Sound Production Program, Mercy University Reach Articulation Agreement

Sound Production students can save money, time with new agreement

Sound Production students at the Center for Career Services can now earn up to 15 credits at Mercy University as part of a new articulation agreement between the college and Southern Westchester BOCES.

SWBOCES’ Sound Production students who complete two years in the program can earn 15 credits toward a Bachelor of Science degree in Mercy’s Music Production and Recording Arts program. Those who complete one year in Sound Production can still earn six credits at Mercy.

In order to qualify to earn those credits, the students will need to maintain a B-minus average and provide a letter of recommendation.

“This is vital for my students,” Sound Production teacher Sean Harty Rivera said. “Mercy saw the value of our program and the value of what our students can be.”

The agreement has been a few years in the making. Stephen B. Ward, Mercy’s Music Production and Recording Arts Program Director, has seen the skills students learn in SWBOCES’ Sound Program first-hand. Ward regularly visits the Valhalla campus to perform demonstrations and share his expertise. He has also served as a member of the program’s Craft Committee, a group of experts that advise Harty Rivera on the latest industry trends.

“I realized that there was a lot of duplication in the first year of our program,” Ward said. “The last thing I want is for students to come here and be bored because you’re learning things you’ve already learned. This is a pathway by which they’ll get credit for five courses in our program and will allow them to move into second-year courses right away. We think that is the right place for them.”

The agreement would allow Sound Production students to complete coursework at Mercy one semester sooner, saving them both time and money.

“The motivation on my end is to help cement our partnership and put Mercy on the radar of people,” Ward said. “I think it’s a powerful incentive for the parents of these students as well.”

The Sound Production program at SWBOCES focuses on the art, science and creative nature of sound recording and integrates the history, future technologies, and business techniques to aid students in becoming sure professionals in the field.

“I designed this program to be college level,” Harty Rivera said. “I designed it to be a work-based learning program. That’s what BOCES is. I want our students to understand what happens at a job versus what happens in high school and college. I designed my program with that in mind. It’s nice to see a college come in and say they can give 15 credits. That speaks volumes of what they think of our students and what they think we are capable of. That’s a reassurance that we’re doing the right thing.”

“We want these students,” Ward said. “I find that the way the program is set up, this is a pull-in program for 26 schools in the district. I understand these kids. We love those kinds of students at Mercy.”

Mercy University is a private, four-year research university with six schools that offer more than 100 undergraduate and graduate degree and certificate programs. The main campus is located in Dobbs Ferry with additional campuses in Manhattan and the Bronx.

Here are other articulation agreements between CTE programs and post-graduate institutions:

Animal Science - SUNY Cobleskill, Delhi

Architecture & Interior Design - The College of Westchester, LIM College

Auto CAD - Westchester Community College, SUNY Canton

Automotive Technology - Alfred State, SUNY Cobleskill, Delhi, Lincoln Tech, Morrisville State College, Rockland Community College, Universal Technical Institute

CISCO - Westchester Community College, SUNY Cobleskill, SUNY Canton, The College of Westchester

CISMAA - The College of Westchester, Westchester Community College, Sullivan County Community College

Collision Technology - Alfred State, Morrisville State College, New England Institute of Technology

Commercial Art - SUNY Cobleskill, The College of Westchester, LIM College

Construction/Plumbing - Alfred State, Delhi, Industrial Management & Training Institute

Cosmetology - The College of Westchester

Culinary - Alfred State, The Culinary Institute of America, Delhi, Westchester Community College, SUNY Cobleskill, Sullivan County Community College

Electrical - Alfred State, Delhi, Industrial Management & Training Institute, New England Institute of Technology

EMS - Westchester Community College

Fashion Design & Merchandising - Westchester Community College, LIM College

Nursing - The College of Westchester, Westchester Community College

Pre-Engineering - Westchester Community College, SUNY Canton

Security, Law & Policing - Delhi, Monroe College, Sullivan County Community College, Hilbert College

Sound Production - Westchester Community College

TV / Video Production - Westchester Community College, SUNY Cobleskill, Sullivan County Community College