Issues: Higher Education

 State-of-the-art facility continues expansion of one of university’s fastest-growing departments STONY BROOK, N.Y., September 28, 2012 – Stony Brook University hosted a groundbreaking dedication event for its new 70,000-square-foot Computer Science building on Friday, Sept. 28, continuing the expansion of the school’s nationally ranked Department of Computer Science and adding to its reputation as a rising star in the cutting edge research, education and industrial interaction essential to the innovation economy.State Sen. Ken LaValle, who helped secure State funding through appropriation for the construction, was a special guest at the groundbreaking ceremony. 

Electeds Urge Comprehensive Plan to Save Hospital and Medical School

BROOKLYN – Today, a coalition of Brooklyn elected officials sent a letter to Governor Cuomo urging immediate action to save critical services and medical training at the State University of New York’s Downstate Medical Center (Downstate) and its affiliates.

Downstate faces a major operating deficit, and a significant restructuring is necessary for the institution’s survival. Downstate’s Long Island College Hospital has already laid off 150 employees; over 400 more Downstate employees will receive contract-mandated notice of future layoffs this month, with over a thousand layoffs expected in the next year. This will lead to a massive cut in services and the ability to train medical professionals in Brooklyn.

Williamsville, NY - Representatives of Erie Community College joined New York State Senator Michael H. Ranzenhofer to celebrate a $50,000 state allocation to consolidate and enhance ECC’s North Campus Student Services wing on Monday, August 6th inside the college’s Spring Student Center in Williamsville. “Here at Erie Community College, we consider ourselves a student-first institution,” said ECC President Jack Quinn. “With the help of Senator Ranzenhofer, we’re now able to serve our students better than ever before.” In 2010, ECC teamed with the second-term senator to acquire the funds necessary to consolidate the college’s student services—such as admissions, registration and financial aid offices—into one location.

New York has launched a new pilot program that will allow large universities to directly provide health coverage to their students at a lower cost. The program is the result of legislation signed into law last week. The five universities that are eligible to self-insure are Columbia University, Cornell University, New York University, and the University of Rochester.

When New York State Senate passed Senator Ken LaValle’s (R-C-I, Port Jefferson) legislation to help middle-class families and students afford the rapidly increasing cost of a college education on June 5 it included a provision that has been mimicked by the Obama administration and will now be adopted by SUNY.

The  voluntary ‘Shopping Sheet’ that the Obama Administration is promoting for the 2013 school year and which the State University of New York will use will let college-bound students do an apples to apples comparison of what it will cost them to attend one of several schools. The sheets also provide statistics on default rates, as well as graduation rates at comparable schools.