Statutory College

In American higher education, particular to the state of New York, a statutory college or contract college is a college or school that is a component of an independent, private university that has been designated by the state legislature to receive significant, ongoing public funding from the state. The statutory college is operated by the university on behalf of the state, with the mission of serving specific educational needs of the state. New York's statutory colleges are administratively affiliated with the State University of New York (SUNY) system, and receive funding from SUNY's operating budget; however, SUNY ultimately has little control over the academic functions of these colleges — research to be pursued, admission standards, standards for completion of degrees and which academic programs are offered are determined by the statutory college's private institution. There are five statutory colleges: four located at Cornell University and one located at Alfred University.

The terms "statutory college" and "contract college" derive from the fact that each of these dually-affiliated colleges or schools is operated independently from the state pursuant to statute or under contract with the state. In the case of Cornell University, the colleges and schools that do not receive direct funding from the state are generally referred to as endowed colleges, to differentiate them from the statutory colleges. On other campuses they are called "private."

The New York State Education law uses both "contract college" and "statutory college" to describe these state-supported colleges.