Enrollment Grows Significantly as Fall 2024 Classes Begin

September 4, 2024

Hudson Valley Community College began the Fall 2024 semester on Tuesday, Sept. 3 with more than 6,800 full-time and part-time credit-bearing students, a 9.5 percent increase over the student enrollment from a year ago. This is the third consecutive year of enrollment growth at the college.

Preliminary numbers show the college up in new (6.6 percent), returning (9.4 percent) and transfer (8 percent) students. The number of non-matriculated, or part-time students not enrolled in a degree or certificate program, jumped 14.6 percent over Fall 2023.

According to college data, the number of students taking online courses also continues to trend upward. This fall, nearly 60 percent of full-time and part-time students are taking at least one course online.

The college reports its official enrollment numbers on its annual census day, which this year falls on Sept. 23. On census day, the college takes an enrollment "snapshot,” which becomes the official enrollment used for both state reporting and financial aid eligibility. But as classes begin this week, early numbers provided by the college point to another year of enrollment growth.

Here are some additional facts and figures related to the Fall 2024 student body:

Top 10 Academic Programs (by total students)

• Individual Studies AA and AS: 1,425
• Business Administration AAS: 290
• Electrical Construction and Maintenance AOS: 217
• Health Science Certificate: 217
• Business Administration AS: 168
• Psychology AA: 168
• Nursing AAS: 114
• Criminal Justice AAS: 111
• Accounting AAS: 107
• Digital Media AS: 104

Top 5 Counties of Residence (# of students, % of total)

• Albany: 1,960 (30.1%)
• Rensselaer: 1,521 (23.3%)
• Saratoga: 1,124 (17.2%)
• Schenectady: 726 (11.1%)
• Columbia: 158 (2.4%)

Student Age Breakdown (# of students, % of total)

• Under 18: 834 (12.8%)
• 18-19: 2,199 (33.7%)
• 20-21: 1,050 (16.1%)
• 22-24: 806 (12.4%)
• 25-29: 665 (10.2%)
• 30-34: 386 (5.9%)
• 35-39: 249 (3.8%)
• 40-49: 225 (3.5%)
• 50-64: 99 (1.5%)
• Over 65: 6 (0.1%)

Student Type (# of students, % of total)

• Matriculated: 5,454 (83.7%)*
• Non-Matriculated: 1,065 (16.3%)

*Matriculated students have been formally accepted for admission to the college, have registered in a major or designated program, and are pursuing courses toward a degree or certificate.

Gender (# of students, % of total)

• Female: 3,465 (53.2%)
• Male: 3,054 (46.8%)

The college opened four new degree and certificates this fall: Cardiovascular Interventional Technology certificate; Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Social Justice (A.A.); Early Childhood and Childhood Studies (A.S.); and Welding certificate adding new opportunities to a portfolio of more than 80 existing programs.

In addition, the college’s new STEM Education Center at the HVCC North extension center opens this semester. Located in NYSERDA’s Saratoga Technology and Energy Park (STEP®) in Malta, NY, the new two-story, 14,500 square foot building includes state-of the-art labs for microbiology, anatomy and physiology, chemistry and biology, as well as classrooms, student support space and offices.

“We are excited to offer new facilities and programs and see sustained enrollment growth at the college, both this term and over several years, as we welcome students to the college. I know that our students will benefit greatly from the dedication of our exceptional faculty and innovative programs that meet their needs and those of our transfer partners and the workplace too. Hudson Valley is a place where students grow and excel both academically and personally, and do so without high costs and student debt,” said the college’s Officer in Charge Louis Coplin.