THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234

 

 

TO:	Committee on Higher Education and Professional Practice
FROM:	Johanna Duncan-Poitier
SUBJECT:	Bryant & Stratton College: Master Plan Amendment to Authorize Bryant & Stratton College, Albany; Bryant & Stratton College, Rochester - Main and Henrietta campuses; and Bryant & Stratton College, Buffalo - Main and Southtowns Campuses to offer an Associate in Occupational Studies (A.O.S.) Program in Criminal Justice
DATE:	November 11, 2005
STRATEGIC GOAL:	Goals 2 and 4
AUTHORIZATION(S):

 

SUMMARY

 

Issue for Decision (Consent Agenda)

 

          Should the Regents authorize Bryant & Stratton College to offer an Associate in Occupational Studies (A.O.S.) program in Criminal Justice at Bryant & Stratton College, Albany; Bryant & Stratton College, Rochester - main and Henrietta campuses; and Bryant & Stratton College, Buffalo - main and Southtowns campuses?

 

Reason for Consideration

 

           Required by State regulation.

 

Proposed Handling

 

          The question of whether to authorize Bryant & Stratton College to offer the A.O.S. degree program in Criminal Justice will come before the Committee on Higher Education and Professional Practice at its December 2005 meeting, where it will be voted on and action taken. It will then come before the full Board at its December 2005 meeting for final action.

 

 

Procedural History

 

          The Department received Bryant & Stratton College’s proposals on January 13, 2005; it received additional information in February.  It canvassed other colleges from March 9 until March 31.  Bryant & Stratton provided information as a result of canvass respondents’ comments.  In June, the Department reported its findings to respondents opposing the proposal and offered them another opportunity to respond and no further responses were received.  In September, Bryant & Stratton provided further information.   

 

Background Information

 

          Bryant & Stratton College is a proprietary institution which the Board of Regents authorized to operate in four areas in New York: Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse.  Bryant & Stratton seeks to offer an A.O.S. program in Criminal Justice at its Albany, Buffalo, and Rochester colleges.  Master plan amendment approval is required to authorize an institution’s first program in a new discipline area.  This program would be Bryant & Stratton’s first associate degree program in the discipline area of the Social Sciences at each of the proposed campuses. 

 

The Department has determined that the program meets registration standards. 

 

In addition, the proposed program must satisfactorily address a three-part planning test of (1) need, (2) potential effect on the proposing institution, and (3) potential effect on other institutions.  (1) Need has been shown in terms of first, the colleges’ need to adapt to changing markets; second, of student demand; and third, of the job market.  (2) The effect on the colleges would be to offset enrollment declines in the “once booming” technology disciplines, helping Bryant & Stratton maintain its current financial health.  (3) Three institutions had concerns about competition for students, competition for resources, and saturated or near-saturated job markets.  Staff observations on competition are discussed below.

 

Competition for Students.  Differences between the Bryant & Stratton colleges and the objecting institutions should mitigate potential competition for students.  Bryant & Stratton’s campuses are much smaller than those of the concerned institutions.  The proposed program is likely to attract students seeking a small educational setting.  Bryant & Stratton projects that, by the fifth year of operation, each campus will enroll 45-50 students in this program. There is some overlap in the geographic origins of students at the Bryant & Stratton campuses and at the concerned colleges, but these do not appear substantial.  All three concerned institutions are community colleges with resident tuition and fees only 25 to 30 percent of Bryant & Stratton’s; they will be more attractive to students for whom “sticker price” is important.  The differences between the proposed A.O.S. program and the objecting colleges’ A.S. and A.A.S. programs suggest that students seeking a technically oriented program would be more attracted to Bryant & Stratton; those seeking a broader-based program would be attracted to the community colleges.

 

 

 

          Competition for Internship Resources.  This issue was raised only in the Western Region, with respect to access to a limited number of internship sites.  Niagara County Community College indicated that it maintains internships in every police agency, court, and district attorney’s office within Niagara County, as well as in local, state, and federal agencies within Erie and Genesee Counties.  Bryant & Stratton reports that its internship sites would be principally located in the city of Buffalo and south of the city.  Only four of the 19 proposed sites are in Niagara County, two of them with police agencies.  It is not evident that an agency would cease working with a college offering a Criminal Justice program with which it has an established relationship in order to accommodate interns from a new program.  The Department concludes that the proposed Buffalo area program is likely to have little, if any, impact on Niagara County Community College’s internships.            

 

          Job Market Saturation.  Two institutions questioned the local job markets’ ability to absorb additional graduates.  However, the State Labor Department projects growth, between 2002 and 2012, in employment of Corrections Officers, Police Officers and Detectives, and Private Detectives and Investigators.  It projects Police Patrol Officers to be among the Capital District’s top 25 jobs in the annual number of job openings.  It also projects significant job growth in Western New York because of homeland security issues.  Overall, the job market appears likely to have sufficient openings each year through 2012 to absorb current programs’ graduates plus additional ones.

 

Recommendation

 

          Since the mid-1970s, the Regents position has been that concerns over competition should not bar approval of new programs that meet quality standards and for which need is demonstrated. 

 

It is recommended that the Board take the following action:

 

VOTED, that the master plans of Bryant & Stratton College, Albany, Bryant & Stratton College, Buffalo, and Bryant & Stratton College, Rochester, be amended, effective December 9, 2005, to offer the A.O.S. program in Criminal Justice at the Albany campus, the main and Southtowns campuses of Buffalo, and the main and Henrietta campuses of Rochester.  These amendments will be effective until December 29, 2006, unless the Department registers the programs prior to that date, in which case master plan amendment shall be without term.   

 

Timetable for Implementation

 

          If the Regents approve the master plan amendments, the Department will register the programs.  Bryant & Stratton College would begin offering them at the authorized campuses in the semester following registration.  The Department will conduct a follow-up review of the program’s implementation, impacts and outcomes.

 

Information in Support of Recommendation

 

Academic Review

 

A.       Institutional Information.  Bryant & Stratton College is a proprietary higher education institution authorized to operate colleges in four areas in New York State: Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse.  It is authorized to award the Associate in Occupational Studies (A.O.S.) degree at all four areas and the Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.) degree at the campuses in the Buffalo area.  The Colleges’ programs are directed principally toward job and career preparation; they fall in the discipline areas of Business, Engineering, the Fine Arts, the Health Professions, and the Physical Sciences in the New York State Taxonomy of Educational Programs.

 

          In the fall of 2004, enrollment at all Bryant & Stratton New York campuses was 3,437 students (ranging from a high of 625 students at Buffalo’s main campus to a low of 201 at Rochester’s main campus).  Bryant & Stratton reports that over 80 percent of its students are adult learners, with an average age of 27.  Seventy percent of the students are female.  It reports that over 90 percent of its graduates attain jobs in their career field.

 

B.       Curriculum.  The stated goal in all of Bryant & Stratton’s programs is to provide “outcomes based education and training in a flexible and contemporary curriculum.”  The proposed A.O.S. program in Criminal Justice would require completion of 63 credits, including 36 in the major and 27 in general education.  The curriculum is designed to provide a blend of theory and practical application.  It builds on an existing base of general education and business courses.  It includes a “career core” of five courses:  Introduction to Information Literacy and Research, Human Relations, Critical Thinking, Career Management and an Internship/Capstone Experience.  This core is designed to impart general management skills.

 

Within Criminal Justice, students may specialize in corrections, policing, or security.  Criminal Justice courses include Introduction to Criminal Justice, Corrections, Correctional Administration, Criminal Courts, Criminal Law, Criminology, Cybercrime, Ethics in the Criminal Justice Environment, Policing, Police Management, Security Management, and an Internship. 

 

C.       Students.  Bryant & Stratton reported the following fall 2004 enrollments at the three colleges:

 

Table 1

 

Source: NYSED, Higher Education Data System, 2005.

Bryant & Stratton anticipates enrolling 15-20 new students each semester in the proposed program in Criminal Justice at each campus.  It anticipates 45-50 students per campus by the fifth year of operation.  It also anticipates that many of the students will be adult learners and that most will be male. 

 

D.       Faculty.  Bryant & Stratton has, in each of its geographic areas in New York, a satisfactory core of full-time faculty supplemented by adjuncts.  In 2003, Bryant & Stratton College, Albany, had 11 full-time faculty members; Bryant & Stratton College, Buffalo, had 10 faculty members at the main and Southtowns campuses; and Bryant & Stratton College, Rochester, had 13 faculty members at the main and Henrietta campuses.  Bryant & Stratton will have in residence a highly qualified expert in Criminal Justice who will provide oversight and teach the proposed program. A full-time faculty member with a master’s degree in Criminal Justice and appropriate professional experience will be hired for each proposed geographic area.  Additional Criminal Justice specialists will be engaged as the curriculum is implemented. 

 

E.       Resources. The Department has determined that Bryant & Stratton is a financially responsible institution.  Its enrollments in New York have been stable over the last several years.  Each campus under consideration has sufficient space and equipment on its respective campus to accommodate the proposed program.  Facilities are in satisfactory to excellent condition.  With regard to library resources, Bryant & Stratton has recently completed a substantial expansion of its database access for course assignments and is committed to developing a core print collection in Criminal Justice in support of the courses in the curriculum.  Campuses also have print and on-line resources available to students who are in the paralegal programs on campuses in the proposed geographic areas.

 

F.       Program Registration.  The Department has determined that the proposed programs, if approved, will meet the standards for registration set forth in the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education.

 

Planning Review

 

G.      Need.

 

i. Institutional Need.  Bryant & Stratton sees the proposed program as needed to offset enrollment declines in the “once booming” technology disciplines. 

 

Table 2 shows the overall total enrollment history of the five campuses between 1998 and 2004.

 

 

 

Table 2

 

HEADCOUNT ENROLLMENT AT THE FIVE BRYANT & STRATTON CAMPUSES FALL 1998 – FALL 2004
Fall	Albany	Rochester Main	Rochester Henrietta	Buffalo Main	Buffalo Southtowns
1998	319	120	394	558	318
1999	250	157	296	314	253
2000	277	200	296	321	215
2001	307	201	350	440	256
2002	368	183	365	539	380
2003	398	174	430	567	449
2004	391	201	328	625	505

Source: NYSED, Higher Education Data System, 2005.

 

With the exception of Bryant & Stratton’s Henrietta campus, Table 2 shows that recent declines in the technology disciplines have not resulted in overall enrollment declines.  Between the fall of 1998 and the fall of 2004, enrollment at Albany grew by 72 students (22.6 percent).  Rochester’s main campus grew by 81 students (67.5 percent) while enrollment at its Henrietta campus declined by 66 students (-16.8 percent).  Buffalo’s main campus grew by 67 students (10.7 percent) and its Southtowns campus by 187 students (58.8 percent).  Bryant & Stratton is, however, seeking to position these campuses to offset shifts in the overall job market that would lead to diminished enrollments over time and thus to the diminished financial health of the institution.   

 

ii. Demand by Potential Students.  According to the application, substantial numbers of potential students inquire about the availability of a Criminal Justice program at Bryant & Stratton Colleges.  The Rochester campuses, for example, receive about 60 inquires per year; the Buffalo campuses receive about 50 inquiries per year.

 

iii. Labor Market Need.  The proposed Criminal Justice program is intended to prepare students for careers as Corrections Officers, Police Officers and Detectives, and Private Detectives and Investigators.  Nationwide, job opportunities for Corrections Officers are expected to be excellent, according to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2004-05 edition.  For Police Officers and Detectives, “Competition should remain keen for higher paying jobs with State and Federal agencies and police departments in affluent areas; opportunities will be better in local and special police departments that offer relatively low salaries or in urban communities where the crime rate is relatively high,” according to the Handbook.  For Private Detectives and Investigators, the Handbook states, “Keen competition is expected because of the large number of qualified people who are attracted to this occupation; opportunities will be best for entry-level jobs with detective agencies or as store detectives on a part-time basis.”

 

Table 3 shows employment in those occupations in 2002 and projected employment in 2012 - nationwide, statewide, and in the Capital District, Finger Lakes, and Western New York labor markets.

   

 

 

Table 3

 

Source: U.S. Department of Labor and New York State Labor Department, 2005.

 

These occupations are not among those projected to have either the greatest growth or the largest number of openings, either nationwide or statewide.  However, neither are among those projected to have the largest declines by 2012.  On the other hand, the State Labor Department lists Police Patrol Officers among the Occupations in Demand in the Capital District, the Finger Lakes region, and Western New York, and Corrections Officers among Occupations in Demand in the latter two markets, including among those in which “a qualified jobseeker would have a reasonable expectation of obtaining employment when the economy in the region is at or near full swing.”  In addition, the Labor Department projects that the Capital District will have an average of 210 openings per year for Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers, 15^th among the region’s top 25 occupations with the most openings.   

 

In each region, Bryant & Stratton surveyed 50 employers in the fields of law enforcement, corrections, courts, private security, and such civil service fields as victim, juvenile, and family services.  Of the respondents, 43 percent expected to hire 1 to 5 Criminal Justice professionals each year; a further 14 percent expected to hire 6 or more such persons per year.  Overall, 58.7 percent indicated that they anticipated a need for Criminal Justice professionals within the next 5 years.  As Table 4 indicates, the proportion ranged from 68 percent in the Capital District to 44 percent in Western New York.

 

Table 4

 

Source: Bryant & Stratton College, 2005.

 

In some areas, such as Buffalo, the responses indicated substantial demand related to homeland security.

 

H.       Effect on the Institution.  Following a review of recent audits, the Department has determined that Bryant & Stratton College is a financially responsible institution. 

 

          Bryant & Stratton states that the proposed program would offset recent and prospective enrollment declines at its campuses in information technology.

 

I.        Effect on Other Institutions.  Bryant & Stratton, Albany, is located in the Regents Northeast higher education region.  Bryant & Stratton, Rochester, is located in the Genesee Valley region.  Bryant & Stratton, Buffalo, is located in the Western region.  The effect of the proposed programs on other institutions is discussed below by region.

 

i. Northeast Region.  Bryant & Stratton College, Albany, is one of 38 higher education institutions in the 16-county Regents Northeast Higher Education Region.  Of the other 37, 9 public institutions offer Criminal Justice associate degree programs: Adirondack Community College, Clinton Community College, Columbia-Greene Community College, Fulton-Montgomery Community College, Herkimer County Community College, Hudson Valley Community College, Mohawk Valley Community College, North Country Community College, and Schenectady County Community College. 

 

Only two colleges responded to a canvass of all degree-granting institutions in the Northeast Region. Schenectady County Community College’s respondent indicated, “I would not favor an AOS program because as I understand they do not offer courses across the curriculum.  I think in today’s world all Criminal Justice professionals should be as well rounded as possible.”  As noted above, however, Bryant & Stratton’s curriculum includes 27 credits in general education courses as well as 36 in the major.

 

Hudson Valley Community College also wrote to oppose the proposed program on the grounds that “another Criminal Justice program is unnecessary in the Capital Region.”  The College did not state that the proposed program would have a negative effect on its Criminal Justice enrollments. The College stated: “The current Criminal Justice field is saturated.”

 

The State Labor Department’s findings differ from Hudson Valley’s statement about saturation of the field.  It lists Police Patrol Officers among the Occupations in Demand in the Capital District and projects that the Capital District will have an average of 210 openings per year for Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers, 15^th among the region’s top 25 occupations with the most openings.     

 

Bryant & Stratton College, Albany, is located in the Town of Colonie, Albany County.  Hudson Valley Community College is located in Troy, Rensselaer County.  It is sponsored by Rensselaer County and also serves Albany County, which does not sponsor a community college.  Bryant & Stratton and Hudson Valley Community County are about ten miles apart.  Table 5 compares key indicators for the two institutions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table 5

 

Source: NYSED, Higher Education Data System, 2005.

 

Hudson Valley offers 63 degree programs in all 10 discipline areas of the Taxonomy of Academic Programs; Bryant & Stratton offers 9 degree programs in only 3 areas.  Hudson Valley’s tuition and fees for residents are only 30 percent of Bryant & Stratton’s tuition and fees.  Hudson Valley’s enrollment is 31.3 times Bryant & Stratton’s enrollment.  As Hudson Valley noted, its Criminal Justice program leads to an Associate in Applied Science (A.A.S.) degree while Bryant & Stratton’s leads to an Associate in Occupational Studies (A.O.S.) degree. 

 

In response to Hudson Valley Community College’s comments, Bryant & Stratton noted its distinctively different institutional climate, which emphasizes personalized attention and small class sizes.  It also noted its operational efficiency and the finding of its third party research that ongoing demand for Criminal Justice professionals in the Capital Region is sufficient to attract the 12-15 new students per term needed to support the proposed program. 

 

ii. Genesee Valley Region.  Bryant & Stratton, Rochester, is 1 of 23 colleges and universities in the nine-county Genesee Valley Region.  Five of the other 22 institutions offer associate degree programs in Criminal Justice: Corning Community College, Finger Lakes Community College, Genesee Community College, Monroe Community College, and Rochester Business Institute.

 

Two colleges responded to the canvass.  Cazenovia College supported the proposal.  Monroe Community College was concerned that the program would “bring no new opportunities to the people of the region and may, in fact, reduce the ability of the established institutions to commit the level of resources currently committed to Criminal Justice education” should Bryant & Stratton “flourish in this endeavor.”

 

Monroe County is Monroe Community College’s local sponsor.  Both it and Bryant & Stratton, Rochester, are located in Monroe County.  Bryant & Stratton’s main campus is located in the Town of Greece; Monroe’s main campus is in the Town of Henrietta.  Both are suburban locations.  Bryant & Stratton has a branch campus in Henrietta; Monroe has one in downtown Rochester.  Table 6 compares key indicators for the two institutions.  Data for Monroe’s Damon City Campus is not available.

 

Table 6

 

Source: NYSED, Higher Education Data System, 2005.

NA = Not Available.  The Department does not have data on the county of residence of Monroe’s students for 2004.

 

Monroe Community College offers Associate in Science (A.S.) and Associate in Applied Science (A.A.S.) programs in Criminal Justice only at its downtown Rochester Damon City Campus.  It does not offer Criminal Justice on its main campus in Henrietta.  Bryant & Stratton’s main campus is 6.5 miles from the Damon City Center Campus; its Henrietta branch is 9.5 miles from there.  Across both its campuses, Monroe offers 65 degree programs in 8 of the 10 disciplinary areas in the Taxonomy of Academic Programs; Bryant & Stratton offers 11 programs across only three of the discipline areas across both of its campuses.  Monroe’s tuition and fees for residents are only 24 percent of Bryant & Stratton’s tuition and fees.  Monroe’s enrollment across both campuses is 33 times the enrollment at Bryant & Stratton’s two campuses. 

 

Effect on enrollments at the five institutions is likely to be small or none because Bryant & Stratton draws students seeking a small college environment.  The institution closest in size to Bryant & Stratton’s Henrietta campus is Rochester Business Institute, which has a student body more than 4.5 times greater.  In addition, the associate degree programs at the other institutions in the Genesee Valley lead to Associate in Science (A.S.) or Associate in Applied Science (A.A.S.) degrees.  They may be more attractive to students wanting a broader based program. 

 

          iii. Western Region.  Bryant & Stratton, Buffalo, is one of 24 colleges and universities in the six-county Western region.  Four of the other 22 institutions offer associate degree programs in Criminal Justice: Erie Community College, Jamestown Community College, Niagara County Community College, and Hilbert College.

 

Six institutions responded to the canvass of colleges and universities in the Western Region.  Two institutions supported the proposal: the State University College at Buffalo and Houghton College.  Two others had no concerns or objections.

Hilbert College expressed concern about the curriculum in the context of possible articulation with its baccalaureate program in the same field, noting that transfer students from Bryant & Stratton might have to take additional basic courses in the Criminal Justice field, particularly in law enforcement theory.  Bryant & Stratton indicated in response its readiness to discuss these issues with Hilbert and consider curricular changes in the interest of more efficient articulation for possible transferees.

 

In relation to Hilbert’s concern about adequate numbers of faculty, as noted above, before initiating the proposed programs, Bryant & Stratton will add one new full-time faculty member with a master’s or higher degree in Criminal Justice and appropriate experience, and will expand the faculty as the program is implemented.  The Department will review the credentials of proposed Criminal Justice faculty. 

 

Niagara County Community College expressed concern about competing both for the same pool of students and for “a limited number of internship opportunities.”  It also questioned whether job prospects in the immediate future warrant additional Criminal Justice programs “given recent pressures on the budgets of county-funded police departments.”

 

The proposed program would include a 90-hour, one-term internship worth three semester hours of credit, normally to be taken in the fourth semester.  Both of Niagara Community College’s Criminal Justice programs require students to take a three semester-hour, one-term field studies course to provide “an opportunity for the student to observe ways in which criminal activity is dealt with in our community.”  It subsequently stated:

 

Currently, we maintain internships in every police agency, court, and district attorney’s office within Niagara County.  In addition, we maintain placements in local, state, and federal agencies within Erie and Genesee Counties as well.  . . . . maintaining our placements has become increasingly difficult.  NCCC must compete with every other private and public college within the service area for Criminal Justice internships.  . . . . Criminal Justice is a very popular program on college campuses, and there simply is not enough internships to go around.  Any new programs requiring an internship component in our service sector would be problematic to us in maintaining our curricular requirements.  In the last couple years we have had to substitute and waive the requirement for some students due to a lack of placements, which is not in the best interest of the quality of the program. 

 

Bryant & Stratton has indicated, based on responses from prospective internship organizations, that about 90 percent of its sites would be located in the city of Buffalo as well as south and east of the city.  The Department, therefore, believes that the proposed program internship is not likely to have a significant impact on Niagara County Community College in its area of principal community responsibility. 

 

In addition, it is not clear why a law enforcement agency might cease working with college offering a Criminal Justice program with which it has an established relationship in order to accommodate interns from a new program.    

 

As noted above, the State Labor Department projects that employment of Corrections Officers, Police Officers and Detectives, and Private Detectives and Investigators in the Western New York labor market will grow by 44.8 percent between 2002 and 2012.  It lists Corrections Officers and Police Patrol Officers among Occupations in Demand in that market.  Responses to Bryant & Stratton’s survey of regional employers indicated that this substantial demand was related at least in part to homeland security. 

 

Table 7 compares key indicators for Bryant & Stratton, Buffalo and Niagara County Community College.

 

Table 7

 

Source: NYSED, Higher Education Data System, 2005.

 

          The main campus of Bryant & Stratton, Buffalo, is in Buffalo, Erie County.  Its Southtowns branch is in Orchard Park, Erie County.  Niagara County Community College is in Sanborn, Niagara County, about 25 miles from Bryant & Stratton’s main campus and 32.5 miles from the Southtowns campus, which is on the other side of Buffalo from Niagara County.  Niagara County Community College is sponsored by Niagara County.  The community college that Erie County sponsors is Erie Community College, which does offer a Criminal Justice program and did not comment on Bryant & Stratton’s proposal.

 

          Niagara County Community College offers 59 degree programs across all 10 discipline areas of the Taxonomy of Academic Programs.  At its main campus, Bryant & Stratton, Buffalo, offers 8 programs in 4 discipline areas; at its Southtowns campus it offers 11 programs concentrated in 3 discipline areas.  Niagara’s enrollment is five times that of the two Bryant & Stratton campuses.  It draws 77.1 percent of its students from Niagara County, although a further 20 percent are Erie County residents.  Bryant & Stratton draws only 3.5 percent of its main campus enrollment, and only 1.4 percent of its Southtowns enrollment from Niagara County. 

 

J.       Discussion.  The objecting institutions raised concerns about (i) competition for students; (ii) competition for resources; and (iii) saturated or near-saturated job markets.

 

i.        Competition for Students.  Differences between Bryant & Stratton College and the objecting institutions should mitigate competition for students.  Bryant & Stratton’s campuses are much smaller than those of the concerned institutions.  The proposed program is likely to attract students seeking a small college environment rather than a large one.  There is some overlap in the geographic origins of students at the Bryant & Stratton campuses and at the concerned colleges, but it is not substantial.  All three concerned institutions are community colleges with resident tuition and fees only 25 to 30 percent of Bryant & Stratton’s; they will be more attractive to students for whom “sticker price” is important.  Finally, the differences between the proposed A.O.S. program and the objecting colleges’ A.S. and A.A.S. program suggest that students seeking a broad-based program would be attracted by the community colleges.

 

          ii.        Competition for Resources.  This issue was raised only in the Western Region, with respect to access to a limited number of internship sites.  Niagara County Community College indicated that it maintains internships in every police agency, court, and district attorney’s office within Niagara County, as well as in local, state, and federal agencies within Erie and Genesee Counties.  Most of Bryant & Stratton’s proposed internship sites would be located in the City of Buffalo as well as south and east of the city and are unlikely to have measurable impacts on Niagara’s internship sites.  It is not clear whether an agency may wish to cease working with a college offering a Criminal Justice program with which it has an established relationship in order to accommodate interns from a new program.          

 

          iii.       Job Market Saturation.  Two institutions questioned the local job markets’ ability to absorb additional graduates.  However, the State Labor Department projects growth between 2002 and 2012 in all three labor markets in employment of Corrections Officers, Police Officers and Detectives, and Private Detectives and Investigators.  It projects Police Patrol Officers to be among the Capital District’s top 25 jobs in the annual number of job openings.  It projects significant job growth in Western New York.  The three markets are likely to have enough job openings each year through 2012 to absorb graduates of the proposed program as well as those of existing programs.