New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced this week the launch of a “one-stop shop” for active duty service members, veterans and family members currently enrolled or interested in attending any college or university in the State University of New York system.
The landing page suny.edu/military, includes information on available credit for military service and experience, tuition assistance, specialized scholarships and dedicated campus services like veteran lounges and associations for all 64 of the SUNY campuses.
“We continue to rely so much on our veterans and military to protect everything we hold sacred, and it is a priority of my administration to make sure we help our military-connected New Yorkers have a smooth transition to their next career,” Hochul said. “This one-stop shop from SUNY is easy to follow and helps guide service members and their families and puts them on a path to a rewarding degree or credential.”
The website also connects veterans with services offered by the counties where each campus is located, helping them stay close to home and community and will be regularly updated as new information becomes available.
Hochul also announced in May expanded access to further affordable education through the Veterans Tuition Assistance Program, which went into effect on July 1. The program now serves more veterans by broadening eligibility and increasing flexibility. Veterans who served at least four years on active duty now qualify for full-tuition awards, even if they did not serve in combat or a specific combat theater. Applications are also accepted year-round, offering greater flexibility for veterans planning their education.
This recently launched landing page is the next step in making it easier and more possible for military and veterans to further their education, officials said.
“This new SUNY one-stop shop is more than a website — it is a gateway to opportunity for veterans, service members and military families across New York State,” New York State Department of Veterans’ Services Commissioner Viviana DeCohen said. “By streamlining access to campus-based support, credit for military experience and vital tuition assistance through this new resource, it ensures that no one who served is left navigating college alone. Thanks to Governor Hochul’s leadership and visionary expansion of this initiative and the Veterans Tuition Assistance Program, even more of our heroes can now pursue a world-class SUNY education. This is what it means to value service and put veterans first.”
Thirty-seven SUNY campuses offer academic credit for military service and experience, and the new website connects visitors to an easy-to-use search for available credit for military experience and training.
SUNY developed this comprehensive website so that service members and veterans could easily learn about and access all of the available programs and benefits that they have earned through their service.
Additionally, SUNY campuses have tailored support available, including student veteran associations and military and veteran offices, and counties throughout the state have programs and staff available as well.
“SUNY provides a wide array of services for all those who stepped up and answered the call to serve our nation,” said SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. “From tuition assistance and specialized scholarships, to lounges and clubs, to credit for prior learning, it is important that every service member and veteran knows about the great programs at their disposal at every SUNY campus. We honor our veterans and service members, and our campus communities are richer for their presence.”
SUNY is the largest comprehensive system of higher education institutions in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY’s 64 colleges and universities. In total, SUNY serves about 1.4 million students annually.
Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers, five hospitals, four medical schools, two dental schools, a law school, the country’s oldest school of maritime, the state’s only college of optometry and manages one U.S. Department of Energy National Laboratory.
“Hundreds of members of the New York Army and Air National Guard and the New York Naval Militia have furthered their education through the SUNY system, thanks to the free tuition benefit available to them at SUNY and CUNY [The City University of New York],” New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs Adjutant General Major General Raymond Shields Jr. said. “Anything that makes it easier for our citizen soldiers, airmen, sailors and marines to access SUNY services for veterans and service members is very welcome.”