Excelsior College is a private, non-profit institution of higher education in Albany, New York. It is a constituent member of The University of the State of New York in the same way that other colleges and universities in New York State are, but it has its own charter and Board of Trustees. Excelsior College offers degrees at the undergraduate and graduate level. The college comprises four schools: the School of Business and Technology, the School of Health Sciences, the School of Liberal Arts, the School of Nursing. Excelsior College was founded in 1971 by the New York State Board of Regents as its external degree program, known as The Regents External Degree Program. The initial development of the program was funded by major grants from the Ford Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation. From 1971 until 1998, Regents College operated as a program of the Board of Regents (which also served as its board of trustees) and under the authority of The University of the State of New York by which degrees and diplomas were awarded during that period. In April 1998, the Board of Regents granted the College an absolute charter to operate as a private, nonprofit, independent institution.