New York State's 35 community colleges are increasingly vital to the state's economy and more critical than ever to individuals' economic mobility. But they are often taken for granted by policymakers and face enormous challenges in graduating students. While enrollment growth at the state's community colleges over the past decade has greatly outpaced that of New York's four-year colleges, only 35 percent of full-time students who enroll in the state's community colleges obtain an associate or bachelor's degree within six years.
This symposium in Albany focused on how New York can harness the full potential of its community colleges and what can be done to ensure that more of those who enroll in the state’s community colleges actually graduate. The panel discussion included specific steps that state policymakers could take to better support New York’s community college and strategies that administrators at SUNY and CUNY could adopt to increase completion rates; examined what New York might learn from other states, as well as initiatives that CUNY and SUNY have already developed that are worth expanding; and explored the findings of Completion Day and Mobility Makers, the Center’s reports on student success in New York State and New York City.
Click here to download symposium materials including agenda, bios and other handouts (PDF).
Welcoming Remarks
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Kate Breslin, President & CEO, Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy
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Jonathan Bowles, Executive Director, Center for an Urban Future
Keynote Presentation
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Richard Kazis, Senior Vice President, Jobs for the Future
Panel: Unlocking the Full Potential of New York’s Community Colleges
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Moderator: Jonathan Bowles, Executive Director, Center for an Urban Future
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Thomas Bailey, Director, Community College Research Center; Director, National Center for Analysis of Postsecondary Education and Employment; Teacher's College, Columbia University
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Johanna Duncan-Poitier, Senior Vice Chancellor for Community Colleges and the Education Pipeline, State University of New York (SUNY)
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Anne M. Kress, President, SUNY Monroe Community College
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Stanley S. Litow, Vice President for Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs, IBM; President, IBM International Foundation
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Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, President, CUNY Hostos Community College
Closing Remarks
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Deborah Povich, Working Poor Families Project
This symposium has been generously supported by the Lumina Foundation and the Working Poor Families Project.
General operating support for the Center for an Urban Future has been provided by Bernard F. and Alva B. Gimbel Foundation and Fund for the City of New York.
