About the College

The Campus
The SUNY College at Oneonta’s 250-acre campus overlooks the scenic Susquehanna River Valley in central New York about halfway between Albany and Binghamton. On nearby Otsego Lake in Cooperstown, the College maintains a complex which houses its Biological Field Station and Graduate Program in History Museum Studies.

The Oneonta Area
Visitors to the College at Oneonta enjoy the area’s natural beauty, outdoor recreational opportunities, and many historic sites. The town of Oneonta is home to the National Soccer Hall of Fame.  Cooperstown offers the National Baseball Hall of Fame and many museums.  Within a 30-minute drive are two state parks (Glimmerglass and Gilbert Lake) and several popular ski areas.  Oneonta offers a distinctive downtown business community, a wide range of shops and restaurants, and convenient public transportation.

The College is located on the outskirts of the City of Oneonta, a friendly community with 15,000 residents. In addition to being an educational center, the city offers diverse housing, shopping, cultural, and recreational opportunities.  The College at Oneonta contributes significantly to the cultural and intellectual life of the community.

Major cultural activities at the College at Oneonta include theatrical productions and musical events offered by student groups, community organizations, and national touring companies. Art exhibitions are shown regularly in the College galleries. A wide variety of speakers address provocative and timely topics throughout the year.

The campus is within walking distance of Oneonta’s shopping district.   Public transportation, connecting the campus with the City of Oneonta, runs on a regular schedule seven days a week. The city is served by Greyhound and Trailways bus companies. Chartered buses take students to and from the New York Metropolitan Area and other parts of the state for vacation periods. The Binghamton airport is about 60 minutes away, and the Albany airport is about 90 minutes away.

Weather in Oneonta is variable. Winters are usually brisk and snowy. Spring and fall bring beautiful, sunny days interspersed with occasional rain. Spring flowers and fall foliage attract many visitors to the area and make these seasons exceptionally beautiful. Warm days and cool nights make the summer sessions extremely popular.

The College
Founded in 1889, the College at Oneonta became a charter member of the State University system in 1948. Today, it has grown into a liberal arts college with a pre-professional focus. The College is noted for an outstanding and accessible faculty, students committed to both academic achievement and community service, excellent facilities and technology, a beautiful campus with a new field house and a lighted track and field, and a modern library with exceptional electronic and print resources.

After nearly 50 years of specializing in teacher education, the College received authorization to grant baccalaureate degrees, the first of which were awarded in 1942. Since the founding of SUNY in 1948, the development of the College at Oneonta has paralleled the growth of the State University of New York, a system that has gained a reputation for academic excellence both nationally and internationally. Also in 1948, the College initiated its special program in home economics and began graduate offerings in teacher education. Subsequently, programs were developed both in early secondary education and secondary education.

With the addition of a full range of programs in the arts and sciences in 1964, the College became a comprehensive institution. Several study-abroad programs were initiated in 1967, and the College has continued to expand learning opportunities through international study, internships, community service, and technology. Pre-professional programs prepare students for advanced degrees in law and medicine. Cooperative programs allow students to combine a degree from the College with specialized studies at other institutions.

Today, the College enrolls more than 5,700 students in 69 undergraduate majors, nine graduate programs, and several specialized certificate programs. The College’s Division of Education is accredited by NCATE. Additional information about the College at Oneonta is available from the web site www.oneonta.edu.

Location of the College at Oneonta The College at Oneonta is located midway between Albany and Binghamton in the midst of one of New York's most scenic and historic upstate areas.

Academic Programs
The College at Oneonta offers 69 academic majors, which are  described in detail under the appropriate departmental heading in  this catalog. Classes are offered by the College’s academic departments:  Africana and Latino Studies, Anthropology, Art, Biology,  Chemistry and Biochemistry, Communication Arts, Earth Sciences,  Economics, Finance and Accounting, Educational Psychology and Counseling, Elementary and Reading Education, English, Foreign Languages and Literatures, Geography, History, Human Ecology, Management, Marketing and Information Systems, Mathematics, Computer Science and Statistics, Music, Philosophy, Physical Education, Physics and Astronomy, Political Science, Psychology, Secondary Education, Sociology, Theatre, and Women's and Gender Studies. In addition, courses are offered through several interdisciplinary and interdepartmental programs.

The College also offers several preprofessional programs designed to  prepare students for admission to schools of dentistry, law, medicine,  and veterinary science. In addition, undergraduates may choose  from cooperative programs with other colleges, including Alfred University, Syracuse University, Fashion Institute of Technology,  and several SUNY colleges, as described in the “Academic Programs  and Degrees” section of this catalog. The College also offers courses  and programs leading to specialized certifications.

A number of academic support services, including tutoring, a  Writing Center, and a Learning Center, complement the academic  programs. For details, see the “Special Academic Programs” section of this catalog.

Student Retention to Degree
The College at Oneonta maintains data on graduation rates of new freshmen and transfer students. The most recent six-year graduation rate for entering freshmen has been 54 percent. the most recent four-year graduation rate for lower division transfers (those with under 56 credit hours) has been 55 percent. The most recent four-year graduation rate for upper division transfers (56 or more credit hours) has been 78 percent.

These graduation rates refer to students graduating from the College  at Oneonta. It should be noted that significant numbers of additional  students transfer to and graduate from other colleges. Taking such transfers into account, the percentage of students completing a degree  is significantly higher than those given above.

Facilities
The main campus consists of 36 buildings located on 250 acres overlooking the city of Oneonta and the Susquehanna Valley. The 284-acre College Camp, located about two miles from campus, features an observatory, lodge, and outdoor recreational facilities. In nearby Cooperstown, on the shores of Otsego Lake, the College has 2,600 acres of woodland, pond, and shoreline that serve as an aquatic and terrestrial ecological research area for the Biological Field Station.

Beginning in 1949 and continuing through the 1970s, the new “upper campus” was built on a hill overlooking “Old Main,” the former  Normal School building that had been the heart of the campus since 1889. At first the new campus consisted of Bacon, Denison, and  Morris Halls, the original Milne Library, and the Human Ecology  Building. In the following years the College constructed additional  residence and dining halls, two Science Buildings, the Administration Building, the new Library, classroom buildings, the Fine  Arts Building, the Physical Education Building, the Instructional  Resources Center, the Health Center, the Hunt College Union, and Service and Maintenance Buildings. The College’s 91,000 square-foot  Alumni Field House and a new five-story residence hall are the  most recent additions to the campus.

The James M. Milne Library, named for the first principal of the  Oneonta Normal School, supports the College’s mission by providing  there sources and services to meet the intellectual and academic needs  of its students and faculty.  The library houses an impressive collection of about 550,000 volumes, one of the largest within the 13 SUNY colleges of arts and sciences.  In addition to its rich and varied general collection, the library includes U.S. Government and New York State documents, maps, children's books, audiovisual materials (videos, CDs, tapes, and teaching aid units), nineteenth-century text books, and College archival materials. The spacious facility accommodates both individual and group study.  It contains 20 reference-room computer stations, a 40-station computer lab, and two electronic classrooms.  Laptops are available for use within the library, which is networked for wireless access.

Serving as a gateway to resources beyond the library’s walls, the library web site (www.oneonta.edu/library) offers access to a wide variety of electronic resources, including the library's on-line catalog; electronic course reserves; full-text reference materials such as dictionaries, almanacs, and encyclopedias; full-text periodical databases; and citation databases that often link to full text. The web site links users to the online catalogs of other libraries, to their digitized collections (where available), and to the world of information on the Internet.  These resources can be accessed remotely from anywhere in the world through a proxy server login.  Students are able to borrow from the library at Hartwick College as well as from any library in the SUNY system.  Materials in other library collections can be requested through an increasingly sophisticated and fast interlibrary loan and document delivery service.

The library is an instructional center that offers assistance to students, faculty, and staff in finding, evaluationg, and using information. Librarians collaborate with faculty and students to provide an excellent array of resources and to develop research skills that foster lifelong learning. The library offers the College community individualized assistance at the reference desk and through more intensive one-on-one consultations, a one-credit library research skills course, and instruction in research methods at the request of faculty in the disciplines.

The College’s Fine Arts Building houses programs in the visual and performing arts. One portion of the building contains the Music Department’s practice studios, music labs, rehearsal halls, and state of-the-art Music Recording Studio. The Laurence B. Goodrich Theater and the Hamblin Arena Theater share the central section of the building with the Fine Arts Gallery and the New Gallery. The north section of the building contains art studios, a computer art lab, and student art work displayed along the walls.

The Evelyn R. Hodgdon Instructional Resources Center (IRC) is designed to accommodate, support, and maintain current technology used in the instructional process on campus. It contains nine lecture halls for large classes and public service activities, two color television studios used for the production of video programming both by students and professional staff, computer laboratories, and an instructional support center for faculty. The lecture halls are fully equipped “electronic classrooms” with complete computer, audio-visual, video, and large-screen projection capabilities. IRC operates and maintains a closed-circuit television system, which provides instructional broadcasts throughout campus. The local public access educational channel aired throughout the community originates from studios in the IRC. In addition, satellite dish antennae make it possible to downlink video programming, telecourses, and teleconferences. Through its satellite transmission system, IRC is able to broadcast taped and live video programs throughout the SUNY system as well as nationally. Technical services and other support necessary in the design and development of instructional materials and College publications are also available in the Center.

Computer Facilities at the College are constantly refreshed with new technology. A campus-wide Technology Initiative stresses the acquisition of computing skills and provides students universal access to computers and software. Supporting this commitment, the College has over 700 networked computers dedicated to student use in over 40 different labs on campus. The College offers both Intel-based and Macintosh hardware in its labs. Many of the labs, including those in each residence hall, are open seven days a week.

Computers in general-purpose labs are equipped with software for a wide variety of purposes, including word processing, spreadsheet design, web development, and database management. Other computer labs support specific disciplines and offer additional specialized
software.

Technology-enhanced classrooms are equipped with multimedia capabilities, including large-screen computer projection, slides, CD-ROMs, and other audio-visual applications to enrich the learning environment. The use of technology is supported by an Information Technology Help Desk, providing consultation and assistance on hardware and software. In addition, trained student employees support technology in the residence halls through the Res-Tech program.

Every student on campus has access to the College’s e-mail, web servers, and instructional support service through a high-speed data network, and free dial-up access is available to off-campus students. Wireless networking is available in all academic and residential buildings. Campus computers access the Internet through a dedicated T3 (100 megabit-per-second) connection. Through the College's local area network and the Internet, students can register for classes, complete coursework, check grades, pay bills, and complete many other tasks. The College provides shared network storage space to each student.

The Charles W. Hunt College Union is the focal point for many College activities, including student government, leadership programs, Greek affairs, feature films and comedy shows, literary and musical performances, and current affairs programming including speakers and exhibits, as well as faculty functions and educational conferences. It has conference rooms, a lecture hall/movie theater, a snack bar, a multimedia lounge, dining room, club and student organization offices, and the Red Dragon Bookstore.  The Union's 900-seat ballroom is used for speakers, concerts, craft shows and special events.

The Outdoor Resource Center, located in Hulbert Hall, is the campus headquarters for the Outing Club and for a wide assortment of outdoor activities and wilderness programming.

One of the busiest places on the campus is the Alumni Field House, which features three basketball courts, a dance studio, an elevated indoor track, a weight training and fitness center, and two racquetball courts.  The Dewar Arena in the Field house hosts major academic, entertainment, and athletic events. In addition, the G. Hal Chase Physical Education Building contains a gymnasium, fitness center, handball/racquetball courts, a quarter-mile track, and a swimming pool. Tennis and basketball courts, athletic fields, and a new lighted all-weather track and field, are also available on campus for recreational and scheduled sports activities.

The College’s 15 residence halls provide housing for over 3,000 students, while five additional buildings have office space and classrooms for other academic departments and programs. Fitzelle Hall houses the Education, Mathematics, Computer Science and Statistics, and Psychology Departments.  Schumacher Hall contains classrooms for the History, English, Foreign Languages, Geography, Economics and Business, Philosophy, Political Science, and Sociology Departments.  Two well-equipped Science Buildings provide laboratory, classroom, office, and research space for Biology, Earth Sciences, Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Physics and Astronomy, while the Human Ecology Building provides its department with laboratories, a CAD computer lab, Child Development Center, and special purpose rooms.

The Morris Conference Center is a full-service, year-round residential conference center available to college, community, business, and professional organizations. The Center is noted for excellence in service, dining, and lodging, all at very attractive rates. The Center’s comfortable, climate-controlled conference rooms are equipped to support teleconferencing and a variety of audio-visual presentations. Computers with Internet access are also available.

Single and double dorm-style rooms are available in two adjoining wings. The Morris Conference Center offers catered presentations including casual and formal dining, hors d’oeuvres, buffets, meeting site refreshments, and box lunches.

The Center for Multicultural Experiences, located in Lee Hall, provides social, spiritual, and academic support to students of color and international students. Open to everyone at the College at Oneonta, the CME is the perfect place for meetings, discussions, receptions, or quiet study.

The Center for Social Responsibility and Community
The Center for Social Responsibility and Community (CSRC), located in room 101C in Alumni Hall, provides students with volunteer opportunities to become involved in a wide variety of services that serve over 90 local nonprofits.  CSRC hosts an annual conference on Volunteerism and Social Responsibility each fall.  Into the Streets each May brings the campus and community closer in a day of service which benefits residents throughout the region.  In addition, we offer and AmeriCorps Program, located in 101E Alumnie Hall, where students volunteer in local schools, receive a stipend and an education award. Over 20% of the student body volunteers annually, averaging 45,000 hours of community service each year.

The Alumni Association
Approximately 48,000 graduates of the College enjoy an active Alumni Association. College at Oneonta graduates offer tremendous resources and support to the College through their involvement in admissions recruitment, advocacy, and academic and extra-curricular programs. Alumni demonstrate their support of academic excellence through their generous gifts to the Alumni Annual Fund, which learning and cultural opportunities, and beautifies the campus. The Association also publishes Reflections magazine; sponsors the Fall provides scholarships for students, enriches library resources, expands Homecoming Weekend and Reunion Weekend each June; and holds regional events throughout New York State and the country. The Alumni Association is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors, who actively participate in all activities and programs administered by the Office of Alumni Affairs.

The College Foundation
Established in 1982, the College at Oneonta Foundation raises, receives, and manages gifts and grants from alumni, parents, friends, faculty, staff, foundations, and corporations. It is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors. Through the work of the College Foundation, the College’s endowment has grown to $30.1 million, providing financial support for scholarships, academic programs, campus beautification, and a wide range of other College activities. Gifts are made to the College Foundation on an annual basis and through estate planning.

Oneonta Auxiliary Services (OAS)
The mission of Oneonta Auxiliary Services is to support the college at Oneonta through our commitment to exceptional customer service as we establish, operate, mange, enhance, and promote programs and auxiliary services for the benefit of the College community.  OAS is governed by a Board of Directors consisting of students, faculty, and administrators.  Services provided either directly by OAS or through a subcontract include:  College at Oneonta Dining Services, the Red Dragon Bookstore (textbooks, supplies, clothing, memorabilia), the Shipping Room, the College Camp educational and recreational facility, vending services (snacks, soda, residence hall washers and dryers), check cashing services, a campus debit card program for students, ID/dining card operations, and special College program support.