St. Joseph’s College of Nursing in Syracuse has become the latest college to join the Say Yes to Education Higher Education Compact, by agreeing to offer free college tuition to Syracuse City School District graduates who meet residency and college entry requirements beginning in 2012. St. Joseph’s College of Nursing joins the nearly 100 colleges and universities currently in the Say Yes Higher Education Compact and will be the second nursing program option available for students.
“We are very excited about providing additional college choices for our Say Yes Scholars who are interested in the field of nursing,” says Christopher Walsh, director of the Say Yes to Education Higher Education Compact. “St. Joseph’s offers an outstanding program and we are proud to have them as a partner institution.”
St. Joseph’s offers several unique paths for students to reach their career goals through weekday and weekend options that allow students to graduate with an associate’s degree in applied science and a major in nursing degree (RN) in just two years. And through Le Moyne College–another Say Yes to Education Higher Education Compact member–a dual degree partnership option allows students to satisfy both the associate degree and bachelor degree requirements within four years.
Say Yes to Education is a nonprofit foundation that began offering K-12 supports in the SCSD four years ago to assist the district in increasing graduation rates. Supports include after-school and summer camp programming, legal clinics, health and wellness opportunities, pre-college prep and college retention programs. Students who attend their sophomore, junior and senior year and who graduate from a SCSD high school are eligible to receive college tuition grants at one of the Say Yes Partner Colleges once accepted into that college.
To learn more about Say Yes to Education, go to www.sayyessyracuse.org. To learn more about St. Joseph’s College of Nursing, go to www.sjhcon.org.
