Educational Opportunity Program
The Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) is designed to recruit, educate, and graduate students who normally would not be afforded the opportunity to pursue a college education due to specific academic and financial barriers, but who demonstrate the potential for post-secondary academic success.
SUNY Canton’s EOP offers support services in the areas of academic, personal, and financial counseling. Programs are designed and implemented to facilitate the academic success and personal growth of each EOP student. One-to-one and peer counseling is provided to establish rapport between the student and the EOP staff and to assist the student in achieving success in the academic program.
All EOP students are required to sign a contract in which they agree to attend and participate in all classes, keep regular appointments with their EOP counselor, and participate in group and individual tutoring as recommended by their EOP counselor. Students who do not maintain satisfactory academic progress or repeatedly fail to meet the requirements of their contract can be dismissed from EOP.
Academic Assistance
Decisions regarding academic EOP eligibility are jointly made by the Director of Admissions and the Director of EOP.
Course level placement in mathematics, science, and English courses will be determined by established college procedures and appropriate consultation with EOP staff.
Every EOP student is assigned an EOP counselor (usually the teacher of their College Success Strategies course) to assist them in achieving academic success their first year. At the start of the student’s second year, they are assigned a faculty academic advisor.
All new EOP students are required to successfully complete the College Success Strategies class in their first semester of enrollment. If scheduling conflicts with other required courses are unavoidable, students must obtain a waiver for completing the College Success Strategies course and make alternate arrangements with their EOP counselor to obtain the information presented in this course.
EOP students who are considering dropping a course, changing curriculums, or withdrawing from school should discuss their plans with both their academic advisor and their EOP counselor to consider the academic and financial consequences of these changes.
All support services available to any SUNY Canton student are also available to EOP students.
Financial Aid
Decisions regarding eligibility of EOP financial assistance are jointly made by the Director of Financial Aid and the Director of EOP. The Director of EOP assists in obtaining the necessary documentation for determining financial eligibility and the financial aid package.
The EOP staff works closely with student accounts and financial aid staff members to obtain the proper distribution of EOP funds according to established State and campus policies for each student.
EOP financial aid may be reduced or suspended for any student who is not meeting EOP contract requirements and/or maintaining satisfactory academic progress. However, all EOP students who have not exhausted their semesters of eligibility remain eligible for EOP academic and counseling assistance.