SUNY Broome Makes College More Accessible with Mobile Unit

By MONICA CALZOLARI
ONEONTA

Providing easier access to higher education for residents of rural communities is the idea behind the refitted RV that carries the name “SUNY Broome on the Go.”

On July 3, Owen Conklin, the director of admissions for SUNY Broome Community College, parked the college’s mobile enrollment vehicle outside Huntington Library. The vehicle was also prominently on display at Oneonta’s 4th of July celebration in Neahwa Park.

Conklin is a resident of Oneonta. He became director of admissions at SUNY Broome in April 2023. He commutes to Binghamton daily in his own vehicle, which gets better gas mileage than the RV, which is reserved for special events.

Conklin considers both the July 3 and July 4 outreach successful. He said he spoke with approximately 10 people in the Huntington Library parking lot and many more on July 4th.
“We talked to a wide variety of folks,” Conklin said. “We met a lot of alumni. We made a lot of different connections.”

One partnership that Conklin has been developing is with the four-county library system that serves Otsego, Chenango, Delaware and Broome counties.

He said, “When we go to libraries, they advertise what date we’ll be there.”

The vehicle is a fully-functioning office on wheels, with mobile Wi-Fi service powered by Verizon. The vehicle carries 10 laptops.

“I can help students apply to SUNY Broome or complete their Free Application for Federal Student Aid application,” Conklin explained.

He said, “Our service includes helping people who have not started their financial aid application. We help students no matter where they are going to college. We like to practice good stewardship.”
For Conklin, it is all about helping rural students access higher education.

“SUNY Broome is the community college closest to Oneonta,” he said. “We are seeking students of all ages and backgrounds, not just high-school students.”

SUNY has 32 community colleges throughout New York State.

SUNY Broome Community College has gone through several name changes since it was founded in 1946. It is a public college located in Broome County and part of the State University of New York SUNY system. It is also known as BCC or SUNY Broome.

SUNY Broome purchased the mobile enrollment vehicle with grant money awarded by the New York State Department of Education. People in the admissions office and enrollment division at the community college had the idea, completed the grant application, and ordered the RV before Conklin started in April 2023.

Conklin helped implement all the moving parts—both figuratively and literally—and bring the project to completion. The vehicle has been in service since October 2023.

The college’s internal Marketing and Communications Department designed the vehicle wrap and called the vehicle “SUNY Broome on the Go.” In fact, they won the Judge’s Citation Award for their work from SUNY CUAD, which stands for Council for University Advancement.

Conklin is not aware of any other SUNY schools having a vehicle like this RV and there are 64 SUNY campuses in the state of New York.

“Other SUNYs are starting to take notice,” he said.