New York State: Heaven of Colleges and Universities

State-wide, there are approximately 1,160,000 students enrolled in New York State (NYS) institutions of higher education. The 65,000 foreign students studying in NYS during the 2006-2007 academic year directly contributed a total of $1.86 billion to the statewide economy.
At SUNY, there are approximately 1,800 students enrolled in dual-diploma programs between SUNY institutions (across 9 campuses) and 9 Turkish universities.
Daniel Doktori, Director of Higher Education for Governor Paterson, answered TURKOFAMERICA’s questions about NYS educational opportunities.

How many colleges and universities are located in NYS? What would be your suggestions to students who don't have any idea about the universities in NYS?
New York is home to over 250 colleges and universities, one of the highest densities of institutions of higher education in the world. New York is home to two Ivy league institutions (Columbia and Cornell) and seven institutions which are part of the prestigious American Association of Universities. (Columbia, Cornell, NYU, SUNY Stony Brook, SUNY Buffalo, Syracuse University, and University of Rochester).
We have two public institutions here in the state, the State University of New York and the City University of New York (CUNY).

SUNY is the largest single system of public higher education in the state with nearly 420,000 matriculated students enrolled across 64 campuses.

CUNY is the largest single urban system in the country, with over 250,000 matriculated students across 23 campuses in all five boroughs of NYC.
Between these two systems, there is an incredible wealth of diversity and opportunity for students-- from the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in NYC [a SUNY college] to City College at CUNY (one of the most famous colleges in the history of the state) to Binghamton University (consistently ranked as a top 10 value in the whole of the U.S.) and more. New Yorkers attending senior colleges at SUNY pay approximately $5,000 per year in tuition, far below the regional and national averages. Students attending community colleges pay about $3,000 per year in tuition.

How many not-for-profit institutions are there in the state?
There are also approximately 120 private not-for-profit institutions in the state. This sector boasts such famous names as Columbia, Cornell, NYU, Vassar, Hamilton, Colgate, the Culinary institute of America, Skidmore and others. Finally, there are 50+ for-profit institutions, which primarily offer focused programs in vocational areas.
In terms of where to direct students, the Governor and his Department of Economic Development are currently developing an organization called "Study New York" which will launch a website in the near future detailing most of the state's institutions of higher education. However, that is not yet launched.

Could you give some information about the number of total students and how many of them are international students?
State-wide there are approximately 1,160,000 students enrolled in NYS institutions of higher education. That breaks down to 928,000 undergraduate and 232,000 graduate students. Of those approximately 74,000 (or 6.4%) are international students.

Do you have an exact number for Turkish students in graduate and undergraduate education?
That information is available primarily with regard to the SUNY program. At SUNY, there are approximately 1,800 students enrolled in dual-diploma programs between SUNY institutions (across 9 campuses) and 9 Turkish universities. The primary destination for Turkish students is Binghamton University (one of the state's most prestigious institutions) which is located in what is known as the southern tier area of New York State.

How much money have international students contributed to NYS?
For the data we have available, the 65,000 foreign students studying in NYS during the 2006-2007 academic year directly contributed a total of $1.86 billion to the statewide economy. The more up-to-date data show that NYS today has over 74,000 foreign students, so the impact is even greater. One of the Governor's goals is to establish NYS as the premier destination for international students seeking higher education. Our partnership programs between SUNY and Turkey are an important part of that strategy.

Most people know about universities in the downstate part of New York, but there are many prestigious universities and colleges located in upstate New York. Can you discuss the differences between studying in the different parts of NYS?
While you are partially correct that many people know about the more famous downstate universities such as NYU, Columbia, Stony Brook etc., in fact many of our upstate institutions are just as well known. I mentioned Cornell, Syracuse, SUNY Buffalo, and SUNY Binghamton earlier as well as some of our most famous liberal arts colleges such as SUNY Genseo, Vassar, Hamilton, Colgate, Skidmore, and others.
I would say that the primary difference is the campus experience. While attending school in NYC offers an incredible opportunity to students seeking to be exposed to one of the greatest cities in the world, an upstate New York college offers the classic campus experience full of tree-lined streets, and sports fields and small towns.

As Director of Higher Education for Governor Paterson, what does your office do to bring more students to NYS?
My role is to help enable the experts at the various institutions to recruit international students. Part of that is ensuring that tuition is affordable at public institutions. Another part of that is helping to ensure that the quality of education remains high through encouraging the hiring and retaining of high quality faculty. A third part of that is helping to advertise New York's wealth of opportunities through the Study New York initiative. Finally, we ensure that foreign and domestic students alike have beautiful campuses at which to study.

For international students, what is the yearly median COST per student for college education in the United States?
The yearly tuition at SUNY and CUNY for out-of-state (including international) students is about $12,000. When you add the costs associated with fees, room, meal plan etc., the costs rise to approximately $25,000, depending on a variety of factors associated with the location. Students attending private college have a far wider range of costs associated with attendance. The average tuition is $25,000 and, including associated costs, the total costs can be well over $40,000 to attend private college. For that investment, students get access to some of the world's leading institutions of higher education and to a set of opportunities that will change their lives.