SUNY Niagara Instead of N Trip

by Owen Brockvescio

Recently Niagara County Community College rebranded itself becoming SUNY Niagara. This was a process that took a year and a half to complete. With the rebrand starting in fall of 2022.

Does this rebranding affect students who are already enrolled, or plan to enroll? Not really. The price of tuition has increased by $48 per semester. This comes after a year where tuition rates were frozen, so not a very large increase over the past two years. Additionally, the school’s accreditation remains the same. So, the price and academics remain relatively the same.

After a year and a half from when the rebranding process started there was an official announcement of the change. According to Hal Legg, Director of Public Relations and Event Management, there was a near quarter million dollar promotional campaign that reached millions of people. With the success of the campaign there has been an increase in enrolment. Legg added there was an 18.5% increase in enrolment from fall 2022 to fall 2024, the largest increase of all sunny schools.

A rebranding with a new name that no longer includes “county community college” might appear as a separation from Niagara County, but that’s just not the case. As Hal Legg said it “SUNY Niagara always has been and remains part and parcel of Niagara County, and a unique resource for the entire region.”. Through and through from founding in 1962 to 2025 Niagara County has sponsored this school, contributing nearly 9 million dollars a year in the most recent budgets. SUNY Niagara may be the name on all the signs, but the connection to Niagara County is still here.

A new name and new people doesn’t have to mean a forgotten past. With that being said this school was founded in 1962 where it resided in a former Nabisco shredded wheat plant located in Niagara falls. Having 343 students the doors opened and classes started in September of 1963. A decade later in 1973 the Sanborn campus opened for classes. Today the school has nearly 50 times as many students from when it opened in 1963.