Hudson Valley Ranked Among Top 100 Most Productive Community Colleges in the Country
November 8, 2016
Hudson Valley Community College ranks as one of the largest and most productive two-year colleges in the United States, according to a report released recently by Community College Week, a bi-weekly higher education newspaper.
The Troy college awarded 1,870 associate degrees in 2014-2015, which places it among the top 10 percent of community colleges nationwide in terms of annual graduation rate.
The college is 71st among the nation's two-year schools in the number of associate degrees awarded during that academic year, which is the most recent year for complete data from the U.S. Department of Education's Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System.
Hudson Valley has consistently ranked among the nation's top 100 community colleges for the past decade.
There are more than 1,100 public community colleges that offer associate degrees in the United States, according to the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). The nation's community colleges enroll 45 percent of all U.S. undergraduates and annually confer nearly 800,000 associate degrees and nearly 500,000 academic certificates.
Hudson Valley is the fifth most productive college among the 30 community colleges in the SUNY system. Only Nassau Community College, Suffolk Community College, Monroe Community College and Erie Community College awarded more associate degrees in the 2014-2015 academic year.
Community College Week also ranks the top 50 institutions by number of degrees awarded in certain academic areas based upon the U.S. Department of Education's Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP). Among all colleges nationwide awarding associate degrees, Hudson Valley ranked 17th in the number of criminal justice degrees; 20th in sales, merchandising and related marketing operations degrees; 21st in the number of parks, recreation, leisure and fitness studies degrees; 23rd in engineering technology degrees; 26th in communication technologies/technicians and support services degrees; 33rd in business, management and marketing degrees; and 38th in science technologies degrees.
"These statistics show the enormous impact Hudson Valley Community College has on our region's economic growth and our integral role in educating thousands of Capital Region residents each year," said President Drew Matonak. "This past year, we began offering eight new degree and certificate programs, each of which is aimed at meeting a specific workforce need."
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Founded in 1953, Hudson Valley Community College offers more than 80 degree and certificate programs in four schools: Business; Engineering and Industrial Technologies; Health Science; and Liberal Arts and Sciences; and an Educational Opportunity Center for academic and career training. One of 30 community colleges in the State University of New York system, it has an enrollment of nearly 12,000 students, and is known as a leader in distance learning initiatives and workforce training. Hudson Valley has more than 75,000 alumni.