Westchester Community College: Stay Near. Go Far.

This year SUNY Westchester Community College celebrated its 75th anniversary with a rebranding ceremony that introduced the addition of SUNY to its name. By doing so, the college acknowledged the strong connections it has to the large, vibrant network of campuses in New York State’s college system while still continuing its mission of providing accessible, high quality and affordable education to meet the needs of our diverse community.

SUNY WCC has continued its mission throughout the tumultuous events of the past few years, providing greater accessibility by expanding its remote delivery of instruction and student services while maintaining its commitment to excellence and its lowest-in-the-county tuition. As we re-emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, WCC will continue to keep the safety of our students and employees as a top priority. Whether in-person or online, our students will continue to enjoy a wide variety of options and resources – including over $2 million in scholarships awarded annually by the WCC Foundation. WCC offers 65 degree and certificate programs, including innovative programs in high-demand fields including Cybersecurity, Computer Science, Nursing, Health Information Technology, Respiratory Therapy and Digital Filmmaking.

Each year, thousands of students begin their higher education journey at WCC, where they can take advantage of our specialized student success support programs – including honors and opportunity programs, $2 million in WCC Foundation scholarships, and transfer agreements with four-year institutions. Many of our students pursue their academic goals at such four-year institutions as Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Columbia, NYU, Sarah Lawrence, as well as SUNY campuses and local four-year institutions.

As the leading provider of workforce training in the Westchester/Putnam region, WCC is an economic driver by expanding access to education with a focus on success and job readiness in high-demand industry occupations.  For students whose focus is on quickly entering the workforce, WCC offers many job skills and workforce training certificate programs. Our students are often supported by grants and scholarships established specifically for these programs, including the PepsiCo Foundation Uplift scholarships and Metallica’s All Within My Hands Foundation to increase diversity and access for underserved and minority students.

The college continues to be recognized for its ground-breaking programs – our innovative Cybersecurity program was designated a Center for Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the National Security Agency (NSA). WCC is one of only nine community colleges nationwide to earn this new designation, and the only one located in the tri-state region. A $1 million grant from The Wiener Philanthropy helped to develop a state-of-the-art Cybersecurity lab and technologically advanced classrooms, as well as provide scholarship awards for our top-performing Cyber students.

Just as important as our academics is the sense of community that our students join. As the first SUNY campus to be designated a Hispanic Serving Institution, the WCC community reflects the cultural and economic diversity of the region. During the pandemic, our Student Involvement office hosted many virtual events and club meetings to continue to build community through extra-curricular activities. Community is an important part of our name and we will continue to provide affordable and accessible education for all of Westchester and beyond.

WCC has always stressed accessibility, which is why the college has five locations around the county – Mount Vernon, Ossining, Peekskill, White Plains and Yonkers. The Yonkers location was recently granted campus status by SUNY, which means the Yonkers Campus, located in the Cross County Center, provides a full array of student services, over 140 courses and degrees that can be earned completely in Yonkers.

The pandemic has afforded us the opportunity to be the most efficient and agile organization possible while becoming increasingly innovative. As we look forward to the 2022-23 academic year, WCC will continue to serve our community, both in-person and online, adhering to the high standards that people have come to expect from our institution.

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