SUNY Oneonta embraces its role as an educational resource for the regional workforce. We are developing a variety of new partnerships aimed at helping members of Otsego County and surrounding communities advance in their current careers or gain the skills and certifications to pursue new ones.
Direct Support Professional Microcredential
On March 20, 2024, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a $32 million investment to expand the Direct Support Professional (DSP) microcredential program offered by the State University of New York (SUNY) in partnership with the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD). One of six SUNY campuses chosen to expand the program, SUNY Oneonta was awarded $706,455 in grant funding to provide local workforce training and fill a growing need for specially trained support professionals across our county and region.
Partnering with the area’s largest employers, SUNY Oneonta will tailor nationally recognized coursework for the employees at Springbrook, Pathfinder Village and ARC Otsego. The funding will offer these students the skills necessary to advance within these local organizations serving people with developmental disabilities.
SUNY Oneonta is also working with ONC BOCES (Otsego Northern Catskill Board of Cooperative Education Services) to design opportunities for high school and adult education students. The students may be able to earn their DSP microcredential and intern at a local partner facility to prepare them for employment.
Program participants will earn certification from the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals (NADSP) through NADSP-accredited microcredentials. The three-tiered credential program includes: DSP-I, DSP-II and DSP-III, as well as Front-Line Supervisor. Grant funding for this initiative will cover tuition, books, course materials, NADSP credentialing for students and educational supports. In addition, the program will offer a $750 incentive to eligible students who successfully complete each microcredential and earn a certification.
Springbrook Training & Education Program (STEP)
In 2023, SUNY Oneonta partnered with Springbrook, an organization that offers services and support to people with developmental disabilities across New York, on the Springbrook Training & Education Program (STEP). Through the program, Springbrook employees can take tuition-free courses taught by a SUNY Oneonta faculty member day and can use credits earned toward a certificate or degree program in human services or a related major. Classes are taught at one of Springbrook’s two locations and students receive work release time in order to participate.
The Springbrook-SUNY Oneonta partnership is designed to provide no-cost educational opportunities to direct support professionals who have faced scheduling and financing obstacles in pursuing their degree. Upon completion of the program (five classes total), employees will receive a pay increase.
Offshore Wind Energy Pipeline Program
SUNY Oneonta has received grant funding to develop a Sustainable Energy Demonstration Lab in the Physical Science Building on campus and create a pathway to careers in offshore wind energy and other renewable energies, and ancillary areas such as battery storage. Through a partnership with the Otsego Northern Catskills BOCES, local high school students in the mechatronics and New Visions programs will have the opportunity to pursue microcredentials and engage in lab work with SUNY Oneonta faculty, students and industry mentors. Students will get hands-on experience in everything from fabrication to energy farm site planning.
SUNY Oneonta Law Enforcement Academy
The SUNY Oneonta Law Enforcement Academy is open to both sworn police officers and civilian students interested in a career in law enforcement.
Courses are taught on campus at the Emergency Services (University Police Department) Building. Designed to serve cadets both pre-employment (Phase I) and employed (Phase II) while earning the Basic Course for Police Officers Certificate, the academy includes:
- Physical training conducted by NCAA coaches in modern athletic facilities
- Water rescue and survival Instruction conducted in an indoor pool.
- Radar/Lidar certification
- Breath Analysis Operator Certification
- Standardized Field Sobriety Testing
- In-depth training in drafting Felony Complaints and Criminal Informations
- In-depth training for responding to mental health emergencies
- In-depth training for preparing statements and depositions
Requirements
- Must by at least 21 years old by the end of the course
- Must be prepared to pass a physical fitness test during the first week to be accepted into the academy
Offshore Wind Training and Workforce Development Grant Awarded
