State University of New York Chancellor John B. King Jr. today announced a new Guaranteed Pathway Agreement between Westchester Community College and SUNY Purchase College. Through the agreement, students enrolled in associate degree programs including Computer Science and Environmental Science at Westchester Community College will be eligible to automatically transfer to SUNY Purchase College beginning in Fall 2026.
“Ensuring our community college students have the opportunity to seamlessly transfer and continue their education at one of our four-year institutions is an important part of SUNY’s commitment to student success,” said SUNY Chancellor King.“Through this partnership, more Westchester Community College students will be able to pursue the education of their dreams at SUNY Purchase and continue their path to upward mobility. I applaud both campuses for their work to support our students as they continue their higher education journey.”
SUNY Board of Trustees Vice Chairman Cesar Perales said, “Through this Guaranteed Pathway Agreement, students at Westchester Community College will be able to easily transfer to SUNY Purchase and continue their education without interruption. We commend both campuses for their work to make this partnership possible, and we are grateful to Governor Kathy Hochul and the State Legislature for their continued support and investment in SUNY, so our students can thrive.”
Chancellor King joined SUNY Purchase College President Michael Steiper and Westchester Community College President Belinda Miles to make the announcement and sign the Guaranteed Pathway Agreement during his visit to Westchester Community College. Through the agreement, students enrolled in associate programs including Environmental Science, Computer Science, Communications and Media Arts, and Performing Arts, that earn a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher at Westchester Community College will be guaranteed admission to SUNY Purchase beginning in the Fall 2026 semester.
Upon meeting their program requirements, eligible students from Westchester Community College will transfer to SUNY Purchase with junior standing. SUNY Purchase will also guarantee admission to 25 Westchester Community CollegeViking Roads/Advancing Success in Associate Pathways (ASAP) graduates into SUNY Purchase’s Advancing Completion through Engagement (ACE) program to earn a bachelor’s degree. SUNY ASAP|ACE helps students gain and maintain academic momentum so they can graduate on time through access to a wide array of resources and support to help them overcome barriers that can prevent them from obtaining a degree.
Steiper said, “We’re proud to partner with Westchester Community College to offer this new Guaranteed Pathways program. Purchase and WCC have a shared mission to deliver a high quality, affordable education to students in Westchester and beyond. Together we’re empowering the next generation across countless fields, we’re fueling the economy of Westchester County, and we’re strengthening families and communities. We look forward to welcoming more students from Westchester Community College to Purchase and ensuring they have the support they need to transfer easily, thrive on campus, and graduate on time.”
Miles said, “This agreement reflects what we do best at Westchester Community College—open doors to an affordable, high-quality education that leads to meaningful opportunity. By creating a seamless pathway to SUNY Purchase, we are ensuring that our students can begin their academic journey close to home, build a strong foundation, and continue toward a bachelor’s degree with confidence and support. The impact extends well beyond the classroom—strengthening families, expanding career possibilities, and contributing to the vitality of the communities where our students live and work.”
SUNY has worked to expand seamless transfers to help streamline the experience of students moving from community college to a bachelor’s degree-granting institution. In his 2024 State of the University Policy Agenda, Chancellor King outlined steps SUNY would take to modernize seamless transfer to increase completion, which included the conclusion of the work of SUNY’s Transfer Task Force in improving the transfer process. In October 2024, SUNY announced the release of the SUNY Transfer Task Force Report, and in December 2024, SUNY adopted the final Transfer Task Force, Recommendations, which provided a system-wide road map to improve transfer between SUNY campuses and directly support students at all stages of their educational journey.
At last month’s SUNY BOT meeting, senior leadership presented two policies designed to maximize transfer credit and degree applicability for students who move between SUNY campuses. The two new policies, developed by a cross functional committee of faculty and staff from all SUNY sectors, propose minimum course grades and standardized exam scores accepted for transfer credit. The two policies are now open for public comment, with feedback welcome from all SUNY stakeholders before they are presented to the SUNY Board of Trustees later this spring for final approval. Draft policies and the online feedback form can be found here.
In March 2024, SUNY announced a dual admission partnership between Hudson Valley Community College and the State University of New York at Albany to help students earn their associate degree and bachelor’s degree from the two campuses, made possible by the SUNY Transformation Fund. Earlier this month, the State University of New York at Albany also announced a dual admission agreement with Columbia-Greene Community College (C-GCC) so that students will be able to transfer into related bachelor’s degree programs after completing an associate degree at C-GCC.
