Cayuga Community College is helping 150 students cover everyday college expenses and navigate their education through a SUNY program designed to keep financial and academic barriers from derailing a degree.
The Advancing Success in Associate Pathways program, known as ASAP, combines help with textbooks, groceries, transportation and other attendance costs with personalized advising, academic assistance and career development.
Cayuga joined SUNY Oswego, Jefferson Community College and Onondaga Community College at an Oct. 29 event highlighting the programs and efforts to help students carry that support from an associate degree into a bachelor’s degree.
Together, the four institutions serve 940 students through ASAP and its bachelor’s degree counterpart, Advancing Completion through Engagement, or ACE.
Support addresses costs and the challenges of staying enrolled
The programs aim to address obstacles that extend beyond paying tuition. Eligible students receive financial resources alongside help planning classes, maintaining academic progress and preparing for careers.
“ASAP has been an outstanding source of support for students at Cayuga Community College, instilling them with confidence while removing financial barriers that stood between students and their degree,” Cayuga Provost Keiko Kimura said in the college’s account of the event.
For Cayuga business administration student Kati Champagne, the assistance has helped connect a longstanding career goal with a workable college schedule.
Champagne has worked in her grandfather’s tax preparation business for 16 years and wants to become a certified public accountant to continue his business and legacy.
“Being a part of ASAP and having the extra support helped me grow more confident in myself and what I was capable of,” Champagne said. “One of the biggest things being a part of ASAP has taught me was that I didn’t have to figure everything out alone. They helped me figure out the best schedules and times for classes so I could still be successful in my daily life.”
Champagne identified SUNY Oswego as a likely next step, with the potential to continue receiving support through ACE.
Colleges work to connect associate and bachelor’s degrees
SUNY Oswego’s ACE program supports 490 students this year, with another 200 on a waiting list, according to President Peter Nwosu. Onondaga Community College reported serving 150 students through ASAP.
Officials said coordination among the colleges is intended to strengthen transfer pathways so students can begin at a community college and continue toward a bachelor’s degree with support after transferring.
Jordan Pritchard, director of SUNY Oswego’s ACE programs, said teams are working to increase the number of ASAP students from Cayuga, Jefferson and Onondaga who successfully transfer to Oswego and ultimately earn bachelor’s degrees.
Oswego student and ACE peer mentor Melinda McCarthy described how that support helped her return to school as a nontraditional transfer student.
“ACE made me feel like I was in the right place. I had a team behind me. They supported me from Day One,” McCarthy said.
She now helps other students develop the same sense of belonging.
State investment expands access
SUNY launched ASAP and ACE in 2024. An additional $8 million in the enacted 2026-27 state budget expanded the programs to serve 10,000 students across 44 SUNY campuses by fall 2026, bringing annual state investment to $20 million.
The college’s announcement cited SUNY findings showing participating students earning more credits and returning for subsequent semesters at higher rates than matched comparison students.
ASAP students earned up to 1.4 additional credits in their first semester, with retention rates reaching 12.3 percentage points above comparison students by the fourth semester.
ACE students earned up to 1.7 additional credits by their third semester, while fourth-semester retention reached 8.6 percentage points above the comparison group.
Those figures describe the broader programs, rather than outcomes specifically measured at Cayuga.
Students can learn about eligibility and available support through Cayuga’s ASAP program or the SUNY ASAP and ACE website.
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