Newly-Launched SUNY Reconnect offers Adults Tuition-Free Pathways to Degrees

The SUNY Reconnect program is comprised of over 120 fields of study—and they’re all free.

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By Joe Maniscalco

Just launched this fall, the State University of New York’s Reconnect program is providing residents with an opportunity to change course or add a whole new chapter to their working lives with an Associate’s Degree in more than 120 different areas of study.

And the cost? It’s free.

All New York State residents and in-state tuition eligible people between the ages of 25 and 55 who haven’t yet earned a college degree are eligible to enroll in the tuition-free program.

“It really is a life changing program and can help folks get into high demand industries,” SUNY Reconnect Director Steven Marks tells Work-Bites.

Some of those industries include Nursing, Engineering Science, Childhood Education, Automotive Technology, and Video Arts and Technology.

Careers in the health care industry represent some of the fastest growing jobs in New York State where the demand for nurses remains especially acute. But the areas of study available at any one of SUNY’s 30 community college campuses and the Reconnect program is very broad, indeed.

Bill Hohlfeld, retired Building Trades Ironworker and academic, is SUNY Reconnect’s ambassador. He’s been traveling around the state spreading the good news that cost is no longer a barrier for New Yorkers considering returning to their collegiate studies or embarking on them for the very first time.

“I’m looking to make contact with any organization in the county that helps people get back into the workforce,” Hohlfeld tells Work-Bites.

Bill’s outreach strategy includes focusing on those downsized out of their current jobs and others—especially in the Building Trades—who might decide that reaching the half-century mark means its time to retire their tools and embark on something new.

“I’m reaching out to the Buildings Trades and business managers,” Hohlfeld says. “If you have 30 years in, guys in the Trades whose bodies are giving out, you might love to do something else.  They can get a degree in IT, cyber security, and many other areas.”

There are also many folks in existing jobs, Hohlfeld stresses, who could use a degree for career advancement—and for others, like those facing job losses when the local Domino sugar refinery in Yonkers closes at year’s end, the SUNY Reconnect program could be a true lifeline. 

About 100 people have signed up for SUNY Reconnect program thus far, and Marks says there is no cap on the number of New York State residents or in-state tuition eligible students who can enroll in the program. Enrollees just need to register for at least 6 credits per semester to remain eligible for the program.

Work-Bites will be following the program’s development—to find out more about SUNY reconnect click here.