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The College

The people of Essex and Franklin Counties of New York founded North Country Community College in 1967.  The College's mission is to provide the highest  quality public, post secondary education to area residents, as well as those outside the region, who desire to live, learn and grow in a unique educational setting.  The College is proud to be unofficially known as "The College of Essex & Franklin".

Each year students enroll at North Country from every region of New York, New England and countries around the world, to receive a progressive and individualized education in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains.  As the only public college within the Adirondack Park, students benefit from attendance at the State University of New York's most unique college.

North Country maintains a strong reputation for progressive academic curriculum that is anchored in the liberal arts tradition.  College programs are ideal for those students who plan on attaining a 2 or 4 year degree, as well as those seeking a career change.

North Country is a comprehensive community college with approximately 1,800 students enrolled in credit courses and another 700 in non-credit programs and is one of the 64 campuses of the State University of New York.  The annual budget is approximately $13 million.  North Country operates three campuses within Essex and Franklin counties. The main administrative campus is located in historic Saranac Lake and branch campuses serve the surrounding communities of Malone and Ticonderoga, NY.  The main campus is located seven miles from America’s Olympic Village, Lake Placid NY. The College has recently completed a $4 million facilities Master Plan construction project resulting in the new branch campus in Ticonderoga, NY.  A $64 million Master Plan construction project is currently being planned for the main campus in Saranac Lake.   Instruction-wide projects in video networking; distance learning; assessment; academic support/enrichment; learning alliances and faculty leadership initiatives, focusing on teaching-learning, are also underway.   The College enjoys a high profile in the region with an outstanding reputation for its academic programs and its growing health science and technology programs including a new Environmental Science degree slated to begin in 2009. 

North Country by the Numbers…

Our People

Number of Trustees: 10

Number of Full-Time Faculty/Staff: 150

Number of Part-Time Faculty/Staff: 70

Number of Senior Management: 3

Student/Faculty Ratio: 17:1

Our Students

 Enrollment Growth Since 1999:  82%. 

 Fall 2007 Total Official Headcount: 1751

 State Fundable AAFTE 2007-08: 1117

 State Fundable AAFTE Growth Since 1999: 55%

 SUNY Community College Out-of-State Enrollment Rank:

 10 out of 30

 Number of States Represented by the Student Body: 12

 Number of Countries Represented by the Student Body:

 7

Our Finances

2007-2008 Operating Budget: $12,410,000

2007-2008 Sponsoring County Contribution: $2,190,000

2007-2008 NYS AAFTE Funding: $3,808,000

2007-2008 Tuition/Fee Revenue: $4,605,000

2007-2008 Donations/Gifts: $675,000

2006-2007 Economic Impact: $60,951,000

Our Service Area

Sponsoring Counties: 2 - Essex & Franklin

Number of Campuses: 3 –Saranac Lake, Malone, Ticonderoga, NY

Service Area: 3,500 Square Miles

Total Population in Service Area: 81,000

Most Notable Area Landmark:  Lake Placid, NY- Site of 1932 & 1980 Winter Olympic Games (7 miles from Saranac Lake/Main Campus)

Our Most Notable

Alumnus:  James “Jimmy” Shea-2002 Olympic Gold Medalist

Degree Programs: Allied Health (Nursing, Radiologic Technology, Massage Therapy)

Unique Degree Program: Wilderness Recreation Leadership (Adirondack Mtn Focus)

Location: Saranac Lake-Ranked #1 Small Town in New York

Donation: $3 Million Anonymous (one of the largest in SUNY history)

Our Mission Statement

North Country Community College is committed to providing, within Essex and Franklin counties, an innovative, challenging, supportive environment where the intellectual, career, personal, and creative aspirations of all interested individuals can be realized.

The College promotes a desire for excellence, a concern for lifelong learning, and an ability to adapt to a changing society.  The College offers programs in:

• Liberal Arts and Sciences
• Vocational, Technical, and Business Careers
• Lifelong Learning and Community Services

Our Goals

To fulfill its mission, the College accepts the following goals:

• The College will provide post-secondary education opportunities and related services to residents of Essex and Franklin counties and to others who can benefit from them.
• The College will provide appropriate sites and outreach services at a variety of locations to residents who cannot attend the Saranac Lake Campus.  The College will ensure that all such sites provide equal quality instruction, access to services appropriate to the nature of the sites, and consistency of programs offered at more than one site.
• The College will provide full and part-time admissions to appropriate programs to anyone with a high school or equivalent diploma or who is 18 years or older.
• The College will provide degree and certificate programs that enable students to continue their education at other post-secondary institutions, to find gainful employment, or to enhance occupational skills.
• The College will use and improve instructional techniques that accommodate student differences in learning rate and style, aptitude, and background.
• The College will provide continuing education and community service programs by offering credit and non-credit courses, events, and activities.
• The College will provide services that enable students to clarify their current and future educational, vocational, personal, and social goals.
• The College will provide a variety of social, cultural, health, and recreational programs to enhance the development of its students.
• The College will promote a cooperative environment where all members of the College community have the opportunity to influence the operation of the institution.
• The College will assist in the professional development of faculty, staff, and administrators to provide services appropriate to its students and community.
• The College will provide physical facilities appropriate to its mission and the nature of its service area.
• The College will operate in an efficient and accountable manner using innovations in affordable technology to gather, retrieve, and disseminate information required for effective decision-making.
• The College will continually review, evaluate, and update its mission statement, goals, objectives, programs, and master plan to assess its future directions.