ALBANY — Schenectady County Community College will launch a satellite location in downtown Albany in a new partnership between the college and Albany County.

SCCC will lease 10,000 square feet on the second floor of the county's 112 State St. headquarters, County Executive Dan McCoy announced Thursday, a move expected to bring 1,000 students to downtown beginning this fall.

McCoy said the agreement will be a win for higher education in Albany, which does not have its own community college, and be a boon to the economic development of downtown.

"It's not just about getting the students downtown. It's about getting Albany on the map," McCoy said. "This is going to be what our economy needs."

The deal also comes after an announcement this week that SCCC is expecting its enrollment to increase by 1.5 percent in the upcoming spring semester, thanks to growing numbers of both full- and part-time students attending the two-year school. The Albany satellite, college officials said, will be modeled after SCCC's Center City satellite in downtown Schenectady, which opened in September 2011.

"This is the first step towards creating a formal extension center in Albany," SCCC President Quintin Bullock said.

Presently, the state requires counties to pay so-called "chargebacks" to colleges for county residents who attend schools outside their county of residence. Hudson Valley Community College in Troy has long been the most popular choice for Albany County residents, although it costs the county less per student when students choose to attend SCCC.

McCoy expects the new SCCC satellite site will save the county money as more students choose to attend SCCC.

"It's a lot cheaper," McCoy said, referring to the county's cost for students who attend SCCC vs. HVCC.

The county has feuded with HVCC over the cost of chargebacks. In 2011 HVCC represented about 90 percent of Albany's college tuition payment obligations. According to 2013 executive county budget, payments to HVCC were $8,733,814 in 2011 of the total $9,851,485 chargeback payments, while payments to SCCC in 2011 were just $273,382.

According to Albany County, in the 2012-13 school year chargebacks at HVCC for each full-time equivalent student taking 15 credits are $1,370 each semester. SCCC's chargeback rate is $150, though that number is extremely low in part due to a previous year's overcharge. Going forward, though, the county still expects SCCC's rate will be about $1,000 cheaper than HVCC.

In his 2013 spending plan, McCoy noted that the high-cost of chargebacks at HVCC would force the county to "pursue alternative low-cost methods for providing higher education opportunities to the people of Albany County." Chargeback rates are determined by a statewide formula influenced by a variety of factors, such as operating costs at a particular institution. Rates might increase, for example, as operational costs at a college also increase.

The news also comes after HVCC's announcement last week that 18 part-time and full-time jobs will be cut at the school with hours reduced for still more due to a decline in enrollment. HVCC's enrollment is now 13,250, down from a peak of 14,011 in fall 2010.

HVCC officials said they were not concerned about the county's partnership with SCCC, nor with their school's declining enrollment.

"We've experienced tremendous growth over the past decade. It's natural that there's a plateau," said HVCC spokesman Dennis Kennedy, who emphasized that HVCC has its own Albany Extension Center on Central Avenue.

"We're not pitting ourself against SCCC," he said.

Though a lease has not been finalized, school officials said they anticipate paying $12 a square foot, or about $120,000 a year, to lease the space. Plans include six classrooms as well as administrative offices. SCCC officials said the location will offer general studies courses.

Those who attend classes in Albany will be able to park their cars in a garage on the west side of the Times Union Center. Also, a CDTA ridership program will provide free bus transportation from outside the county building to SCCC's main campus.

"I'm anticipating that this is a convenience that will bring many students to downtown Albany," McCoy said.

kbrown@timesunion.com • 518-454-5035 • @kristenvbrown