Approximately 40 freshmen and sophomores from Massena Central High School and Ogdensburg Free Academy will officially become college students this Friday as part of the Smart Scholars Early College High School program at SUNY Canton.

Early College High School was established through a $200,000 grant from the New York State Education Department. Teachers from participating high schools offer college-level instruction supplemented by exploratory learning opportunities at SUNY Canton.

“Our program is part of National Early College Awareness Week,” said Adrienne C. Rygel, an assistant professor in the civil and environmental technology program and Early College High School program coordinator “Our goal is to have students earn a minimum of 20 college credit hours before they graduate from High School.”

Their day-long visit, including a tour of the brand-new Roos House Athletic Center and Grasse River Suites residence hall, will begin at 9 a.m. Friday, March 30, at SUNY Canton.

Instruction begins at 12:15 p.m. and includes a crime-scene investigation, a computer building class, concrete experiments, and three-dimensional computer modeling presentation, among other glimpses into SUNY Canton’s signature career-driven programs.

The Early College High School ‘dual enrollment’ program serves to increase high school graduation and college completion rates among those historically left in the gap, while reducing college tuition costs as a result of the more than 20 college credits earned in high school. The initiative fits well within the SUNY-wide plan to create a seamless educational pipeline to prepare students for college at an earlier age.

More on the Early College High School Program is available in the article “SUNY Canton Partners with Local High Schools.”

Media inquiries should be directed to Gregory Kie, Media Relations Manager, or call 315/386-7527.

Dr. Lawretta Ononye, associate professor of physics, serves as the principal investigator and director of SUNY Canton’s project proposal. She is assisted by colleague Dr. Stephen Frempong, professor of electrical engineering technology and co-principal investigator of the proposal, as well as JoAnne Fassinger, the College’s grants coordinator.

“This is a monumental accomplishment for us as we continue to do everything we can to make college an option for all students, irrespective of their economic circumstance,” said SUNY Canton President Joseph L. Kennedy. “I thank the efforts of Dr. Ononye, Dr. Frempong and JoAnne for working as hard as they did over the last few years to make this a reality for SUNY Canton and our future students.”

SUNY Canton’s project, entitled “Scholarships for Engineering Technology,” will be funded through the NSF Scholarship for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (S-STEM) project. It will provide scholarships for 18 full-time students who have demonstrated superior academic performance but face economic hardships. An annual award of $7,200 for up to four years will help support the scholars through their degree completion at the College.

The scholarships will be awarded to students in pursuit of a bachelor’s degree or enrolled in a two-year associate degree program with plans of earning their four-year degree.

“A grant of this magnitude is an extraordinary achievement for SUNY Canton and brings us to a new level of grantsmanship,” said Fassinger, who noted that the NSF award is a first for the College. “Grants from the National Science Foundation are considered to be among the most prestigious and competitive in higher education. It is truly a sign of SUNY Canton’s tremendous growth in all areas.”

Programs at the College affected by the S-STEM project include electrical engineering technology, mechanical engineering technology, civil engineering technology, engineering science and alternative and renewable energy.

“I’m very excited that the countless hours and energy we put into the proposal has paid off,” Ononye said. “This award will encourage all students to consider engineering, science and technology, including underrepresented groups and women.”

Frempong emphasized the S-STEM project is of great significance to SUNY Canton and its Canino School of Engineering Technology.  “It has both intellectual merit and broader impact,” he stated. “The funding will help with new support programs, including a mentoring program, STEM seminar, and a tutoring center. We will have the resources to develop a summer program to boost scholars’ physics and mathematics backgrounds. It will also allow us to offer field trips to local businesses and into industry.

“It will enhance the ongoing efforts at SUNY Canton by promoting retention and building a community of scholars,” Frempong added. “It will assist in the placement of students in the workforce or graduate school.”

According to NSF’s website, the S-STEM program “makes grants to institutions of higher education to support scholarships for academically talented, financially needy students, enabling them to enter the workforce following completion of an associate; baccalaureate; or graduate-level degree in science and engineering disciplines.”

Institutions receiving awards are responsible for selecting scholarship recipients, reporting demographic information about student scholars, and managing the S-STEM project on campus.

For more information about SUNY Canton’s S-STEM project, visit: http://www.canton.edu/nsfsstem/.

Media inquiries should be directed to Gregory Kie, Media Relations Coordinator, or call 315/386-7528.

Both will be using the funding to augment entry-level classes with ground-breaking improvements and learning enhancements.

“We received two of the 10 grants issued statewide,” said SUNY Canton President Joseph L. Kennedy. “These are highly competitive grants, and I applaud our English and Biology faculty members for developing unique and innovative plans for their courses.”

Christopher Sweeney, Assistant Professor of Humanities and Graphic and Multimedia Design Program Director, explained that he submitted a plan to enhance student learning outcomes by integrating technology. “We’ve redesigned Expository Writing and Oral and Written Expression to integrate more online components,” Sweeney said.

Both courses will be divided into online lessons that allow students to fully grasp course objectives through self-paced online lessons, while maintaining face-to-face class time as necessary. “It will be similar to some of our hybrid courses we’ve previously designed with SUNY Canton OnLine,” Sweeney said.

Entry-level biology courses taught by Instructor Ronald Tavernier will undergo innovative changes as well and will utilize an additional faculty position. The added faculty member will provide extended office hours and respond to students’ discussions and questions via SUNY Canton OnLine, further improving the faculty to student ratio in these two courses.

The Humanities and Biology courses are among the most popular entry-level courses at the college. The redesigned courses aim to help more students excel in each curriculum and enhance their overall college experience. Pilot programs of each redesigned course are scheduled to be offered in Spring 2009.

SUNY Canton offers a wide variety of career-driven bachelor’s, associate, and certificate programs, as well as three master’s degrees in conjunction with SUNYIT, Utica. Most of SUNY Canton’s new four-year programs are designed so students can take them on-campus, online, or both. SUNY Canton OnLine features more than 65 courses online each semester. The college’s athletic teams have joined the NAIA’s Sunrise Conference, enabling students to compete in their respective sports for four years.

Media inquiries should be directed to Gregory Kie, Media Relations Coordinator, or call 315/386-7528.

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