OCC/Keuka pact allows students to pursue social work bachelor’s on either campus

ONONDAGA — Onondaga Community College (OCC) and Keuka College officials on March 2 signed a dual admission and general transfer agreement for students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in social work.

Students accepted into the dual-admission program who earn an associate degree from OCC in human services will be able to pursue a bachelor’s degree in social work from Keuka College on the OCC campus, online, or on the Keuka College campus. 

OCC further expects that the new program will be part of its Weekend College this August, pending approval by SUNY and the New York State Department of Education.

“We anticipate that this will join our Weekend College offerings, making sure that working adults in Central New York who have to fit their education around busy lives will have access to another degree program and another option,” OCC President Casey Crabill said in remarks at the signing ceremony at OCC.

Officials from OCC and Keuka met early last summer to begin the discussions about the agreement.

“I think both institutions understood that there was some urgency in really making a better pathway for students from our human-services program to a bachelor’s in social work program,” the OCC president added. 

This is a dual admissions program.

“Keuka College will make its education readily attainable to OCC students by offering courses at its own campus and on the OCC campus, so this provides some accessibility,” Crabill noted. 

Keuka College graduates a large number of students who stay in the area, which is also “very common” for community colleges and Onondaga Community College, Keuka College President Amy Storey said in her remarks during the morning signing ceremony.

“70 percent of our alumni stay in upstate New York. My greatest hope is that with the need that we know … continues to grow for well-trained social workers that we are able to fulfill that need in our communities,” Storey said. 

Located on the shore of Keuka Lake, Keuka College has a 290-acre campus with more than 1,100 students and about 300 employees. The school is the largest private employer in Yates County.