A degree from an accredited college or university shows a potential employer that you are able to think critically and solve tough problems. The more you learn, the higher your salary becomes!

A college degree is an extremely worthwhile investment in your future. In fact, on average people who graduate from college make over $1,000,000 more during their lifetime than those with just a high school degree.

Now that Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has officially approved a plan that was originally developed in the Spring of 2008, the City University of New York will soon be erecting a new community college. The college, which will be located across from Bryant Park on East 40th Street, will be the first new college to be added to the CUNY system in the last 37 years.

Appropriately named the New Community College, the new institution will focus on innovative programs that are designed to move “students toward completion of associate degrees much faster and at a far higher percentage than is typical of community colleges in the city and the nation.” While the school aims to take a new approach toward education, officials stated in a press release that they wish “to do that in a way that can be replicated by other colleges.”

In addition to taking an innovative approach that can be replicated by other institutions, New Community College also hopes to tackle some of the problems that have been plaguing community colleges throughout the country. For example, by maintaining academic quality and integrity, the school hopes to improve graduation rates while also properly preparing students for a career in their chosen field. As such, the school plans to place a great deal of emphasis on curriculum and acceptance rates while also taking steps to help new students become acclimated to the school.

“The New Community College has the benefit of years of experience from other community colleges, particularly those at CUNY,” Dr. Steven Evenbeck, whp was appointed president to the school following a national search, is reported as saying in a recent article in TheTicker.org.

Evenbeck reports that all students will be placed in a summer bridge program and they will all be enrolled in cohort groups during their first year at the school. Students will also be required to enroll full-time and to take at least 12 credits each semester. College officials will also conduct interviews with potential students, which is a part of the acceptance process that is not typically seen with community colleges.

“Our task is to bring together the most effective policies to enhance student academic achievement and persistence,” said Evenbeck.

The New Community College, which is slated to begin classes in the fall of 2012, is expected to be able to support 5,000 students. The college’s primary majors will be Business, Health Information Technology, Human Services, Information Technology, Liberal Arts and Urban Studies. The school is expected to start accepting students as early as this summer.

In an effort to expand its presence in New York, Stanford University has moved to open a new Manhattan-based engineering campus. As such, the school has partnered with the City University of New York’s City College campus in northern Manhattan. Under the agreement, Stanford professors will advise CUNY students on how to market their technology ideas as they continue to work toward earning their degrees through the CUNY system.

“CUNY is somewhere we can make a great impact,” said Lisa Lapin, who is a spokeswoman for Stanford, in a recent WSJ.com article. “They have a lot of really bright, diverse students who would never have the hope of coming to Stanford, and this partnership gives us access to them.”

As part of this partnership, Stanford has made plans to renovate a portion of the City College campus. Furthermore, CUNY engineering students will be invited to participate in a summer business program at the Stanford campus. Meanwhile, Stanford is also one of at least 27 universities that is submitting bids to construct a campus in Manhattan as part of New York City’s plan to bring more science and technology education to the city. Under the plan, the winning school will receive nearly-free real estate as well as up to $100 million in infrastructure upgrades. If Stanford is chosen for the program, the new campus could be opened as soon as 2016. At this time, Stanford faculty members from the CUNY campus will move to the new campus, which will be located on Roosevelt Island.