You are about to begin an educational adventure, a college program in which you make major decisions about what you will study and how you will study it. You will take an active part in every aspect of your educational planning, from understanding the requirements to reach your particular goals to identifying what you have already learned and how that contributes to those goals. In developing your degree program and deciding what you will study, you cultivate a capacity for self-directed study that forms the basis for lifelong learning and growth. For more information on planning your degree, review the chapter titled Earning an Undergraduate Degree.

Your Mentor

As you enter the university, you will be assigned a faculty mentor. The university uses the term mentor because its faculty members are more than teachers or professors. Besides providing instruction in their own fields of specialization, mentors advise students about the academic alternatives open to them. Your mentor is your academic guide at Empire State University, assisting you and advising you as you develop your degree program and as you create a body of work through your studies. Your mentor will help you identify the learning resources that you need for each of your studies.

MySUNYEmpire

MySUNYEmpire is your password-protected online gateway to information and services for students at SUNY Empire. To begin registration, you will need a user ID and login to access MySUNYEmpire. Staff at your location can provide assistance with online registration.

Planning Your Courses

The discussions that you have with your mentor are vital to your success at SUNY Empire. In creating your degree program, you customize the topics to meet your own educational goals and degree requirements. Therefore, you and your mentor consider carefully the studies you create or select for each enrollment term.

The university defines specific periods for advising, course preparation and registration for each term. During that time, you contact your mentor and schedule a time to review your goals and your progress toward those goals, and to plan for the upcoming term. Your conversations with your mentor may be in person, on the telephone, online or some combination. Once you have made decisions, you and your mentor work on the specifics of any individualized courses, identifying and contacting instructors, and you acquire the books and/or materials that each of your courses require.

Begin this process early, so that you have all of the information and resources you need to begin your courses on time. The table on this page provides the relevant dates for each term.

If you are a financial aid student, you may receive financial aid only for studies that are part of your degree program (with few exceptions). Please contact the Financial Aid office if you have any questions.

SUNY Empire strongly encourages students to create individualized courses that move you closer to your goals. In creating individualized courses, you work with your mentor to plan the purpose, the learning activities and how you will be evaluated in the course. Between our online faculty directory and the term guide you can learn a good deal about the expertise of the university’s faculty. During the advising and registration period, the upcoming term guide is available online through MySUNYEmpire. Throughout the year, the university’s course catalog also is available through MySUNYEmpire.

The term guide offers a wide variety of courses, but you are not limited to the entries in the term guide. Your mentor can add individually designed course titles to your plan and you can then register for a course created just for you. You should discuss the possibility when you are creating your course plan for the term.

The term guide also describes the rich array of topics available to you, and who is available to guide you in each course. You may select from guided independent study, online courses, study groups and residency-based courses. You also may look at the offerings at other colleges and universities near you and consider including them in your course plan for the term. Your mentor will need to add cross registration to your registration. For more information about course delivery, please see Earning an Undergraduate Degree.

Advising, course preparation and registration should be completed during each term's registration period. Registration periods for the 2023-2024 academic year can be found in the University Calendar section. 

Registration

Once you and your mentor have agreed upon the course plan for the upcoming term, created a plan, and registration is open, register online through Self Service Banner. Registering secures your place in courses that may reach capacity early and allows sufficient time to finalize any learning contracts with your instructors and to get your books before the start of the term. The university loans a limited amount of devices to students in financial need. Please visit https://www.sunyempire.edu/student-affairs/student-life/laptop-loan-program/ to learn more.  Logging into MySUNYEmpire and registering signifies that you are enrolling in courses and that you agree to pay the tuition and fees by the payment due date. For more information, please see Tuition and Fees.

Terms

The university offers three terms: Fall, Spring and Summer.

• Fall (usually begins in early September), 15 weeks
• Spring (usually begins in mid January), 15 weeks
• Summer (usually begins in early May), 15 weeks

Each term may contain shorter sessions. Please see the University Calendar.

Late Registration

Students may register after the regular advising and registration period ends, contingent upon the availability of courses and instructors. Students who register during the late registration period must pay their bills at the time of registration or have sufficient financial aid (or combination of financial aid and payment) to cover their bills including a late registration fee. Please see information on tuition and fees, and billing.

Add/Drop

You may modify an existing registration for a particular term through the first week of the term. A student may drop one or more of their courses during this period and receive a 100 percent refund in tuition as per the current withdrawal policy. Please note, the college fee, student activity fee and late registration fee are not refundable if a student withdraws on the start date or after. A student may modify an existing registration, add or replace a course (if available) with no late fee. The student is responsible for any additional tuition and fees that arise from an increase in the number of credits in the enrollment.

Registration Holds

Students who have registration holds, which the university puts in place when students do not meet academic or administrative requirements, will not be permitted to register. Students who are not registered will not receive instructional services. Any holds that a student has will appear on the student’s registration screen on MySUNYEmpire. The following listing identifies the most common holds and which office to contact for assistance in resolving the hold.

• Immunization hold indicates that the student has not provided proof of immunity for mumps, measles and rubella. Contact Admissions at 518-587-2100, ext. 2402.
• Accounts receivable hold indicates that the student has a past due balance that must be paid before the student may register or receive any other services from the university. If you have any questions, contact the 1 Stop Student Services at 800-847-3000.
• Academic dismissal hold indicates that the student has been dismissed for not meeting the university’s academic requirements. The student should contact 1 Stop Student Services.

Financial Aid

If you must have financial aid to cover your tuition and fees, you must file by April 1, each year. If you do not apply on time, the financial aid that you need may not be in place by the payment due date. If you cannot cover the costs, your registration for the term will be cancelled. Students who plan to enroll for the first time (or after a long absence) must allow at least eight weeks for financial aid processing and should plan accordingly. For more information on financial aid, please see the chapter titled Financial Aid.

Registration Cancellation

Nonpayment

The university will cancel a student’s registration if he or she does not pay or have sufficient financial aid to cover the bill by the payment due date. A student who is not registered receives no instructional services. The university will notify the student by email if their registration has been cancelled.

Academic and Administrative Requirements

The university reviews certain academic and administrative requirements after a student has registered. These include accounts receivable holds, immunization holds and academic holds. The university will cancel a student’s registration for the term if the student does not meet these requirements on the last day of late registration. A student who is not registered receives no instructional services. The university will notify the student if their registration has been cancelled.

Registration Information for Nondegree-Seeking (Nonmatriculated) Students

You may wish to engage in college-level study with no intention to earn a degree. You can take courses with SUNY Empire even if you are not pursuing a degree. Nondegree, or nonmatriculated, study is a great way to:

• Experience or prepare for college-level study.
• Stay current in your field.
• Earn credit toward a degree at another college or university.
• Improve your skills.
• Train for employment.

To enroll as a nondegree student at the undergraduate level, please complete the brief online Application for Nondegree Study. You register online through MySUNYEmpire. First-time nonmatriculated students, or those who have not engaged in study for 12 months, must request a user ID and login, in order to register. Continued enrollment is determined depending on the section capacity and ability to meet student needs. Contact 1 Stop Student Services for more information. Entering a registration signifies that you are enrolling in studies or courses and that you agree to pay the attendant tuition and fees when you submit the form.

Immunization Requirements

New York state law requires certain immunizations for college students. New York State Public Health Law 2165 requires that all students who were born on or after Jan. 1, 1957, who plan to register for at least 6 or more credits will be required to provide the university with proof of immunization against measles, mumps and rubella, or obtain an exemption for religious or medical reasons. Students will not be able to register for courses without proof of immunization. According to the New York State Department of Health, students registered for online courses only do not have to comply with these requirements.

New York State Public Health Law 2167 requires colleges and universities to distribute information about meningococcal disease and vaccination to all students meeting enrollment criteria. The university must receive either a record of meningococcal meningitis immunization within the past 10 years or a signed acknowledgement of meningococcal disease risks and refusal of meningococcal meningitis immunization from all students. For more detailed information, visit the Empire State University Immunization Requirement web page.

Undergraduate Certificate Programs

Undergraduate certificates provide focused study to support a specific career interest and are applicable to at least one undergraduate area of study. Associate and bachelor's degree program plans may include a certificate.

How to Enroll in a Certificate Program

Current SUNY Empire Students

Certificate requests can be submitted through the online Degree Add/Change Request Form. Once the Office of the Registrar processes your request, you and your mentor will receive an email.

Not currently enrolled?

If you are not currently enrolled, you can still register for a certificate program. Apply online for the certificate program only. Select the certificate option.

Certificate students who are concurrently enrolled in a bachelor’s degree program are eligible to apply for federal financial aid, while those students who enroll only in the certificate program are not.

Completing your Certificate

Once you complete all the requirements of the certificate, your mentor contacts the Certificate Program Coordinator. The Certificate Program Coordinator then does an initial review of the student record and upon finding that the requirements are complete, recommends the student for graduation to the Office of the Registrar.