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Empire State College debuts on Livingston St.

Adults recently laid off, burnt out on their current job or looking to better their plight can now jump into Downtown Brooklyn’s burgeoning college scene.

SUNY’s Empire State College (ESC), which caters mainly to adults, has moved into their new digs at 177 Livingston Street.

“Empire State is a college focused on adults and learning opportunities for all ages,” said Cynthia Ward, interim dean of the School’s Metropolitan Center, which has campuses in Manhattan and Staten Island as well as the Livingston Street facility.

“It’s flexible, responsive to student needs, and affordable,” she added.

Established 30 years ago, ESC is a fully accredited state school offering associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

The school provides long−distance learning via computers and independent study, one−on−one mentoring with faculty members and traditional small classroom learning.

ESC also gives college credit — albeit with a term paper — for life and job experience where applicable.

ESC’s Brooklyn campus was in Bedford−Stuyvesant, but Ward said it moved to Downtown Brooklyn about a year ago for a more central location and more space.

Ward expects enrollment to double from 400 students next year, she said.

The Livingston space has about 16,000 square feet of office and classroom space.

Statewide, ESC serves about 18,000 students at 35 locations.

Additionally, the school has more than 57,000 alumni, including about 2,100 alumni in Brooklyn.

Ward also pointed out that since it’s a state school, it is very affordable.

The school allows for the transfer of credits from other colleges, and offers 10 degrees in such subjects as business management and economics, community and human services, the arts, cultural studies, educational studies, science, mathematics and technology, historical studies and interdisciplinary studies.