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Columbia-Greene Community College in Hudson, New York, has experienced a 4.7% decrease in enrollment from fall 2023 to 2024, according to data released by the State University of New York (SUNY). The college had initially projected a 5% decrease due to changes in its prison education program, which accounts for approximately 18% of the student body.
The program, in partnership with Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison, allows inmates at Greene Correctional Facility to take college-level courses towards an associate's degree in individual studies. However, the college has paused new enrollments in the program until spring, which has contributed to the decrease in overall student numbers.
Despite the recent drop, the college has seen an 11.7% increase in enrollment over the past two years, from fall 2022 to fall 2024. This includes a 25% increase in returning students from 2023 to 2024. Columbia-Greene Community College President Carlee Drummer attributes this growth to a new marketing strategy aimed at reaching new students in different ways.
However, the college also experienced a decrease in first-year undergraduate enrollment from fall 2023 to fall 2024 of 17.3%, and a two-year decrease of 9%. In the 2023-2024 academic year, there were 1,696 students in total enrolled in the college, with 503 full time and 1,193 part time, according to data from the state Department of Education.
The Daily Gazette reports that the college also saw a decrease in enrollment due to changes in its College in the High School program. This program allows high school students in partnering districts to take classes and earn both high school and college credits through courses taught at their high school.