Dr. Amy Kremenek, president of Tompkins Cortland Community College (TC3), told the Tompkins Intergovernmental Relations Committee on Aug. 6 that the college has received more than 400 inquiries from local adults about SUNY Reconnect, a statewide program that offers free community college tuition and book support to eligible adults.
Kremenek said roughly 100 of those inquiries have turned into registrations so far — about a 25% yield with a few weeks still left before the semester starts. She said the three most requested programs among adult learners are chemical dependency counseling, computer information systems and computer support specialist programs. The college has 12 degree programs eligible for SUNY Reconnect and reported interest in all of them.
Kremenek also said that, overall, TC3 enrollment is currently tracking about 15% higher than the same time last year, with a higher proportion of students registering full time, an outcome the college says is associated with higher credential completion rates.
On property and housing, Kremenek told the committee the TC3 Foundation will list three residence halls — the three halls on the hill furthest from campus — using CBRE, a real estate services firm the foundation has engaged. The college will retain the four residence halls closest to campus. She said the three halls slated for sale are configured as apartment‑style housing rather than corridor dormitories and that the foundation is seeking compatible uses and potential tenants who can collaborate with campus services.
Kremenek said Cultivare’s culinary arts academic program will continue in the fall while program leaders and partners re‑envision the operation and that the college is working with the City of Ithaca and the Downtown Ithaca Alliance to identify a tenant to assume an associated lease. She also said TC3 will sign a transfer agreement with Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences for a sustainable agriculture transfer pathway.
Kremenek reported the college is participating on Dryden’s New York Forward steering committee and offered TC3’s campus as a location for the required public meeting; proposals for that program were due Aug. 8.
Committee members asked whether deed restrictions would be attached to the property sales; Kremenek said the foundation is not placing deed restrictions and is open to offers that are compatible with a college campus and that could allow collaboration with campus amenities such as the gym, pool and childcare center.
No formal action was taken by the committee; members received the report and thanked Kremenek for the update.