Hudson students get ‘instant’ college admission
Columbia-greene deal aims for equality and access
Third-year students at Hudson Senior High School were granted “instant admission” to Columbia-greene Community College in a surprise announcement Tuesday.
Juniors and their parents were gathered at the high school auditorium under the pretense of “a symbolic send-off ” before the nature of the assembly was revealed. Students were then given QR codes that led them to simple form allowing the high school to transmit student information and transcripts to the college.
Hudson Superintendent Lisamarie Spindler said the instant admission was important to “create equality and access.”
“We prioritize diversity, equity and inclusion, and this is one step in that direction, to be able to close any gaps or any barriers that our students might have to post-secondary experiences,” she said.
Other community colleges have offered free admission and tutition to local high school students, including SUNY Schenectady, which recently did the same thing for graduating Schenectady High School students.
All students who graduate Hudson High School — including those who receive a Career Development Occupational Studies Commencement Credential — can attend Columbia-greene Community College under the initiative, Spinder added.
It was important for all students to have “an opportunity regardless of (their) ability,” according to college Provost George Timmons, “whether that’s a certificate program, an associate degree, a microcredential or just professional development or enhancement.”
Though Hudson may be better known for its ritzy Warren Street, 23.4 percent of its residents fall below the poverty line. At Hudson High School, about 68 percent of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches, according to the state Education Department. Statewide, the number is 51 percent.
Educators at Tuesday’s assembly also mentioned the pandemic and the labor market as influences that have been throwing some students off the collegiate path.
The pandemic created a great amount of uncertainty in students’ minds about their futures, according to college President Carlee Drummer. “We wanted to give them something to hold onto,” she said.
The college wants the juniors to take advantage of its offerings, though the main focus is not about students attending this local college, but pursuing post-secondary education in general, Drummer said.
“We mostly want you to continue your education and not be distracted by some of the things going on with the workforce, where (students) are being offered incredible jobs without a college degree,” she said. “We think that’s a disrupter — the value of a college education can not be matched.”
The white-hot labor market was leading local businesses to recruit students out of high school, Drummer added.
Rocky Payne, one of the
high school’s guidance counselors, said some of his students looked at how college was conducted during the pandemic, with its remote learning and lack of interaction, and were unsure, at least for the moment, if they wanted to go.
The graduation rate at the senior high school has been climbing steadily,
reaching 84 percent last year, according to Spinder, However, this has not translated into more students attending college.
Forty-seven percent of graduates in 2019 planned to attend a two-year school, according to Hudson High School’s school profile, a number that dropped to 43 percent last year, while the percentage of graduates who said they were directly entering the workforce rose from 18 percent to 24 percent. The percentage of students who said they would be attending four-year colleges was about flat.
Jalissa Payton, a Hudson junior, said she had many ideas of what to do after graduation, but hadn’t landed on a decision.
Payton was trying to go to Siena College, she said, but the day’s announcement provided her with another option, one she said might be a good backup.
Columbia-greene and Hudson Senior High School had a close relationship even before Tuesday’s announcement — high school students can take Columbia-greene classes at the high school for only $67 a credit, with the fee completely waived for students eligible for free of reduced-prices lunches, according to Payne.