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SUNY Plattsburgh Creates Extension Site at Hudson Valley Community College


SUNY Plattsburgh and HVCC presidents sign agreement. PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (July 9, 2010) – SUNY Plattsburgh will now be offering classes in criminal justice at Hudson Valley Community College.

In a July 7 ceremony, SUNY Plattsburgh President John Ettling signed an agreement with Drew Matonak, president of the community college. The agreement will allow the four-year college to offer a bachelor’s degree program in criminal justice with most classes taking place right on the community college campus in Troy, N.Y.

Criminal justice is one of the largest academic degree programs at Hudson Valley, with around 100 to 120 graduates each year. And, while the University at Albany and The College of Saint Rose accept many of those graduates each year, the Plattsburgh program will add another option for Hudson Valley students, according to Dr. Ann Geisendorfer, the Hudson Valley criminal justice department chair.

“We have students this fall who will take advantage of this opportunity,” Geisendorfer said.  “Plattsburgh is a SUNY school with an established program, so we are very pleased they will be offering this option for continued study right on our campus.”

The addition of four-year college offerings is part of a larger trend among community colleges within the SUNY system, according to Dr. Robert Golden, dean and assistant to the president at the SUNY Plattsburgh Branch Campus in Queensbury. Under the state’s guidelines, the community colleges cannot offer bachelor degrees. However, working with four-year colleges, like the one in Plattsburgh, they are able to offer most of the four-year degree requirements right on site.

Under the existing guidelines, however, enrolled students will be required to attend at least one class at the SUNY Plattsburgh Branch Campus in Queensbury, because the site is an extension and not a branch campus.

“Even so, this is a tremendous opportunity for individuals in the Albany area who, for a variety of reasons, are not able to attend other colleges in Albany and are not in a position to relocate to one of the other comprehensive colleges in the state,” said Golden. “We feel it is in our best interest to be of service to these students.”
 

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