, college education that’s affordable and very high quality. We think this serves our region well.”
The new program between the schools provides advising and degree planning to help students stay on track for their degree. Both colleges will work together to make sure the students who want to transfer can do so in a timely and efficient fashion.
More information on the new program can be found online, or call the Clinton Community College admissions office at 518-562-4170, or the SUNY Potsdam office of admissions at 315-267-2180.
