Paul Smith's College Wins $2.8 Million Federal Grant for Work College Model

Paul Smith's College has secured a $2.8 million federal grant to build a Work College model that folds paid employment directly into the curriculum. The award, made under the U.S. Department of Education's Title III Strengthening Institutions Program, is the first concrete funding behind the college's plan to put students on payroll in roles tied to their studies by fall 2027.

The money is earmarked for four building blocks: campus enterprise development, facility renovations, work-oriented first-year programming and faculty preparation. Campus enterprises will serve as the infrastructure where student work actually happens. The college says it will introduce the first work opportunities in fall 2027 and expand them in later years — a phased rollout, not an overnight transformation.

What changes for students?

Under the model, paid assignments become a formal, required component of the degree rather than an optional side job. Students earn wages in positions connected to their academic programs, making professional experience part of the transcript's implicit promise. Paul Smith's describes itself as the first institution in New York state to pursue the Work College approach, which exists at only a small number of colleges nationally.

The stated rationale is affordability and employability. The college frames the move as a response to two pressures: the cost of a degree and a job market where even entry-level positions can demand prior experience. Graduates would, in theory, leave with both a diploma and a documented work record.

What does the leadership claim?

College President Dan Kelting framed the grant as institutional reinvention — and attached specific claims about outcomes. "We are reimagining what a college education can deliver for students. We are grateful to the U.S. Department of Education for recognizing the gravity of this work and supporting our vision with this grant," Kelting said. He added: "Work College graduates go on to have higher employment rates, higher earnings and lower loan default rates than their peers at comparable institutions; introducing this model strengthens our ability to serve our students and set them up for success beyond graduation."

Those comparative claims describe outcomes at existing Work Colleges generally, not measured results at Paul Smith's, which has yet to run the program. The source cites no specific employment or earnings data, and the college's own results will only become visible after the first cohorts graduate. Until then, the outcome figures remain a borrowed promise.

How does this fit the college's existing strategy?

The initiative extends the Work Experience Program the college already operates, formalizing paid work rather than inventing it from zero. Paul Smith's is the only four-year college located within Adirondack Park in upstate New York, and its academic portfolio — business and hospitality, culinary management, forestry, environmental sciences and natural resources — already leans on hands-on learning and regional industry ties. The Work College model pushes that orientation one step further: from experiential coursework to structured employment.

The grant also arrives amid rising enrollment and growing philanthropic support, including a donation from hotel developer Joe VanWhy. That private money is separate from the federal award, and the source does not disclose its size. College leadership said the grant supports a broader effort to link education, affordability and career preparation through phased institutional change — language that leaves the timeline and cost of the full transition undefined.

What happens next?

The hard date to watch is fall 2027, when the first paid work placements open. Before that, the college must build the enterprises, renovate the facilities and prepare the faculty the grant pays for — roughly three years of groundwork funded at just under $1 million per year. If the model delivers on Kelting's employment and earnings claims, Paul Smith's will have a template other small colleges under affordability pressure can copy; if it does not, the $2.8 million buys renovations and little else.