Tuition Incentive Grant Reduces Per-Credit Rate by Nearly 25%, Making a Syracuse University Education More Accessible to Working Adults
The College of Professional Studies at Syracuse University is providing all undergraduate students admitted to and enrolled in its online programs with the Tuition Incentive Grant, effectively reducing the per-credit rate from $750 to $575. This reduction of $175 per credit hour demonstrates the College’s commitment to making quality education more accessible to working adults pursuing their bachelor’s degrees.
The Tuition Incentive Grant is automatically applied to all part-time undergraduate online students in the College of Professional Studies. No additional application or eligibility requirements are needed beyond admission and enrollment. This grant reduces the financial investment required to earn a Syracuse University degree while maintaining work and family responsibilities.
“The Tuition Incentive Grant demonstrates our commitment to expanding opportunities for working professionals to earn their Syracuse University degree,” said Michael Frasciello, dean of the College of Professional Studies. “We recognize that adult learners are making significant investments in their futures, and this automatic grant helps reduce that investment while maintaining the innovative course design, market-responsive programs and top-tier faculty for which the University is known.”
The grant applies to all part-time, undergraduate, online programs offered through the College of Professional Studies, encompassing degrees in business management, project management, organizational development and leadership, cybersecurity, and healthcare administration. Through a blend of asynchronous and synchronous online course delivery, multiple start dates throughout the year, and dedicated support services, the college ensures that adult learners can successfully integrate their educational pursuits with professional and personal responsibilities.
This tuition reduction addresses the critical need for affordable pathways to degree completion at a time when career advancement increasingly requires bachelor’s degree credentials. The initiative recognizes that many working adults have delayed or interrupted their educational journeys due to financial constraints, and the reduced tuition rate removes a significant barrier to degree completion. By making this investment in affordability, Syracuse University College of Professional Studies demonstrates its understanding that accessible education benefits not only individual students but also strengthens the broader workforce and economy.
Students interested in learning more about the Tuition Incentive Grant and exploring program options should contact the College of Professional Studies admissions office at 315-443-9378 or parttime@syr.edu. Admissions counselors are available to discuss how the grant applies to specific program paths and to help prospective students understand the full range of financial resources available to support their educational goals.
Join us as we celebrate collaboration in online course design and development. Meet and share ideas with other professionals from the schools and colleges of Syracuse University.
Please mark your calendar to join us for a behind-the-scenes look at our online courses. Talk with University faculty who have participated in the course design process. Learn how collaboration with The Center for Online and Digital Learning at Syracuse University adds value to academic programs across campus and to students across the world.
Wed., Oct. 22, 2025
11 a.m.-2 p.m.
Bisignano Grand Hall at the D’Aniello National Veterans Resource Center
Please RSVP here. You don’t need to RSVP to attend! Stop by to learn more about how we bring courses to life for the University.
Meet the Faculty
Jason Curry: BPS 211 Introduction to Professional Studies
Spotlighting critical thinking videos for instructional design message creation and student roundtables for course outcomes, with a focus on the application of critical thinking.
Jason Curry has more than 15 years of professional and higher education experience across various roles, including faculty, regulatory compliance, corporate, institutional and programmatic accreditation, distance education, and leadership. Prior to joining Syracuse University, Curry served as a curriculum and student consumer research analyst in the Licensing and Registration Unit at the Minnesota Office of Higher Education. In addition to his regulatory background, Curry was an assistant professor at the University of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky, and an instructor and program administrator for the Bachelor of Science in Workforce Leadership program at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Curry also served as the director of education and academic affairs at ATA College. In addition, he has held several contract and full-time instructional design, evaluation, and leadership roles for companies such as Humana, LaserShip, Carley Corporation, TCF Bank, and Sears Holdings Corporation.
Katrin Steele: PPM 610 Project Management Fundamentals
Katrin Steele is a professor of practice in the Project Management Program in the College of Professional Studies at Syracuse University. She has a 27-year career characterized by diverse roles across biotechnology manufacturing processes, operations quality, and learning and performance. With a strong background as a servant leader and project management expert, she brings extensive practical experience and a commitment to fostering both academic and professional excellence.
Susan Conklin: CRL 313 Strategic Leadership in Professional Studies
Spotlighting live session worksheets and applying metacognition to support self-reflection.
Susan Conklin is a professor of organizational development and leadership, as well as an experienced consultant and trainer. She draws on more than 35 years of experience managing people and projects to develop training programs that improve business performance. Her consulting, training, and coaching services focus on personal and interpersonal skill development, leadership, and organizational development. Her clients include public and private corporations and institutions. Conklin holds an MBA from Syracuse University with a concentration in organizational development and marketing. Her corporate experience includes leadership positions with GE and Carrier Corporation, as well as with several small businesses. In addition to her consulting work, Conklin has been teaching management and leadership classes in higher education for more than 20 years.
Emily Nolan: ATR 724 Trauma and Art Therapy: Theories and Applications
Spotlighting experiential and scenario-based learning in somatic therapy, experiential and constructivist approaches in trauma-informed art therapy, and audio-guided experiential learning for healing and post-traumatic growth.
Emily Goldstein Nolan joined the College of Visual and Performing Arts’ Department of Creative Arts Therapy as a non-tenure-track professor of practice in Fall 2020. She founded a nonprofit organization, Bloom Art and Integrated Therapies, Inc., that focuses on providing access to mental health care and art therapy. Bloom partners with many community organizations to provide innovative treatment. Nolan earned a DAT in 2014 from Mount Mary University, an MA in 2005 from the Adler School of Professional Psychology, and a BFA in 1999 from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Dr. Rochele Royster: ATR 823 Thesis or Culminating Project II
Spotlighting three podcast interviews that highlight the real-world research, inclusive practices, and diverse expertise of guest speakers to inspire students working on their thesis projects. Course assignments were scaffolded to support students in developing and presenting their thesis research projects.
Rochele Royster, PhD, ATR-BC, is an assistant professor of art therapy in the Department of Creative Arts Therapy at Syracuse University. With more than 20 years of experience integrating art therapy into educational settings, she specializes in trauma-informed classrooms, special education, and community-based practice. Her teaching is grounded in a transdisciplinary approach that explores race, power, and policy in education. Royster’s work bridges art, social justice, and pedagogy, preparing students to use creative methods for systemic change.
Todd Berger: LAW 754 Trial Practice
Spotlighting trial practice skills in action with a demonstration of direct examination.
Todd A. Berger serves as the director of advocacy programs and the director of the College of Law’s joint JD/LLM program in Advocacy and Litigation. His scholarship focuses on criminal law and procedure, as well as the intersection of trial advocacy and attorney ethics. Berger also serves as the faculty host of the American Bar Association’s Law Student Podcast. Berger earned a BA from George Washington University, a JD from Temple University School of Law, and an LLM in Trial Advocacy from Temple University.
Arien Rozelle: STC 319 Digital Analytics for Strategic Communication
Spotlighting the integration of the social media platform Threads and the analytics platform Brandwatch for content repetition, to connect students with one another, and as an opportunity for critical thinking. Spotlighting the use of student Threads submissions as data for a reflection assignment on the topics of confirmation bias, echo chambers, and selective exposure.
Arien Rozelle is an assistant teaching professor in the public relations department. She teaches courses in public relations campaigns, public relations writing, and public relations ethics. She also advises students who compete in the Public Relations Student Society of America’s (PRSSA) Bateman Case Study Competition and led the Newhouse team to place third in the nation in 2025. Rozelle is an accredited member of the Public Relations Society of America and, in 2024, was named Educator of the Year by the PRSA Rochester Chapter. She is an active member of AEJMC’s Public Relations Division, which awarded her the Top Great Idea for Teaching (GIFT) in 2025. As a public relations practitioner, she founded and operated a boutique PR firm in New York City and is now a consultant to a variety of clients. Rozelle earned a BA in communication from the State University of New York at Fredonia and an MA in public relations and corporate communication from New York University.
Soo-Yeon Hong: STC 348 Principles of DEIA in Communications
Spotlighting video variety and reflection journals as strong examples of increasing students’ engagement with course material and their engagement in their own thinking processes.
Soo Yeon Hong teaches introductory graphic design, social media, visual communications theory, and multimedia storytelling courses to undergraduate, graduate, and military students. She brings to the classroom an unusual element of diversity, given her PhD in communications from the Newhouse School, her PR and graphic design expertise gained in her earlier professional career, and her creative writing skills learned from National Book Award– and Pulitzer Prize–winning authors.
Hong holds a PhD in mass communications from the Newhouse School and an MFA in creative writing (fiction) from Boston University, where she was awarded the 2012 Saul Bellow Prize in Fiction. She has taught at Boston University and Virginia Commonwealth University, in addition to Syracuse University, where she also teaches in Communications@Syracuse. Hong was a marketer at LG, a graphic designer at Time and Health magazines, and an editorial assistant to the co-editor of Communications Research journal. She was a semifinalist for the 2014–2015 Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center Fellowship.
On December 6, 2022, the cybersecurity administration bachelor’s degree at the College of Professional Studies was validated by the National Security Agency (NSA) after a review completed by the NSA in partnership with a committee of academic peers.
The NSA is committed to remaining the pre-eminent foreign signals intelligence and cybersecurity agency in the nation, from protecting warfighters around the world to enabling and supporting operations on land, in the air, at sea, in space, and in the cyber domain.
Preventing, detecting, and responding to attacks is essential to all organizations, and cybersecurity specialists are fighting on the front lines of this effort. With the rising need for protecting our national and personal security from online intrusions, there is a call from government and corporate areas to have specialists, administrators and leaders trained in this field. Released in September 2018, the National Cyber Strategy addressed the critical shortage of professionals with cybersecurity skills and highlighted the importance of higher education as a solution to defending America’s cyberspace.
“The online bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity administration was developed to address rapidly evolving global information security needs,” says Michael Frasciello, dean of the College of Professional Studies.
The validation ensures a gold standard of curriculum and learning outcomes in the cybersecurity administration bachelor’s degree that directly contribute to the protection of the National Information Infrastructure, preparing highly skilled graduates to immediately join the cybersecurity workforce.
The cybersecurity administration program is a 120-credit bachelor’s degree program available fully online. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, and students can start in one of the six sessions offered throughout the year. The NSA certification is set through 2027.
Syracuse University is among an elite group of academic institutions designated by federal agencies for research and education in cybersecurity. The University originally received the CAE-CD (Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education) designation in 2001, CAE-R (Research) designation in 2009, and has been continuously re-designated by the agencies. As part of the CAE designation activities (now CAE-C, Cybersecurity), the University received the Program of Study (PoS) Validation by the National Security Agency (NSA) on the Bachelor of Professional Studies in Cybersecurity Administration program in 2022. Dr. Joon Park, Professor, the School of Information Studies (iSchool) serves as the Point of Contact (POC) for Syracuse University’s CAE-C.
When Liz Green prepares for roll call next month in front of a precinct of City of Syracuse police officers, she plans to be a myth-buster—at least when it comes to higher education. On behalf of the College of Professional Studies, Green will be offering Syracuse police and firefighters an opportunity to advance their education and careers under a new grant program at the college.
“We are making it more affordable than ever for first responders to achieve undergraduate certificates, and undergraduate and graduate degrees,” says Green, executive director of online student success in the college. The new tuition grant program is another component of the Go Local Learn Local initiative, which recently expanded opportunities for health care workers in the region. Similar to the health care worker grant, first responders will be able to earn degrees through online part-time studies at a fraction of the normal cost.
“But first we have to overcome some negative perceptions—concerns they might have over not being able to do their studies while doing their jobs, or not being able to afford a higher education degree,” says Green. By appearing in person, Green hopes to build trust with the community’s public servants—trust in the University and trust in themselves and their abilities to excel.
“Just as they serve the entire city, police and firefighters serve our university community every day. We want to support and strengthen them,” says Michael Frasciello, dean of the College of Professional Studies. “As part of Syracuse University’s commitment to community, we have an obligation to be an innovator in providing education, training, services and support. Our greatest asset is our excellence in teaching and learning. We should be providing as many pathways to that excellence as we can.”
All full-time and part-time first responders in the City of Syracuse are now eligible to apply for online professional certificates and undergraduate degrees in a wide variety of subjects, including data and predictive analytics, business management, cybersecurity, leadership and project management. The cost for admitted and eligible first responders represents a significant discount (50% of the normal part-time tuition rate, and an 89% discount off the full-time tuition rate).
In addition, all first responders throughout the entire state of New York who already have an undergraduate degree can apply for a 30-credit hour online graduate degree in project management at the discounted rate of $1,000 per credit hour.
“Everyone at every level of every organization does project management in some way,” says Frasciello. “The more training and skills acquired in all the dimensions and practice of project management, the more valuable individuals will be in their workplace. They become proficient in asset resource usage, time management, delegation and staff management.”
Frasciello says the offerings for undergraduate degrees and professional certificates are based on the rapidly changing needs of employers and employees to “upskill and reskill” to meet industry demands. For example, police officers are increasingly adding skills in research and data analysis. “So much of modern policing is digital, involving sifting through and analyzing large amounts of data,” he says. “That’s why our data science courses will be valuable.”
Frasciello expects police officers, many of whom have associate degrees in criminal justice, to pursue policy studies and other courses that will help them progress in their careers in the public sector and pivot to the private sector. “We know there’s a great interest in business management and creative leadership as well,” he says.
Interest in continuing education through online programs increased dramatically during the pandemic and Syracuse University’s programs have expanded dramatically to meet student needs. “It’s crucial for continuing education leaders to engage with people who live in the area and respond with programming that residents and employers find valuable,” says Frasciello. “We are the gateway to the University for the community.”
Syracuse University’s College of Professional Studies has partnered with Circuit Stream, an industry leader in Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) and Extended Reality (XR) education, to offer a Unity Game Development Bootcamp.
Global demand for Unity developers is growing fast in the technology and video game industry. Real-time 3D (RT3D) is one of the most in-demand tech skills and has one of the highest forecasted growth rates — over 70% in the next 10 years [Burning Glass].
The 30-week Unity Game Development Bootcamp is a career-focused program that prepares learners to enter the 3D development industry. Throughout the bootcamp, students will learn object-oriented and data-driven programming to build applications that communicate with online APIs, servers and databases. Students will finish the bootcamp with nine portfolio-worthy projects.
Other learning outcomes from the bootcamp include:
Foundational skills to use Unity and create exciting real-time 3D experiences.
Learn the basics of C#, a programming language commonly used to create games.
Understand the process of crafting an application from start to finish, including industry-standard and Agile practices.
Learn to leverage third-party tools like Python, SQL and databases to include multiplayer and data analytics into your game development process.
Learn the benefits of cross-platform game development, which allows you to code once and release your game on a range of platforms including, mobile, console, AR/VR and PC.
The bootcamp is a beginner-friendly program, but basic computer literacy skills, including file management and navigating your operating system, are necessary for a successful learning process.
Earn a Digital Badge and Voucher for the Unity Associate Programmer Certification:
After successfully completing the course, students will earn a digital badge from Syracuse University’s College of Professional Studies and Circuit Stream. Students who complete the Unity Game Development Bootcamp will also receive a voucher to take the Unity Associate Programmer Certification.
On December 6, 2022, the