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Hudson Valley Community College and the University at Albany unveiled a comprehensive transfer agreement Friday that outlines a clear transfer path for 34 different programs of study.
The two-year public college in Troy and four-year public college in Albany are the region's largest colleges, and have long boasted a strong relationship. Over the past two and a half years, more than 1,000 Hudson Valley students have gone on to study at the university.
"Most of our students transfer onto four-year institutions when they're done here," said HVCC President Drew Matonak. "Of those students, more transfer to UAlbany than anywhere else. So we wanted to make sure that that transition is as smooth as possible for our students."
Programs offerings overlap in many areas for both colleges, and transfer agreements were already in place for many of them, officials said. But a lot has changed in recent years at UAlbany — two new schools opened and degree options were added — and the colleges' leaders felt the time was ripe for an update.
The new agreements deal with students entering programs in liberal arts and sciences, criminal justice, business, public health, social welfare, political science, computer science, and education, among others.
Hudson Valley is now the first community college to have seamless transfer options for students who want to take advantage of UAlbany's latest offerings in any program at the new College of Emergency Preparedness, computer engineering at the new College of Engineering and Applied Science, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity, and the new human development program at the School of Education,.
"This was an opportunity for us to refresh, revitalize and reinvigorate our relationship," and the agreement expands what we had before and clarifies some of our program requirements, said UAlbany Vice Provost Jeanette Altarriba.
When 21-year-old Kailyn Stewart, of Waterford, started college nearly four years ago, she had a plan. She would complete two years of community college and transfer somewhere with a strong psychology program. The fact that Hudson Valley and UAlbany fit this scenario and were so close together was just a perk.
"I knew if I started here and then went over there, I could get involved in research and expand my horizons," said Stewart, who attended the news conference on the agreement in the Siek Campus Center and is a transfer transition leader at the university, helping other transfer students adjust to their new surroundings.
The university is working to finalize transfer agreements with Fulton-Montgomery Community College in Johnstown, SUNY Adirondack in Queensbury and Dutchess Community College in Poughkeepsie, which could be in place before the end of the spring semester, officials said.
bbump@timesunion.com • 518-454-5387 • @bethanybump
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