The College Mission, Goal Areas and Comprehensive Opportunities

College Mission Statement

The mission of Schenectady County Community College is to provide quality, comprehensive higher education to meet the career, transfer, training, cultural and lifelong learning needs of the individual, the community, and the workforce. The College is committed to making education accessible and affordable to a population with diverse backgrounds, needs and aspirations.

Goal Areas

SCCC has established nine Goal Areas to address the College’s Mission: Access and Recruitment; Teaching/Learning Environment; Student Services; Student Progress; Faculty and Staff; Community Partnerships/Workforce Development; Technology Utilization; Facilities; and Resource Development. The goals within these Goal Areas include:

1. Access and Recruitment: Create sources of SCCC information for prospective students and the community regarding admissions, academic programs, support services, financial aid and career path development; develop effective programs to market the College to prospective students; identify strategies to retain current students as they seek to achieve their academic goals


2. Teaching/Learning Environment: Strive for continuous improvement of the SCCC academic setting including best practices in teaching and learning pedagogies, innovative new programming directions and new program offerings to respond to community-identified needs.


3. Student Services: Develop, improve and maintain programs and funding sources to enhance student engagement as well as academic, social, transfer and career success.


4. Student Progress: Identify, assess and analyze key indicators of student progress to monitor the College’s responsiveness to student needs.


5. Faculty and Staff: Maintain and further improve initiatives pertaining to College faculty and staff including diversity, evaluation, communication and professional development.


6. Community Partnerships/Workforce Development: Maintain and expand community partnerships to meet the cultural, training and educational needs of business, organizations and individuals in the College’s service area.


7. Technology Utilization: Support teaching, learning and productivity throughout the College through ongoing investigation, acquisition, development and implementation of technology advancements and provision of training for faculty and staff.


8. Facilities: Prioritize and fund maintenance/upgrade projects and growth of the College campus and associated services, including support and implementation of the College’s five-year Campus Master Plan.


9. Resource Development: Optimize New York State and Schenectady County support for and partnership with the College, and develop additional internal and external funding sources through new and innovative methods.

Comprehensive Opportunities

Schenectady County Community College provides:

• College parallel programs that prepare students to transfer two years of college work to four-year colleges and universities;
• Career/technology programs that prepare students for immediate employment;
• Continuing education and community service programs for students striving for professional growth or personal enrichment;
• Public service activities provided in support of community development;
• Developmental education for students with special academic needs;
• Workforce development programs in response to local employer/employee needs;
• Student development activities, including cultural programs, guest lecturers, financial assistance, counseling services and intercollegiate athletics;
• An effective and efficient management and delivery system to ensure maximum accessibility to these comprehensive programs and services to all people throughout the Capital District at the lowest possible cost.

In addition, the College provides the quality instruction, resources and encouragement necessary for students:

• to identify realistic educational and career objectives;
• to cultivate attitudes, habits and interests that encourage lifelong learning;
• to develop awareness of and responsibility to the individual’s community;
• to acquire a comprehensive general education.