"Student retention goes part and parcel with recruitment," said Carol Urbaitis, FLCC's vice president for enrollment.
FLCC in May 2018 approved a five-year strategic plan that includes a three-year enrollment management plan, which Urbaitis said will "guide a new direction that's focused on enrollment opportunities."
The
FLCC winery was designed to provide practical experience for students in the college's certified two-year program, which offers an applied science associate's degree in viticulture and wine technology.
FLCC manages the preserve under a stewardship agreement with the Conservancy.
The project is estimated to cost $3.65 million, with $3.25 million coming from the state Department of Agriculture and Markets and the balance from the
FLCC Foundation and State University of New York system.
FLCC launched its viticulture and wine technology degree program in fall 2009; it is the first such two-year degree in the Northeast.
Finger Lakes Community College (
FLCC) in Canandaigua, N.Y., now has a certified two-year program that will lead to an applied science associate degree in viticulture and wine technology.
Hewlett hopes that the model
FLCC has developed and will share through the NPR grant will help colleges clear such hurdles.
At
FLCC, biotech students have an opportunity to get out in the field and into the lab.