Buffalo Rising Online

Sep 10th 2008, 9:40am By Eli George

Since April 4, 1946, Erie Community College (ECC), then known as the New York Institute of Applied Arts and Sciences at Buffalo, has provided WNYers with an opportunity to gain knowledge in the careers that WNY has to offer. Now, according to Jack Quinn President of ECC, the two-year college boasts 18,000 enrolled students. Quinn says, “When you count all of our courses combined, it puts us right behind the University of Buffalo.”

Quinn was hired this year on April 7 as President of ECC, and he quickly amassed a wealth of knowledge about the on-goings at the college. He says, “We have all kinds of programs that give back to the city by way of service. I know that our student government, for example, walked in the AIDs March in Delaware Park.”

With tuition at $3,187 per year, ECC remains the least expensive college in the region, making it affordable for many. Class sizes vary depending on the concentration, but Quinn says on average they hold between 15 and 18 students. “I think for the individualized instruction portion of our classes, the smaller class size does play a role in popularity,” he asserted.

When asked which course of study at ECC is the most popular, Quinn said, “When you say most popular, that might not mean it has the most people in it. We have 139 students in our nursing program and we have around 900 students waiting to get in.” Otherwise, Quinn says their most popular program is their general studies, which many people take as a precursor to transferring into a four-year college.

With so many students flocking to ECC each year, Quinn says, “I think our affordability is, first of all, number one on most students list. Accessibility is number two. Geographically, we’re easy to get to and then finally, I think the variety of course work we offer our students is so widely used that we have something for everybody.”

Statistically speaking, ECC is the number one choice of area high school students; it has the number one transfer rate to four-year colleges, it has the number one affordable tuition, and a 90 percent job placement and transfer rate. ECC offers 54 degree programs and 14 specialized certificate programs on three campuses with day, evening, and weekend courses available, and they run winter as well as summer sessions.

If that was not enough, through a combined effort with the Buffalo Public School system, ECC offers a Middle Early College High School program. Offered since 2003, it is a five-year course of study that was originally modeled after a program at LaGuardia High School in NYC. 80 ninth-grade students are selected from hundreds of applicants, and by the time the student reaches their thirteenth year, they graduate with a high school diploma and an Associates Degree from ECC.

Quinn said, “It is very successful, though we’re still working out the wrinkles. Basically, by 10th, 11th, and 12th grade, the students are taking some college courses at ECC. It's a unique course, and it’s very popular.” Quinn says the only trouble the program faces is that it can be tricky to physically mix college and high school students together, though they are getting better at it each year.

With so much offered at ECC, it comes as no surprise that it is one of the area’s leaders in higher education. Quinn offered, “Our slogan here at ECC is ‘Come Here And Go Anywhere.’ We really mean that. We believe we’re good at training people for jobs that are right here in WNY. We have a tremendous amount of flexibility and we really have something for everyone.”