SUMMARY

Issue for Discussion

Should the Board of Regents approve the Progress Report to the Governor and the Legislature on the Regents Statewide Plan for Higher Education? 

Reason(s) for Consideration

             
              Required by State statute.

Proposed Handling

This matter will come before the Higher Education Committee for discussion at its November 2008 meeting.

Procedural History

On June 21, 2005, the Board of Regents adopted its Statewide Plan for Higher Education for the period, 2004 – 2012 and transmitted it to the Governor for approval, and to the Legislature. 

Background Information

Section 237 of the Education Law requires the Board of Regents to adopt or revise a master plan for higher education, known as the Regents Statewide Plan for Higher Education.  Legislation provides that the Plan shall cover an eight-year period.

The Plan adopted by the Board was a result of three years of collaboration among the Department, SUNY, CUNY, independent, not-for-profit colleges and universities, and proprietary colleges.  For the Plan, the Board identified 13 priorities, grouped in five areas, and asked SUNY, CUNY, and each independent and proprietary institution to develop long-range plans addressing the priorities.  Pursuant to Sections 237, 354, and 6206 of the Education Law, the SUNY and CUNY long-range master plans were subject to approval by the Board of Regents and, to the extent approved, incorporated into the Statewide Plan.  To the extent they were incorporated in the Statewide Plan, the SUNY and CUNY master plans are subject to the Governor’s approval, as is the Statewide Plan as a whole.

The Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities and the Association of Proprietary Colleges prepared consolidations of the master plans of their member institutions.  The plans of independent and proprietary colleges are not subject to the Regents approval and were incorporated into the Statewide Plan as received.

Finally, the Plan includes statements of action by the Regents and the Department related to each priority.  Under each priority, the Plan includes indicators of progress.

Section 237 requires the Board to report to the Governor and the Legislature on progress in carrying out the Plan at its half-way mark.  Attached for the Committee’s review is a draft of that Progress Report.  It addresses each of the 13 priorities in the Plan and the Indicators of Progress for each priority.  Under each priority, it identifies actions by the Department and each sector and makes reference, as appropriate, to the Regents P-16 Action Plan and to the final report of the Commission on Higher Education.

A Summary of Progress is found on pages 5-13 of the Report. 

Recommendation

The Committee should discuss the draft of the Regents Progress Report and advise staff of any revisions it wants made.

Timetable for Implementation

Following the Committee’s discussion, staff will make any requested revisions and add additional material and prepare the Board of Regents 2008 Progress Report for adoption at the Board’s meeting in December 2008.

Attachment

The Board of Regents 2008 Progress Report

on

The Statewide Plan for Higher Education,

2004-2012

The University of the State of New York

The State Education Department

Albany, New York 12234

October 2008

THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK

Regents of The University

Robert M. Bennett, Chancellor, B.A., M.S.   .........................................................................      Tonawanda

Merryl H. Tisch, Vice Chancellor, B.A., M.A., Ed.D.   .........................................................      New York

Saul B. Cohen, B.A., M.A., Ph.D.  ...........................................................................................      New Rochelle

James C. Dawson, A.A., B.A., M.S., Ph.D.   ...........................................................................      Peru

Anthony S. Bottar, B.A., J.D.   ...............................................................................................      Syracuse

Geraldine D. Chapey, B.A., M.A., Ed.D.   ...........................................................................      Belle Harbor

Arnold B. Gardner, B.A., LL.B.  ............................................................................................      Buffalo

Harry Phillips, 3rd, B.A., M.S.F.S.   .......................................................................................      Hartsdale

Joseph E. Bowman, Jr., B.A., M.L.S., M.A., M.Ed., Ed.D  ..................................................      Albany

James R. Tallon, Jr., B.A., M.A.    ...........................................................................................      Binghamton

Milton L. Cofield,  B.S., M.B.A., Ph.D.   ..............................................................................      Rochester

Roger B. Tilles, B.A., J.D.  .........................................................................................................      Great Neck

Karen Brooks Hopkins, B.A., M.F.A.  ..................................................................................      Brooklyn

Charles R. Bendit, B.A.   ..........................................................................................................      Manhattan

Betty A. Rosa, B.A., M.S. in Ed., M.S. in Ed., M.Ed., Ed.D………………………….  Bronx

Lester W. Young, Jr., B.S., M.S., Ed. D ……………………………………………….. Oakland Gardens

President of The University and Commissioner of Education

Richard P. Mills

Senior Deputy Commissioner of Education, P-16

Johanna Duncan-Poitier

Associate Commissioner for the Office of Higher Education

Joseph P. Frey

  The State Education Department does not discriminate on the basis of age, color, religion, creed, disability, marital status, veteran status, national origin, race, gender, genetic predisposition or carrier status, or sexual orientation in its educational programs, services and activities.  Portions of this publication can be made available in a variety of formats, including braille, large print or audio tape, upon request.  Inquiries concerning this policy of nondiscrimination should be directed to the Department’s Office for Diversity, Ethics, and Access, Room 530, Education Building, Albany, NY 12234. Requests for additional copies of this publication may be made by contacting the Publications Sales Desk, Room 309, Education Building, Albany, NY 12234.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Letter of Transmittal  .................................................................................................................. 4

Summary of Progress  .............................................................................................................. 5

Introduction  .............................................................................................................................. 12

• Maximizing Success for All Higher Education Students  ........................................... 14

     1.      High Educational Quality  ..................................................................................... 14

• Articulation  ............................................................................................................. 27
• Affordability  ........................................................................................................... 32
• Closing Performance Gaps  ................................................................................. 43
• Students with Disabilities  .................................................................................... 53

• Smooth Student Transition from PreK-12 to Higher Education  ............................... 59

• Preparation for College  ....................................................................................... 59
• Information and Assistance in Preparing for College  ....................................... 69

• Meeting New York’s Needs through Graduate Programs and
  through Research  .......................................................................................................... 75

• Strong Graduate Programs to Meet the State’s Needs  ................................... 75
• Creation of New Knowledge through Research  ................................................ 83

• Qualified Professionals for Every Community throughout the State  ........................ 89

• An Adequate Supply of Qualified Professionals  ............................................... 89
• An Adequate Supply of Qualified Teachers, School Leaders,
  and other School Professionals  .......................................................................... 93  

• A Balanced and Flexible Regulatory Environment to Support Excellence  ............ 109

• Encouraging a Highly Effective System  ........................................................... 109
• Funding a Highly Effective System  ................................................................... 117

Letter of Transmittal

To Be Added
Summary of Progress

• Maximizing Success for All Higher Education Students

• High Educational Quality

• In 2007, New York’s six-year baccalaureate graduation rate was 6.8 percentage points higher than the national average; since 2003, it improved by 2.4 percentage points (as cited in the Statewide Plan).  Including students transferring to another institution raised the 2007 rate by a further 9.7 percentage points, to 72.6 percent.

• The three-year associate degree graduation rate was 4.4 points lower than the national average and 0.9 percentage points lower than in 2003.  Including students transferring to another institution raised the 2007 rate by 1.6 points, to 25.0 percent.

• SED closed one two-year college following findings that the programs it offered did not meet college-level standards and repeated failure to improve.    

• To protect students and to assure the effective use of the Tuition Assistance Program, in 2007, the Board of Regents adopted regulations regulating the use of federally approved Ability-to-Benefit (ATB) tests to qualify students without a U.S. high school diploma for State student aid and identified only four of the federally approved ATB tests as adequate to test ability to undertake college-level work and therefore suitable for use by New York higher education institutions.  As a result, two institutions elected to discontinue their operation in New York.

• In order to protect the educational and financial interests of students and their families, and to protect the integrity of the proprietary sector of higher education, the Board of Regents adopted new regulations to strengthen oversight of proprietary higher education institutions.  The new regulations require new owners of proprietary colleges to demonstrate the capacity to meet educational and financial standards to operate institutions.  Among other provisions, the new regulations require:

• a transition period before a new proprietary college is granted final authority to award degrees, similar to the provisional charter granted to a new independent institution; and
• that the Board of Regents approve the transfer of a proprietary college’s degree powers to a prospective new owner before a sale is consummated. 

• Articulation

• Between 2003 and 2007, the number of students transferring from two-year colleges to four-year institutions remained steady; however, the proportion of two-year college full-time students declined from 13.6 percent to 12.8 percent.

• For New York two-year college associate degree graduates, the trend of increasing difficulty to earn baccalaureate degrees in only two more years, described in the Statewide Plan, continued.  In 2003, 69.8 percent of all transferring associate degree graduates were admitted to the upper division of the receiving institution, down from 75.6 percent in 1999; in 2007, the proportion had dropped to 67.4 percent. 

• Affordability

• New York funds more grant aid per student than any other state and is fourth in the nation in the proportion of low-income students in college.  New York exceeded California’s need-based grant program by 14 percent in 2006-07, when it provided 15 percent of all need based grants – and ten percent of all state student financial aid – in the nation.

• In 2007-08, students with a family income of $10,766 (the median income of the lowest quintile) attending SUNY community colleges while living at home had no net cost of attendance.  TAP and Pell met full costs.  At CUNY community colleges, such students had a net cost of attendance – after TAP and Pell – equal to four percent of family income. 

• Despite this, undergraduate education has become less affordable.  While a maximum TAP award covers tuition at SUNY and CUNY for full-time students, it does not cover fees, which have risen by $1,800 at SUNY.  At four-year independent institutions, the share of tuition and fees paid by a maximum TAP award has fallen from 30.0 percent to 20.7 percent.  The increase in the maximum Pell Grant will help to meet need; however, New Yorkers whose costs of attendance exceed the combination of TAP, Pell, and expected family contribution may have to rely on loans to meet need.

• The new program of TAP for part-time students is available only to those beginning as full-time students and changing to part-time.  Students not able to begin on a full-time basis are not eligible. 

• Closing Performance Gaps

• In baccalaureate programs, 82.2 percent of all first-time students in the fall of 2006 returned in the fall of 2007.  By racial/ethnic category, 87.3 percent of Asian first-time students returned as did 83.3 percent of White students (both rates higher than the rate for all students), compared to 76.9 percent of Native American students, 77.7 percent of Hispanic students, and 75.2 percent of Black students.

• Some progress has been made in narrowing the gap.  Between 2004 and 2007, Black students’ baccalaureate graduation rate improved from 43.6 percent to 46.9 percent; however, it was 16 points below the rate for all students.  The graduation rate of Native American students got slightly worse.  Hispanic students’ graduation rate improved significantly, from 43.4 percent to 48.3 percent. 

• In associate degree programs, 60.3 percent of all first-time students in the fall of 2006 returned in the fall of 2007, a persistence rate 21.9 percentage points below that for baccalaureate students.  By racial/ethnic category, 67.3 percent of Asian first-time students returned as did 63.1 percent of White students (higher rates than for all students), 57.8 percent of Hispanic students, 53.1 percent of Black students, and 49.7 percent of Native American students. 

• At the associate degree level, the Black graduation rate was the same in 2007 (15.9 percent) as in 2004 (15.8 percent); however, the gap between it and that of all students narrowed slightly.  For Native American students, the gap got significantly worse, declining from no gap in 2004 to a 7.6 point gap in 2007.   

• Students with Disabilities

• Between 2003 and 2007, the number of students with self-reported disabilities grew by 8.2 percent, at a time when total enrollment grew by only 3.6 percent.

• Six-year baccalaureate graduation rates for students with self-reported disabilities improved by 2.8 percentage points between 2004 and 2007 and were only 1.0 point lower than the rate for all students in 2007.

B. Smooth Student Transition from PreK-12 to Higher Education

• Preparation for College

• To assure that every high school graduate is prepared for higher education, work, and citizenship, the Board of Regents is reviewing and updating the State Learning Standards.  The reviews are being undertaken in collaboration with representatives from higher education institutions, including those with teacher preparation programs, to strengthen the alignment between expectations and knowledge and skills needed for both high school graduation and college-level work.

• The first annual Excelsior Scholars Program was launched in 2007-08 to provide an opportunity for high performing 7th grade pupils to participate in advanced mathematics and science coursework at local colleges.  In the summer of 2008, 642 7th grade pupils engaged in rigorous, hands-on, real world math and science applications at 13 colleges and universities.

• The public high school graduation rate, statewide, improved from 65.8 percent in 2005 to 68.6 percent in 2007.  At the end of August 2007, the rate increased to 71.1 percent.  For pupils taking up to five years, the completion rates were 71.8 percent in 2005 and 73.3 percent in 2006.

• In 2007, more than 23 percent of the high school graduating class in New York earned scores of three or higher on Advanced Placement exams -- the nation’s highest percentage – compared to about 15 percent for the nation as a whole.

• In 2007-08, over 60,000 pupils USNY-wide benefited from coordinated high school – college connections through programs including Liberty Partnerships, Learn and Serve America, and the Science and Technology Entry Program.

• Information and Assistance in Preparing for College

• Some 70,000 high school pupils annually take college credit courses while still in high school.

• The Board of Regents has proposed a Smart Scholars program that would transform the traditional four year high school to college model by giving historically underrepresented pupils an opportunity to graduate from high school with as many as 30 hours of college credit, putting them on a fast track to college readiness and completion without remediation.

C. Meeting New York’s Needs through Graduate Programs and through Research

• Strong Graduate Programs to Meet the State’s Needs

• Between 2003 and 2007, the number of faculty, USNY-wide, grew by 11,987 (12.1 percent).  Nearly all growth (95.1 percent) was at four-year and graduate institutions; the growth at two year colleges accounted for only 4.9 percent.

• The State Labor Department projects a 24 percent growth between 2004 and 2014 in employment of all faculty at all institutions, with an average of about 6,200 openings per year, about half from replacement and half from growth.

• The number of master’s degrees earned remained was almost the same in 2006-07 as in 2003-04.  The number of doctorates earned grew by 17.7 percent, from 3,952 in 2003-04 to 4,650 in 2006-07.  In both years, independent institutions awarded the largest number of both master’s and doctoral degrees, followed by SUNY, CUNY, and proprietary colleges (only a few of which offer graduate study).   

• Creation of New Knowledge through Research

• New York academic institutions spend $3.8 billion on research and development, more than those in any other state except California.  Between 2002 and 2006, their R&D expenditures’ growth rate was 4.4 percentage points higher than California’s.  However, Florida and Ohio institutions had far higher growth rates. 

D. Qualified Professionals for Every Community throughout the State

• An Adequate Supply of Qualified Professionals

• Over the last four years, the Legislature created eight new licensed professions under the Board of Regents jurisdiction.

• Between 2003 and 2008, the number of licensed practitioners of all professions in New York grew by 13.5 percent, to a total of 761,000. 

• An Adequate Supply of Qualified Teachers, School Leaders, and other School Professionals  

• The Board of Regents has initiated a comprehensive strategy to help assure that all students are taught by qualified, certified teachers that includes regional forums across the State to discuss the future of teaching and school leadership.

• SED issued the third annual report on teacher supply and demand to provide educators, policy makers, students, and parents with information on where workforce needs are growing and where teacher surpluses exist.

• In collaboration with institutions offering teacher preparation programs, pre-K-12 schools, the Professional Standards and Practices Board, professional associations, unions, government leaders, members of the business community, and other partners, a series of steps have been identified to address teacher supply and demand and to strengthen teacher preparation, including:

• strengthening alignment among teaching policy, practice, emerging research and data, and funding;
• reviewing and, where appropriate, updating the teacher certification structure and requirements in subject shortage areas, such as special education, languages other than English, career and technical education, and bilingual education;
• enhancing SED’s new on-line teacher certification system, TEACH;
• systematizing P-16 partnerships to enhance teaching and learning; and
• improving data systems in cooperation with the education community.

• In July 2008, the Regents accepted a $3 million grant from the Wallace Foundation to build capacity to support educational leadership.  The grant will support:

• transformation of institutions’ school leadership preparation programs,
• establishment of leadership professional development programs focused on teaching and learning and provided through regional leadership academies, and
• creation of school leader performance evaluations.

• With the support of institutions offering teacher preparation programs, SED has overhauled the teacher certification process:

• prospective teachers now can apply for certification, and colleges can recommend program graduates, electronically; 96 percent of all applications are submitted electronically
• between 2006-07 and 2007-08, SED reduced the time to certify graduates of registered teacher preparation programs from two months to one day;
• 2007-08 saw 20,000 more certificates issued than in 2006-07; and
• SED provides expedited service for prospective teachers who have secured teaching jobs and need certification for employment.

E. A Balanced and Flexible Regulatory Environment to Support Excellence

• Encouraging a Highly Effective System

• Consistent with the Commission on Higher Education’s recommendations, SED, SUNY, and CUNY are collaborating to streamline and expedite the review of proposals for new programs of study and changes to existing programs.  The Commission’s report commends SED, CUNY, and SUNY for this.  Improvements that have been identified will expedite the program registration time for all sectors.

• In the past two years, SED has received 3,263 proposals from USNY’s 271 public, independent, and proprietary higher education institutions; approximately two-thirds of the reviews were completed within 30 days.

• Funding a Highly Effective System

• New York State operating funds for higher education grew from $3.5 billion in fiscal 2001-02 to $5.1 billion in FY 2007-08.  This was a 45.3 percent increase, compared to 15.1 percent across all states.

Introduction

On June 21, 2005, the Board of Regents adopted its Statewide Plan for Higher Education for the period 2004-2012.  The Plan delineates priorities, initiatives, and indicators for the higher education members of The University of the State of New York (USNY) to focus on over the eight year period.  Tracking USNY’s progress across hundreds of initiatives for 271 institutions is challenging; however, it is not impossible.  With all its complexities, the Plan’s focus can be summarized as:

• Student Needs

• Access to quality and affordable education
• Less reliance on loans, especially high interest loans
• Close the performance gap in higher education by ethnicity
• Support services are made available to help students be successful, especially students who traditionally have been underrepresented in higher education

• State Needs

• Qualified teachers, school leaders, and licensed professionals
• More citizens having access to higher education to meet future economic and workforce needs
• Research

• Institutional Needs

• Capacity (human and fiscal resources) to assist in meeting student needs along with New York State’s workforce, economic, and societal needs

For each of the Statewide Plan’s 13 Regents Priorities, the Plan identified Indicators of Progress.  For the period 2005-2008, this Progress Report reviews related developments reported by The City University of New York (CUNY), independent colleges and universities, proprietary colleges, the State University of New York (SUNY), and by the State Education Department (SED) (as appropriate) and discusses other accomplishments and actions taken to implement the Plan.

The P-16 Plan.  In November 2006, the Board of Regents adopted P-16 Education: A Plan for Action with two overarching goals: (1) close the great divide in achievement along lines of income, race and ethnicity, language, and disability; and (2) keep up with growing demands for still more knowledge and skill in the fact of increasing competition in a changing global economy.  The P-16 Plan, which is wholly consistent with the Statewide Plan, calls for actions in 13 areas to achieve those goals.

Table 1

Source: NYSED, Higher Education Data System, 2008.

Table 1 indicates that, between 2003 and today, enrollment at USNY’s colleges and universities grew by 5.1 percent, from 1,113,038 in 2003 to 1,169,951 in 2007.  In 2007, 271 degree-granting institutions offered those students more than 29,000 degree and certificate programs.

Table 2

 * More than One Racial/Ethnic Category applies only to Total Population.  Unknown applies otherwise.

** Public and Nonpublic High Schools

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2006 Population Estimates (Total Population).

NYSED: Distribution of High School Graduates and College-Going Rate, 2007 (High School Graduates).

NYSED: Office of Research and Information Systems, 2008 (Higher Education Enrollment).              

              Table 2 shows the racial/ethnic distribution of the State’s population, the 2005-06 high school graduating class, and fall 2006 enrollment in higher education.

1. Maximizing Success for All Higher Education Students

1. High Educational Quality.  The Regents ask institutions to describe in their master plans how the results of their ongoing self-study processes improve the quality of students’ education.

Summary of Findings

• In 2007, New York’s six-year baccalaureate graduation rate was 6.8 percentage points higher than the national average; since 2003, it improved by 2.4 percentage points (as cited in the Statewide Plan).  Including students transferring to another institution raised the 2007 rate by a further 9.7 percentage points, to 72.6 percent.

• The three-year associate degree graduation rate was 4.4 points lower than the national average and 0.9 percentage points lower than in 2003.  Including students transferring to another institution raised the 2007 rate by 1.6 points, to 25.0 percent.

• SED closed one two-year college following findings that the programs it offered did not meet college-level standards and repeated failure to improve.    

• To protect students and to assure the effective use of the Tuition Assistance Program, in 2007, the Board of Regents adopted regulations regulating the use of federally approved Ability to Benefit (AtB) tests to qualify students without a U.S. high school diploma for State student aid and identified only four of the federally approved AtB tests as adequate to test ability to undertake college-level work and therefore suitable for use by New York higher education institutions.  As a result, two institutions elected to discontinue their operation in New York.

• In order to protect the educational and financial interests of students and their families, and to protect the integrity of the proprietary sector of higher education, the Board of Regents adopted new regulations to strengthen oversight of proprietary higher education institutions.  The new regulations require new owners of proprietary colleges to demonstrate the capacity to meet educational and financial standards to operate institutions.  Among other provisions, the new regulations require:
• a transition period before a new proprietary college is granted final authority to award degrees, similar to the provisional charter granted to a new independent institution; and
• that the Board of Regents approve the transfer of a proprietary college’s degree powers to a prospective new owner before a sale is consummated. 

Indicators of Progress

              The sectors and SED report developments related to the following Indicators of Progress for this priority in the Statewide Plan:

• Institutional self-assessment of progress and achievement on its master plan.

The City University of New York

Since adoption of the Statewide Plan, CUNY has worked to meet its promise to ensure and enhance the quality of undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as post-doctoral training and adult and continuing education.  This work has evolved through multiple endeavors, articulated within the goals and targets of the University’s Performance Management Program (PMP).  Broadly speaking, these efforts focus on raising academic quality (through building and retaining a world-class faculty, strengthening programs, and updating curricula), and improving student success (encompassing a strong and effective general education program, increased retention and graduation rates, and robust support services.)

Accountability.  CUNY’s system administration has taken important steps that allow it to set goals for the University and monitor the progress of every college toward them.  Central to this effort is PMP, in which the chancellery sets broad targets to raise academic quality, improve student success, and enhance financial and management effectiveness.  At the end of each fiscal year, indicators of college progress toward the goals are compiled and reported.  Raises for each college’s president and executive team are partly dependent on their institution’s performance.

CUNY’s ability to track progress on the PMP indicators, conduct system wide assessments, and generate data for decision support in general depends in large part from creation of a data warehouse over the past several years that was designed specifically to facilitate the tracking of students within and between colleges.  Institutional research staff at each college and in the central administration have access to the data in the warehouse as well as to a wide range of standardized reports.

Proprietary Colleges

              The Association of Proprietary Colleges (APC) reports that proprietary colleges have adopted long-range strategic plans, prepared institutional self-studies leading to program and curricular revisions and increased institutional effectiveness.  Some have used the National Survey of Student Engagement to inform academic decision-making.  APC has sponsored workshops for its member colleges, several of which used a “best practices” format, with regular participation.

• Change over time in the persistence of first-time students to the next fall.
• Graduation rates for all matriculated entering students (not just first-time, full-time students) [combined].

In relation to the second and third indicators, the P-16 Plan directs SED to:

• Publish freshman to sophomore student persistence and graduation rates pf associate and baccalaureate programs in New York State.  Analyze by sector, proportion of under-represented students, and other key criteria.  Draw comparisons to national averages and to states with similar demographics.

• Research and benchmark practices that improve persistence and graduation rates.  Share them with colleges and universities through field visits, best practices guidelines, forums, and web-based resources, and help them to replicate successful strategies.

• Monitor high-risk institutions and take action when standards are not met.

Undergraduate Progress and Graduation.  Table 3 shows the six-year baccalaureate graduation rates and three-year associate degree graduation rates, respectively, in 2004 through 2007 only for first-time, full-time students earning a degree from the institution they entered initially.

Table 3

Source: NYSED, Higher Education Data System, 2008 for New York; NCES, IPEDS and longitudinal surveys for USA.

Baccalaureate Degrees.  The proportion of full-time students earning baccalaureate degrees over six years from the institution they entered initially remained almost unchanged between 2003 and 2007, growing only from 60.5 percent in 2003 to 62.9 percent in 2007.  Throughout the period, however, New York’s six-year baccalaureate graduation rate was higher than that of the nation as a whole; the 2007 rate was 6.8 points above the national rate.

Nearly 65 percent of the institutions awarding baccalaureate degrees in 2007 had graduation rates lower than the USNY-wide average (86 out of 133), however, including 13 with graduation rates of less than 30 percent.  On the other hand, 27 institutions had graduation rates at least ten points above the average, including five with rates above 90 percent: Columbia University, Cornell University (endowed), The Jewish Theological Seminary of America, Vassar College, and Webb Institute.  Columbia, Cornell, Jewish Theological Seminary, and Vassar also had rates of better than 90 percent in 2006.  

Associate Degrees.  The proportion of full-time students earning associate degrees in three years from the institution they entered initially also remained virtually unchanged, falling from 24.3 percent in 2003 to 23.4 percent in 2007 (4.4 percentage points below the national average).  However, over the period, the national rate declined by 2.8 percentage points; New York’s declined by only 0.9 percentage point. 

A majority of the institutions awarding associate degrees in 2007 (50 out of 98) had graduation rates below the USNY-wide average, including 16 with rates below ten percent.  On the other hand, 48 institutions had graduation rates at least ten points above the average, including two with graduation rates above 90 percent: Katharine Gibbs School (Melville) and Long Island College Hospital School of Nursing.

Table 4

Source: NYSED, Higher Education Data System, 2008.

              Comparing the graduation rates in Table 4 with those in Table 3 makes plain the importance of transfers between institutions.  Including students who transferred, the associate degree rate averaged 2.3 percentage points higher than the rate limited to students not transferring.  For students earning baccalaureate degrees, the rate including students who transferred averaged 9.5 percentage points higher than the rate limited to students not transferring.  In 2007, it was 9.7 percentage points higher.  This highlights the concern about the ability of graduates of New York associate degree programs to enter the upper division of baccalaureate programs, discussed under the next priority, Articulation.

The City University of New York

Improving Success Rates.  Over the past several years, performance in CUNY’s baccalaureate programs has improved.  One-year retention rates have risen from 79.6 percent for the cohort of first-time freshmen entering in the fall of 2002 to 80.0 percent for the 2006 cohort.  Six-year graduation rates rose from 36.5 percent for the fall 1997 cohort to 43.9 percent for the 2001 cohort.

While one-year retention rates for CUNY’s associate degree programs fell slightly, from 62.5 percent (2002 cohort) to 61.5 percent (2006 cohort), three-year graduation rates trended upward, from 9.9 percent to 10.1 percent (2000 and 2004 cohorts).  Graduation rates for associate programs rise substantially when the tracking period is extended.  For example, when tracking for the 2001 cohort of freshmen pursuing associate degrees is extended from three to six years, the graduation rate more than doubles (from 10.7 percent to 23.8 percent).

Independent Colleges and Universities.

              As noted above, five independent four-year colleges and universities had baccalaureate graduation rates of better than 90 percent in 2007: Columbia University, Cornell University, The Jewish Theological Seminary of America, Vassar College, and Webb Institute.  Columbia, Cornell, Jewish Theological Seminary, and Vassar also had rates of better than 90 percent in 2006.    

Proprietary Colleges

              APC reports that proprietary colleges have created academic standards committees, increased the periodic review of curricula by external reviewers, heightened graduation requirements, engaged in continuous assessment of student learning outcomes, identified good practices in pedagogy, hired more academic supervisory personnel, increased hiring standards for both full-time and part-time faculty, carried out rigorous evaluation of faculties, and provided for faculty mentoring and development.  They have seen increases in persistence and completion rates.  

State University of New York

              SUNY reports the following baccalaureate graduation rates for all matriculated entering students (not just first-time, full-time), 2004 through 2007:

Table 5

Source: SUNY System Administration, 2008.

For all students, the six-year graduation rate remained stable across the last four years.

SUNY also reports the following first-to-second year retention rates for baccalaureate and associate degree programs:

Table 6

Source: SUNY System Administration, 2008.

Retention of baccalaureate students improved by 1.4 percentage points across the period; retention of associate degree students declined by 2.8 percentage points.

State Education Department

Peer Reviews.  SED reviews institutional graduation rates in deciding whether to send a team of peer reviewers to visit an institution to evaluate its compliance with the quality standards for the registration of undergraduate and graduate curricula in the Commissioner’s Regulations.  Graduation rates significantly below the USNY-wide average, or that have declined over time, indicate that an institution’s compliance may be weak.  To date, however, no significant improvements in graduation rates have followed these visits.  In 2007, the Board of Regents received grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and The Wallace Foundation for work to improve college completion rates, high school graduation rates, and college readiness. 

Monitor At-Risk Institutions and Take Action When Standards Are Not Met.  SED uses a risk analysis approach to quality assurance in higher education and took aggressive action concerning a number of high profile institutions providing a substandard education, academic misconduct, and fraud.  Between 2005 and now, teams of peer reviewers made 82 visits to such institutions.

Over 7,610 students at proprietary colleges were directly affected by the Regents and SED’s actions concerning colleges identified as at-risk.  These students make up one-third of the total population of students (24,171) enrolled in two-year degree programs in USNY’s proprietary colleges.  In 2006, SED closed one such institution, Taylor Business Institute, after repeated site visits that revealed serious deficiencies in educational processes and outcomes.  To provide the 600+ students affected by its closure with opportunities to continue their education, SED sponsored a first-of-its-kind College Transfer Fair.  In partnership with 23 colleges, students were given information on transfer opportunities and next steps for continuing their educations, and how to pay for it by representatives from the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) and the Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC).

              Since Taylor’s closure, the Board of Regents has conferred 139 Associate in Occupational Studies (A.O.S.) degrees on its former students.  In addition, SED is the custodian of Taylor’s transcripts.  It has sent over 1,000 transcripts to students, colleges, and potential employers; responded to over 500 e-mails and hundreds of phone calls; and reviewed 97 transcripts for a high school equivalency diploma.

• For occupational programs at institutions receiving federal Perkins Act funding and other institutions agreeing to provide that information, change in the rate of placement of graduates in jobs in, or closely related to, the field of study, or in further education, within six months of graduation.

Table 7

Source: NYSED, Office of Research and Information Systems, 2008.

              Over the three years, more than 96 percent of the students graduating from occupational associate degree and credit-bearing certificate programs at Perkins-aided institutions were placed in related occupations or continued their educations.

The City University of New York

CUNY has made progress on a key component of the mission for associate degree programs, vocational training.  Graduates of the vocational and technical degree programs enjoy high placement rates, which have improved steadily in recent years, from 79 percent for the class of 2002-03 to 88 percent for the class of 2005-06.

Proprietary Colleges

              No proprietary colleges receive Perkins Act funding.

• Findings in final reports of Regents institutional accreditation and similar Department visits to colleges and universities (including Institutional Capability Reviews).

Example of Good Practices Found in Institutional Accreditation Peer Review Visits.  Between 2005 and 2008, SED made 17 peer review visits to institutions accredited by the Board of Regents.  Among the findings of those teams:

• A proprietary college’s students heavily use its Learning Center.  The Center’s dean or a representative goes to all classes at the start of each term to inform students about the Learning Center and does orientation sessions for each Humanities freshman seminar.  A peer review team was particularly struck by a rich placement of notices of Learning Center workshops and resources all around the building.  As the team toured, the notices could be found down every hallway and near every elevator and staircase.  For evening students, the Learning Center is open Tuesday evening and Saturday; many students stop in at lunchtime.  The Center tracks performance overall as well as by individual students; it has data demonstrating that students using it have better success.

• Ongoing review of CUNY’s College Proficiency Examination (CPE) results and SUNY’s sector-based General Education Assessment Review (GEAR) results.

The City University of New York

Through the CUNY Proficiency Examination (CPE), CUNY has since 2001 conducted a rigorous assessment of the academic literacy and quantitative reasoning skills imparted in its general education curriculum.  A requirement for graduation for all undergraduates, the CPE is administered each year to approximately 25,000 students.  The cumulative pass rate (calculated by following a cohort of test takers over three administrations) has risen from 88.4 percent to 91.0 percent over the past five years.

Other Accomplishments and Actions

The City University of New York

Macaulay Honors College.  One of the CUNY’s most noteworthy recent successes in focusing on high educational quality is development of the Macaulay Honors College (MHC).  Launched as the CUNY Honors College in 2001, and renamed to honor a generous 2006 gift from William E. Macaulay, a 1966 Honors graduate of The City College of New York, and his wife, Linda, MHC has grown from an inaugural class of 189 to a four-year student population of over 1,200.  Applications have increased, with 3,846 students competing for 350 available spots in the class of 2012.  Within the applicant group, increasing numbers of students from New York City’s most selective secondary schools are seeking admission.  In its short history, MHC has emerged as an important center of excellence.

Community College Education.  Community college education at CUNY broke new ground in the fall of 2007, when more than 1,000 students at the six community colleges became participants in a new initiative supported by the Mayor’s Center for Economic Opportunity: Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP).  The goal is for 50 percent of ASAP participants to earn associate degrees and either enter baccalaureate programs or find employment within three years.  ASAP’s key components include a cost-free education for students eligible for State/federal financial aid; small-group study organized according to academic interest; block scheduling that takes into account the family and work demands prevalent among community college students; intensive academic support and advising; free use of books; MetroCards; and career counseling and job placement assistance.  The Mayor’s Center for Economic Opportunity has funded ASAP for three years to cover a single cohort; additional funding would be needed to recruit another cohort into the program.

A central component of the mission of CUNY’s associate degree programs is remedial education.  In the fall of 2007, about six in ten associate degree students took at least one remedial course in their first term, down from two-thirds in 2003.  In recent years, CUNY has made progress in its efforts to facilitate completion of remedial courses in a timely fashion.  The percentage of students who are able to complete their remedial course work by the 30th credit has risen from 61 percent in 2004 to 68 in 2007.

Coordinated Undergraduate Education.  On the undergraduate level, academic excellence at CUNY is managed largely through a system of Coordinated Undergraduate Education (CUE).  The CUE initiative was launched in 2004 by reorganizing discrete programs (University Summer Immersion Programs, Coordinated Freshman Programs, Writing Across the Curriculum, Faculty Development Grants, and Academic Support).  It is an effective vehicle for integrating disparate components, in significant part thanks to a new administrative structure, the CUE Directors, a group of deans and associate provosts charged with implementing and assessing annual CUE plans.  These plans are embedded in CUNY’s Performance Management Plan, and have been structured in line with the goals for its Campaign for Student Success.

General Education.  Begun in 2003, the CUNY General Education Project seeks to strengthen the undergraduate curriculum across the University by engaging faculty, students, and administrators in the revision of general education requirements at the colleges.  The Project has brought together representatives of undergraduate campuses to define the ways that general education is conceived and practiced throughout CUNY and to support campus work on general education.

Improved Support Services and Activities.  Recognizing that student success involves life within as well as outside the classroom, CUNY has remained steadfast in its commitment to improving the quality of support services and recreational activities to students.  Developments include:

• Since 2004 CUNY has implemented degree audit software (Degree Works) at all of its undergraduate colleges.  Degree Works allows students and advisers to assess student progress toward degree requirements with ease in an online format.  The new software has greatly speeded the evaluation of student transcripts and guided students in selecting the courses they need to   complete their degree requirements.

• Child care services for the many CUNY students who are raising families remain a priority.  CUNY currently operates 17 campus-based child care centers.  An 18th center is opening at York College in the fall of 2008.  Funding has been provided to help campus child care center staff obtain appropriate training to comply with new and changing State regulations.  Funding also has been provided to assist teachers and child care staff to obtain specialized certifications and skills.  Data among the child care centers are being centralized and shared.  Finally, CUNY is engaged in a study exploring the link between student retention and child care services.

• Career Services staff members have received professional development opportunities and resources.  CUNY is in the process of obtaining additional technology to offer students career tools.  An Optimal Resume online resume-writing tool is set for a fall 2008 launch.  CUNY is also promoting the review and application of national standards in career services and seeking to align the career services offered on CUNY campuses with them.

• Much work is under way in Health Services.  CUNY has been collaborating with the Office of Citywide Health Insurance to launch a Web-based health insurance tutorial that will be available on the CUNY portal.  It continues to develop and strengthen collaborations with community-based organizations (including the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation and Planned Parenthood of New York City, Inc.) to enhance services.  CUNY also continues to work with the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to provide supplies of required Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR) vaccine to its students.  It is further working to automate transfer of immunization records for students coming to CUNY from New York City public schools.

In a major development, CUNY doctoral students employed at the University will now be eligible for health insurance, with the basic premium covered by CUNY.

CUNY has engaged the services of a medical consultant who is actively engaged with the campuses on disease prevention and health promotion efforts.  This consultant will also work with each campus to ensure CUNY’s compliance with medical protocols and State and public health laws.

• Much work is similarly under way in Mental Health and Counseling services.  The CUNY Clinical Psychology Fellowship program has been developed to increase the number of counseling hours available to students on CUNY campuses, while simultaneously training CUNY’s doctoral students in Clinical Psychology at The City College.  CUNY Counseling Directors have participated in a major professional development event to discuss good practices.  Upcoming efforts include training for campuses to develop campus-based Behavioral Intervention teams and a major survey and study of CUNY’s Counseling Centers.

• The CUNY Leadership Academy has been created to afford CUNY students leadership development opportunities system wide.
• Investment in CUNY’s athletics programs is key to the cultivation of world-class co-curricular experiences and, ultimately, to student success.  Over the next four years, CUNY will upgrade both indoor and outdoor athletic facilities and continue its efforts to staff its campus athletic programs with experienced and dedicated full-time coaches.  It will assess the feasibility of establishing the CUNYAC Foundation for the purposes of athletic program development, and will consider establishing a University-wide athletics fee to allow its athletics programs to achieve parity and compete with programs at similarly-situated higher education institutions.

CUNY assesses satisfaction with its student support services every other year through a system-wide survey of undergraduates.  Over the last four biennial surveys, satisfaction with a wide array of services has been increasing.

Libraries.  CUNY has continued to realize the economic rewards of centrally acquiring digital data to support its programs.  The Office of Library Services has purchased two landmark collections of historic material:  Eighteenth Century Collections Online and Making of the Modern World, which will be accessible to all CUNY faculty and students.  Purchasing digital resources centrally frees the campuses to buy resources that fit better with their own curricula and to provide greater access to print resources.  CUNY has also purchased linking software to enhance full text as a research aid to faculty and students; a bibliographic software tool to provide convenience and facilitate sharing of citation information; and joined Portico to protect its investment in access to digital resources.  Further, CUNY established expedited intra-campus lending in 2006.  Since that time, more than 40,000 requests have been made using the new procedures.   CUNY has also developed a University-wide set of learning outcomes for information literacy for students through the 60th credit.

Proprietary Colleges

              APC reports that some proprietary colleges have received initial or renewed Middle States Association accreditation.  Some have initiated faculty ranks to tie together teaching and research quality, years of service, and professional development.  Proprietary colleges have increased the number and proportion of faculty who are full-time and sought to increase faculty diversity.  Some have enhanced resources for faculty; some have improved internal communication between academic and student services offices.  Some proprietary colleges have been authorized to move to higher degree levels or to add programs in disciplines not previously offered.  They have expanded learning opportunities, including distance education, increased general education requirements, and expanded library collections.

State Education Department

Academic Review.  SED has fully implemented the Regents risk analysis approach to quality assurance in higher education, and has taken action against a number of institutions providing a substandard education, academic misconduct, and fraud.  It made peer review visits to Interboro Institute and the Katharine Gibbs School, New York, as follow up to previous visits that found serious deficiencies in educational processes and outcomes.  Both institutions had made changes resulting in substantial compliance with the standards for registration in the Commissioner's Regulations.  However, each institution’s owner subsequently decided to close it (below).

In 2006, SED successfully handled over 1,700 requests from colleges and universities for program registrations, curriculum changes, and other actions to ensure academic quality and drive over $4 billion in federal and State student financial aid to hundreds of thousands of students.

Tuition Assistance Program Grants to Students Without a U.S. High School Diploma.  Chapter 57 of the Laws of 2007 required the Board of Regents to identify federally approved Ability-to-Benefit (AtB) tests appropriate for use by higher education institutions to qualify for State student aid applicants who do not have U.S. high school diplomas or their equivalent.  Following SED’s consultation with a working group of academic and financial aid administrators from the four sectors and HESC, the Regents approved an amendment to the Commissioner’s Regulations regarding such use.  In September 2007, the Board identified four of the federally approved AtB tests as appropriate for use by higher education institutions for this purpose: Accuplacer, ASSET, COMPASS, and CELSA.  Use of the other exams, which did not adequately assess students’ ability to benefit from college level work, was eliminated.   

In December 2007, Interboro Institute, an EVCI Career Colleges Holding Corporation institution, closed following the Board of Regents action to strengthen standards for students without high school diplomas seeking to qualify for State student aid.  Interboro recruited significant numbers of students without high school diplomas but who were eligible to receive federal and State student aid by demonstrating “an ability to benefit” from higher education.  Interboro reported that only one-third of its applicants who passed AtB tests in the past could pass the new, more rigorous tests available for use for State student aid.  SED worked closely with Interboro and EVCI to ensure that students enrolled in Interboro at the time of its closure could continue their education and finish their degree programs.

Education Management Corporation decided to close Katharine Gibbs School – New York, effective January 2009, because it concluded that the School’s business model was no longer viable.

Institutional Accreditation.  The Regents renewed the accreditation of all accredited institutions, following self-studies, peer review visits, and advice from the Regents Advisory Council on Institutional Accreditation, and granted initial accreditation to two additional institutions.

In January 2007, after a four-year review of the Regents standards and requirements for institutional accreditation that involved all accredited institutions and other USNY higher education institutions, the Board amended its rules for institutional accreditation to strengthen and clarify some standards and to add new one, as the review recommended.  Following an evaluation by the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity that found the Board of Regents and the Commissioner in full compliance with the U.S. Secretary of Education’s criteria for recognition of accrediting agencies, in the fall of 2007 the Secretary renewed or the maximum term of five years the Board’s recognition as a Nationally Recognized Accrediting Agency for degree-granting institutions in New York voluntarily seeking its institutional accreditation

Next Steps

• The New York State Commission on Higher Education’s Final Report says:

• To rebuild the faculty ranks and enhance research capacity, a minimum of 2,000 additional full-time faculty members from diverse backgrounds should be hired by SUNY and CUNY during the next five years, including 250 eminent research faculty.
• Access to electronic information should be expanded throughout the State by facilitating college and university libraries replacement of individual licenses with state-wide shared licenses.
• New York’s strength as a leader in international education should be increased through efforts by the State’s international trade offices and SUNY and CUNY to attract more international students and expand international research links.  The State should establish an advisory council on international education.  In addition, SUNY and CUNY should expand study abroad opportunities and international internship programs.
• Funding should be provided to community colleges for vocational non-credit training courses, enhanced for targeted high-cost training areas, and the State should also commit resources to the development of new credit-bearing programs.
• A statewide clearinghouse for community service programs should be established to connect students to service opportunities throughout the State.  CareerZone, the job-clearing website of the Department of Labor, could be expanded to include community service postings.   

• SED will consult with USNY’s higher education community about ways to improve significantly both associate degree and baccalaureate graduation rates.

• The new ATB regulation requires colleges to identify and seek the Regents approval of appropriate pass points on their ATB examinations.  In approving a college’s pass point, the following factors will be considered:

• the level of curricula the institution offers;
• the admission criteria and procedures it uses to evaluate an applicant’s capacity to undertake a course of study and its capacity to provide instructional and other support services to ensure that the applicant can complete the course of study;
• evidence that its admission criteria and procedures are effective in admitting only persons with the capacity to undertake a course of study;
• the adequacy of the academic support services it provides; and
• evidence that it evaluates the success of its academic and other support services in providing services that its students need to complete their programs.

SED has worked with representatives from the four sectors of higher education to implement this requirement.  In the fall of 2008 colleges will be required to submit their plans to SED to help ensure that ATB students, who may be educationally at risk, receive State student aid only at institutions and programs that will provide appropriate academic support to help them achieve their educational goals.

1. Articulation.  The Regents ask institutions to describe in their master plans how they will improve articulation between two- and four-year colleges, among public, independent, and proprietary colleges and universities, and between undergraduate and graduate programs and institutions to assist students at every level in their progress towards a degree.

Summary of Findings

• Between 2003 and 2007, the number of students transferring from two-year colleges to four-year institutions remained steady; however, the proportion of two-year college full-time students declined from 13.6 percent to 12.8 percent.

• For New York two-year college associate degree graduates, the trend of increasing difficulty to earn baccalaureate degrees in only two more years, described in the Statewide Plan, continued.  In 2003, 69.8 percent of all transferring associate degree graduates were admitted to the upper division of the receiving institution, down from 75.6 percent in 1999; in 2007, the proportion had dropped to 67.4 percent. 

Indicators of Progress

              The sectors and SED report developments related to the following Indicators of Progress for this priority in the Statewide Plan: 

• Change over time in the ratio of full-time undergraduate transfers to the number of full-time undergraduates enrolled at two-year colleges in the preceding year.

Between 2003 and 2007, the number of students transferring from two-year colleges remained steady; however, the proportion of two-year college full-time students declined from 13.6 percent to 12.8 percent.

Table 8

Source: NYSED, Higher Education Data System, 2008.

State University of New York

SUNY reported the following ratios of full-time undergraduate transfers to the number of full-time undergraduates at two-year colleges in the preceding year:

Table 9

Source: SUNY System Administration, 2008.

The ratio remained stable over the period.

• Change over time in number of students transferring from two- to four-year colleges in New York State.

Table 10, below, shows that, between 2003 and 2007, the number of two-year college students transferring to a four-year college without a degree grew by 5.4 percent while the total number of two-year college transfer students remained almost unchanged, declining by 1.6 percent.

For New York two-year college associate degree graduates, the trend of increasing difficulty to earn baccalaureate degrees in only two more years, described in the Statewide Plan, continued.  In 2003, 69.8 percent of all transferring associate degree graduates were admitted to the upper division of the receiving institution, down from 75.6 percent in 1999; in 2007, the proportion had dropped to 67.4 percent.  The number of students with associate degrees from USNY two-year colleges who entered the upper division at USNY four-year colleges declined by 15.2 percent.  The increasing difficulty affected graduates of SUNY, CUNY, and independent two-year colleges; transfer rates improved for holders of proprietary college associate degrees. 

Table 10

Source: NYSED, Higher Education Data System, 2008.

The City University of New York

CUNY’s initiatives in response to the Regents priority for articulation have progressed considerably.  Its policies encourage transfer by guaranteeing associate degree completers admission to a baccalaureate program and 60 credits toward the baccalaureate degree.  Probably the best evidence of progress in promoting transfer lies in transfer enrollments.  Nearly one-half (49.2 percent) of all recipients of a CUNY A.A. or A.S. degree transfer to a baccalaureate program in CUNY within one year of graduation.  When transfers to institutions outside CUNY are included, the rate approaches 70 percent. 

Articulation Agreements.  Particularly noteworthy is the development of additional articulation agreements among and between community and senior colleges to enhance transfer options.  Examples include:

• Pathways to Business at Baruch: Signed A June 2006 Memorandum of Understanding between Baruch College and CUNY colleges that offer pre-B.B.A. associate degree programs details the “pathways” to major in business in the B.B.A. program at Baruch’s Zicklin School of Business.  The partnership makes explicit Zicklin’s eligibility requirements and pre-B.B.A. equivalencies so that CUNY associate degree students are able to plan effectively what they must do for admission to Baruch and the Zicklin School.

• Educational Partnership Initiative: John Jay College of Criminal Justice is collaborating with all six CUNY community colleges in the design of specific “2+2” degree programs that promote access to John Jay’s baccalaureate degrees.  The first cohorts will be recruited into forensic science programs in 2008-09.  Similar “2+2” arrangements are in place throughout CUNY in many fields (teacher education and engineering among them).  In accordance with CUNY’s Master Plan for 2008-2012, recently submitted to SED, information about these programs will be better collected, analyzed, and published.

Online Transfer Guide.  Over the past several years, CUNY has made great progress in improving its online transfer guide, the Transfer Information and Program Planning System (TIPPS).  TIPPS allows students to determine the amount and type of credit they would receive for courses taken at their current college, should they opt to transfer to any other CUNY college.  In addition to redesigning the site to facilitate the entry of course equivalencies by faculty and administrators, CUNY has targeted the completion of all course equivalencies as a goal that is monitored in the annual PMP report.  In 2006, 76.5 percent of all course equivalencies had been completed; one year later this total had risen to 92 percent.

Independent Colleges and Universities

              The Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities (CICU) reports that independent sector institutions have numerous, individually tailored articulation agreements with community colleges and other two-year institutions and programs to assure a seamless transition from the associate to the baccalaureate level.

Proprietary Colleges

              As Table 10 shows, transfer rates have improved for holders of proprietary college associate degrees.  APC reports that proprietary colleges have greatly increased the number of articulation agreements between proprietary two-year colleges and public and independent four-year colleges, as well as between proprietary four-year colleges and public and independent two-year colleges.  They have held faculty-to-faculty meetings with institutions with which they have agreements.  To better serve transfer students, they have sought to address their unique needs.

State University of New York

              Table 11, below, shows that, between the fall of 2002 and the fall of 2007, the number of students transferring into SUNY four-year campuses grew by 8.5 percent.  A majority came from SUNY campuses offering associate degree programs and SUNY community colleges, followed by other institutions and CUNY.

Table 11

Source: SUNY System Administration, 2008.

• Growth in the number of institutions accepting transfer credit from all institutions accredited by nationally recognized accrediting agencies rather than only from those that are regionally accredited.

State University of New York

              In 2005, SUNY informed SED that it does not have a policy requiring campuses to limit transfer credit only to regionally accredited institutions, as distinct from those accredited by national accrediting agencies recognized by the Secretary of Education.

State Education Department

In January 2007, the Regents added to their standards for voluntary institutional accreditation by the Board of Regents requirements that (1) learning objectives for each course be of a level and rigor that warrant acceptance in transfer by other institutions of higher education and (2) that an institution shall not refuse a student’s request for transfer of credit based solely upon the source of accreditation of the sending institution, where the sending institution is institutionally accredited for Title IV purposes by an accrediting agency recognized by the Secretary of Education for such purposes.  

Other Accomplishments and Actions

              In 2005-06, 95 percent of students in postsecondary programs receiving support from the federal Carl D. Perkins Act continued in advanced study or were employed following completion of career and technical education programs (see Table 7, above).

Next Steps

• The New York State Commission on Higher Education’s Final Report says:

• Presidents of the [SUNY and CUNY] colleges must be held accountable for establishing mechanisms under which faculty, within each discipline and across sectors, strengthen course-to-course and program-to-program articulation with a goal of full system-wide articulation of comparable courses and seamless transfer of AA and AS students into parallel programs by 2011-12.  As an initial milestone, the Commission recommends campuses focus on the major transfer pathways, so that by the start of the 2010-11 academic year, articulation agreements are in place that specify how every comparable lower-division course can be transferred for credit, as prerequisites for more advanced courses in parallel programs and counted toward baccalaureate degree requirements at receiving institutions within the system.  This includes agreement about required courses at the lower division, acceptable minimum standards for all lower-division courses, and levels of student performance, for each baccalaureate degree program.

A SUNY task force of community college and four-year college faculty will execute this recommendation.

• Entry-level advisement for community college students should be strengthened overall, especially with respect to transfer options and requirements, and comprehensive information on credit transfer should be available to students on-line.  An annual audit should be undertaken for three years to determine compliance with transfer policies.

• CUNY will charge an Articulation and Transfer Task Force with auditing compliance with CUNY transfer policies, reviewing transfer policies and practices, and making recommendations to facilitate transfer within CUNY, both laterally from program to program at the same degree level and vertically, from associate degree programs to baccalaureate programs, and vice versa.

• SED will consult with USNY’s higher education community regarding inclusion in the standards for program registration in the Commissioner’s Regulations the provisions regarding transfer added to the Regents accreditation standards (described above) and other steps that would improve the ability of associate degree graduates of New York colleges to enter the upper division of baccalaureate programs.

1. Affordability.  The Regents will continue to collaborate with higher education institutions to advocate with State and federal elected officials for an effective fiscal strategy to ensure access and an affordable higher education for all students.

A fall 2008 report by Fidelity Investments found that, nationwide, parents will meet only 21 percent of the cost of their children’s higher education, down from 24 percent in 2007.  A spring 2008 nationwide survey found that Americans’ most important concern about higher education is “controlling costs”; 42 percent said that it was “extremely important” for the next U.S. President to address.  A majority (51 percent) favored federal action to control public and private college tuitions.  The proportion rose to 55 percent of parents, 60 percent of those in the Northeast, and 65 percent of those with incomes below $35,000. 

Summary of Findings

• New York funds more grant aid per student than any other state and is fourth in the nation in the proportion of low-income students in college.  New York exceeded California’s need-based grant program by 14 percent in 2006-07, when it provided 15 percent of all need based grants – and ten percent of all state student financial aid – in the nation.

• In 2007-08, students with a family income of $10,766 (the median income of the lowest quintile) attending SUNY community colleges while living at home had no net cost of attendance.  TAP and Pell met full costs.  At CUNY community colleges, such students had a net cost of attendance – after TAP and Pell – equal to four percent of family income. 

• Despite this, undergraduate education has become less affordable.  While a maximum TAP award covers tuition at SUNY and CUNY for full-time students, it does not cover fees, which have risen by $1,800 at SUNY.  At four-year independent institutions, the share of tuition and fees paid by a maximum TAP award has fallen from 30.0 percent to 20.7 percent.  The new increase in the maximum Pell Grant will help to meet need; however, New Yorkers whose costs of attendance exceed the combination of TAP, Pell, and expected family contribution, may have to rely on loans to meet need.

• The new program of TAP for part-time students is available only to those beginning as full-time students and changing to part-time.  Students not able to begin on a full-time basis are not eligible. 

Indicators of Progress

              The sectors and SED report developments related to the following Indicators of Progress for this priority in the Statewide Plan:

• For low- and middle-income students, change over time in the average undergraduate tuition and fees net of TAP entitlement, by institutional type.

Table 12

*for New York residents.

Note: For SUNY Four-Year, the statutory colleges at Alfred and Cornell are excluded.

Source: NYSED, Higher Education Data System, 2008.

              Table 13, below, shows the percent change in tuition and fees from 2001-02 to 2007-08, by sector and level of institution, with the change in the Consumer Price Index.

Table 13

Source: New York data -- NYSED, Higher Education Data System, National data -- College Board, “Trends in College Pricing, 2007.” Consumer Price Index -- Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2008.

              Between 2001-02 and 2007-08, tuition and fees for full-time undergraduates at SUNY four-year campuses who are New York State residents grew by 32.0 percent, those at CUNY senior colleges grew by 29.2 percent.  These increases were much smaller than the 64.2 percent increase in public four-year college tuition and fees (weighted by enrollment) over the same period, nationwide, reported by the College Board.  Independent four-year institution tuition and fees for full-time undergraduates grew by 44.8 percent; at four-year proprietary colleges the increase was 26.7 percent.  In comparison, the nationwide increase, weighted by enrollment at private (independent and proprietary) four-year colleges was 36.5 percent, according to the College Board. 

              At two-year colleges, tuition and fees for full-time students at SUNY campuses and community colleges grew by 34.7 percent (a higher rate than at SUNY four-year campuses); those at CUNY community colleges grew by 18.7 percent.  Like their four-year counterparts, these increases were much smaller than the 46.8 percent increase, in public two-year college tuition and fees (weighted by enrollment), nationwide, reported by the College Board.  Independent two-year college tuition and fees for full-time students grew by 29.9 percent.  At two-year proprietary colleges, they grew by 30.6 percent.  Nationwide data for private two-year colleges are not available.    

              Between 2001 and 2007, the Consumer Price Index grew by only 17 percent.

              Public Institutions.  The Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) provides an annual grant equal to tuition up to $5,000 for students in the lowest income categories for up to four years of undergraduate study, reducing as family income rises to a minimum of $500 for students with incomes of $80,000.  At SUNY State-operated campuses and community colleges and at CUNY senior and community colleges, students from the lowest income categories pay no net tuition; TAP covers the entire charge.  However, TAP covers only tuition, not fees.  At SUNY State-operated campuses, full-time undergraduate tuition for New York state residents accounted for 78.6 percent ($4,350) of the $5,536 charge for tuition and fees in 2007-08.  The other 21.4 percent ($1,186) was not covered by TAP (except the $75 University fee).

              In 2007-08, students with family incomes of $10,766 (the median income of the lowest quintile) attending SUNY community colleges while living at home had no net cost of attendance; TAP and Pell met the full cost.  At CUNY community colleges, their net cost – after TAP and Pell – equaled four percent of family income.  Students not living at home did have higher net costs resulting from food and housing costs. 

              Independent and Proprietary Institutions.  In the independent and proprietary sectors, TAP also provides aid equal to tuition up to $5,000.  In 2001-02, at four-year independent institutions a maximum award equaled 30.0 percent of tuition and fees.  By 2007-08, it had fallen to 20.7 percent.  At four-year proprietary colleges, it was 41.7 percent in 2001-02 and 32.9 percent in 2007-08.  At two-year independent colleges, it was 61.5 percent in 2001-02 and 47.3 percent in 2007-08.  At two-year proprietary colleges, it was 51.3 percent in 2001-02 and 39.3 percent in 2007-08.  

              TAP for Part-Time Study.  In 2006, the Legislature replaced the pilot part-time TAP program at CUNY with a permanent, statewide program of TAP for part-time study at independent, SUNY, and CUNY institutions.  Part-time undergraduates who had been full-time, first-time students in the prior year earning 12 semester hours in each of two consecutive terms with C averages may receive pro-rated part-time study awards.

              Academic Competitiveness Grants and SMART Grants.  In addition to Pell Grants, in 2006-07, nearly 25,000 New Yorkers were awarded federal Academic Competitive Grants (about 8.1 percent of all such grants that year) and more than 4,000 received SMART grants (about 6.3 percent of the nationwide total).  These were the third and second highest numbers, respectively, among states.  The grant programs are intended to encourage low-income pupils to take academically rigorous courses in high school and prepare to enter scientific and other high-demand fields.

              Expanded Veterans’ Tuition Program.  Legislation enacted as part of the 2008-09 State budget increased the amount veterans can receive to attend an approved college or vocational school from $1,000 per term to $2,000 per term, or the resident undergraduate tuition charge at SUNY, whichever is less.

Grant Recipients.  Table 14 shows the shares of undergraduates in each sector receiving TAP awards or Pell Grants in 2003-04 and 2005-06.  The proportion receiving TAP in 2005-06 ranged from 31.1 percent at SUNY two-year campuses to 46.9 percent at two-year proprietary colleges.  The proportion receiving Pell Grants ranged from 21.3 percent at SUNY two-year colleges to 77.5 percent at four-year proprietary colleges.

Table 14

*Percent of Full-Time Undergraduates

Source: NYSED, Office of Research and Information Systems, 2008.

              Table 15 shows student grants, loans, and supported work, by sector, for undergraduates and for graduate students, 2003-04 through 2005-06.

Table 15

FTE = Full Time Equivalent and is calculated as:
      Undergraduates: Full Time * 1/3 Part Time
      Graduates and First Professionals: Full Time + .4 * Part Time

The major aid totals include all student aid reported by institutional aid offices and the administering agencies. Federal, state, local, private, and institutional sources are included for both grants and loans (including PLUS loans). Work includes work-study programs, wages, and assistantships.
Source: NYSED, Office of Research and Information Systems, 2008.

The City University of New York

Tuition and Fees.  CUNY continues to offer educational opportunities at a price that is well within the means of most New Yorkers.  Currently, tuition and fees average $2,156 per semester at the senior colleges and $1,546 at the community colleges.  Just under two-thirds (64 percent) of senior college undergraduates are New York State residents attending full-time, making them eligible for both TAP and Pell grants.  The tuition of 43 percent of these students is covered completely by federal and State grants.  At the community colleges, 50 percent of students are full-time and State residents; the tuition of 57 percent of these students is covered completely by federal and State grants.  A much higher percentage of first-time freshmen than of undergraduates in general is eligible for full benefits because the rate of full-time attendance among first-year students is comparatively high: 92 percent of senior college freshmen are full-time and State residents, as are 81 percent at community colleges.

In addition to TAP and Pell, 5,062 CUNY students received Academic Competitiveness Grants in the fall of 2007.  Another 113 received SMART grants.

Independent Colleges and Universities

              CICU reports that 14 percent of all New Yorkers enrolled at independent institutions come from families earning less than $20,000 annually.  Table 14, above, shows that more than 30 percent of the full-time undergraduates at four-year institutions receive TAP awards.  About 25 percent of all undergraduates receive Pell grants.  As Table 13 shows, between 2001-02 and 2007-08, average tuition and fees rose by 44.8 percent at independent four-year institutions, to $24,125 (table 12).  A maximum TAP award met only 20.7 percent of that charge.

              CICU states that independent four-year colleges and universities award $2.2 billion in institutional grants.  In 2004-05, the average annual grant was $7,425.

              At independent two-year colleges, nearly half of all full-time students receive TAP and about half of all undergraduates receive Pell.  Between 2001-02 and 2007-08, average tuition and fees rose by 29.9 percent, to $10,567.  A maximum TAP award met 47.2 percent of that charge.  

Proprietary Colleges

              APC reports that it and its member colleges advocate vigorously with the Governor and the Legislature on behalf of a strong TAP program.  APC also reports that many proprietary colleges maintain lower tuition and fees than institutions in other sectors, with reduced percentage increase from year to year. (See Tables 12 and 13, above.)  They have maintained activity and technology fees level.  Some offer a guarantee to entering full-time students that they will face no tuition increases so long as they maintain full-time enrollment.  Some offer a tuition-free final semester to evening students who maintained full-time enrollment.  Some offer travel abroad scholarships for students with demonstrated financial need.  Some institutions offer credit-bearing summer courses to high school pupils at a reduced tuition charge.  

• Change over time in total grant dollars per student, institutional grant dollars per student, and loan dollars per student, by institutional type.

The City University of New York

A review of trends in student financial aid received by CUNY students suggests a growing reliance on loans.  Between 2001 and 2005, loans to students at CUNY’s two-year colleges rose from seven to 12 percent of total aid packages; at its four-year colleges, loans rose from 18 to 21 percent of total aid.

Proprietary Colleges

Proprietary colleges are reported to have significantly increased institutional scholarships and grants; some offer to meet full need for all graduates of local high schools.  Some have established not-for-profit foundations to raise scholarship funds.

• Comparison of the amount of New York need-based undergraduate grants to the amount of state-funded, need-based undergraduate grants offered by key states and nationwide.
• Comparison of the amount of New York need-based undergraduate grants per full-time equivalent undergraduate to the amount of state-funded, need-based undergraduate grants per full-time equivalent undergraduate offered by key states [combined].   

In 2006-07, states awarded $9.3 billion in aid to undergraduate and graduate students in the form of need-based grants, other grants, and non-grant aid (principally work, waivers, and loans).  Need-based grants constituted $5.5 billion (59.0 percent of the total), other grants were $2.1 billion (22.8 percent), and non-grant aid $1.7 billion (the remaining 18.2 percent). Of the $5.5 billion, $4.4 billion went to undergraduates.

Only seven states, including New York, provided 63 percent of the $4.4 billion in need-based grants to undergraduates.  (The other six were California, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Texas, New Jersey, and Indiana.)  Table 16, below, shows the aid from each of those states and the total for all states and the District of Columbia in 2006-07.  New York provided 19.0 percent of all the need-based undergraduate grants from states in 2006-07, and 10.1 percent of all such student financial aid.  New York’s need-based grants provided twice as much per FTE as did California’s.   

Table 16

Source: National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs, 2008.

Other Accomplishments and Actions

The City University of New York

Improving Information about Financial Aid and Improving the Application Process.  Recognizing the importance of streamlining the financial aid process and of providing students with easily accessible information, CUNY has worked hard.  Achievements include:

• Merging admissions and financial aid recruiting brochures to better meet the needs of prospective students;
• Putting the financial aid supplement questions online so that there is no longer any need for paper;
• Writing the electronic Financial Aid Packaging (eFAP) system to allow students to view their financial aid online;
• Improving the financial aid brochure that is included with financial aid offers to give students the rules and regulations for receiving financial aid;
• Piloting ways for the admissions system to identify potential Academic Competitiveness Grant recipients, increasing the opportunities for students to receive these federal awards; and
• Enhancing electronic fund transfer for student aid disbursement checks, allowing disbursement directly to student checking accounts rather than by cutting checks.

Independent Colleges and Universities

CICU’s annual publication, “Affording College,” explains financial aid to students and families to assist them in applying for public and institutional grants and loans.  CICU also offers Paying for College workshops to help high school pupils and their families understand options.

Proprietary Colleges

To assist students to make optimum use of grants and loans, some proprietary colleges offer financial aid workshops for students and parents focusing on scholarship availability, others offer scholarship, personal finance, and financial literacy workshops throughout the year.  Some offer on-line payment planning software.      

State Education Department

Student Lending, Accountability, Transparency and Enforcement Act (SLATE).  Chapter 41 of the Laws of 2007 enacted the Student Lending, Accountability, Transparency and Enforcement Act (SLATE), effective December 1, 2007.  It establishes a code of conduct for colleges, vocational institutions, and programs recognized and approved by the Board of Regents (referred to as “covered institutions”), employees of such institutions (referred to as “covered institution employees”) and lending institutions, relating to the marketing and issuance of educational loans to students and their parents to pay for or finance higher education expenses.  SLATE is a comprehensive law designed to regulate a $6 billion industry that affects 1.1 million New Yorkers at over 700 separate educational institutions/locations, nationwide, annually.  Its provisions are as follows:

• Prohibits lending institutions from making gifts to covered institutions and their employees in exchange for any advantage or consideration provided to the lending institution related to educational loan activities, including revenue sharing.

• Bans covered institutions and their employees from soliciting, accepting, or receiving gifts from lending institutions for any advantage related to educational loan activities, including revenue sharing.

• Bans covered institution employees from receiving any remuneration for serving as a member of a lending institution’s advisory board.

• Prohibits employees and agents of a lending institution from posing as covered institution employees, including staffing the covered institution’s financial aid offices with employees of the lending institution.

• Bans lending institutions and covered institutions from agreeing to certain quid-pro-quo high-risk loans that would prejudice potential borrowers.

• Requires any covered institution that makes a preferred lender list available to potential borrowers to disclose the process by which it selects lending institutions for its list and requires that the list contain a statement that borrowers have the right to select the education loan of their choice.

• Prohibits covered institutions from linking or directing potential borrowers to any electronic master promissory notes or other loan agreements that do not provide a reasonable and convenient alternative for the borrower to complete a master promissory note with any federally approved lending institution offering the relevant loan in the state.

• Requires lending institutions to disclose to covered institutions, upon request, the historic default rates of the borrowers from the covered institution, the interest rates charged to borrowers, and the number of borrowers obtaining each interest rate.

• Authorizes SED to impose a civil penalty on any covered institution, covered institution employee or lending institution that violates any provision of SLATE. 

• Establishes a student lending education account to receive monies from penalties.

Next Steps

• The New York State Commission on Higher Education’s Final Report says:

• The Tuition Assistance Program award schedule should be modified to provide enhanced benefits for wards of the State, excluding incarcerated persons; independent students; graduate students; and students whose family adjusted gross income falls within the $40,000 to $60,000 range.  In addition, SUNY and CUNY should develop multi-year plans to significantly reduce fees not covered by TAP or other Federal and State aid programs, and work with the State to offset campus financial losses from fee reductions with additional resources.
• The State should establish a low-interest subsidized loan program, to be financed through the issuance of tax-exempt bonds.  All resident undergraduate and graduate students enrolled full-time in a degree program at a college or university in New York State would be eligible to apply for a low-interest loan to supplement other aid.

• The Governor announced that the 2009 Executive Budget will include establishment of the low-interest loan program.

• To support research on student price, beginning in 2008-09, SED will expand the Higher Education Data System’s collection of data on institutional price.

1. Closing Performance Gaps.  The Regents ask institutions to focus in their master plans on student retention and on activities to help close performance gaps based on students’ economic status, ethnicity, race, or gender.

Summary of Findings

• In baccalaureate programs, 82.2 percent of all first-time students in the fall of 2006 returned in the fall of 2007.  By racial/ethnic category, 87.3 percent of Asian first-time students returned as did 83.3 percent of White students (both rates higher than the rate for all students), compared to 76.9 percent of Native American students, 77.7 percent of Hispanic students, and 75.2 percent of Black students.

• Some progress has been made in closing the gap.  Between 2004 and 2007, Black students’ baccalaureate graduation rate improved from 43.6 percent to 46.9 percent; however, it was 16 points below the rate for all students.  The graduation rate of Native American students got slightly worse.  Hispanic students’ graduation rate improved significantly, from 43.4 percent to 48.3 percent. 

• In associate degree programs, 60.3 percent of all first-time students in the fall of 2006 returned in the fall of 2007, a persistence rate 21.9 percentage points below that for baccalaureate students.  By racial/ethnic category, 67.3 percent of Asian first-time students returned as did 63.1 percent of White students (higher rates than for all students), 57.8 percent of Hispanic students, 53.1 percent of Black students, and 49.7 percent of Native American students.

• At the associate degree level, the Black graduation rate was the same in 2007 (15.9 percent) as in 2004 (15.8 percent); however, the gap between it and that of all students narrowed slightly.  For Native American students, the gap got significantly worse, declining from no gap in 2004 to a 7.6 point gap in 2007.   

Indicators of Progress

              The sectors and SED report developments related to the following Indicators of Progress for this priority in the Statewide Plan:

• Persistence rates from the first to second year, statewide, for all undergraduates, by racial/ethnic category, and by regular and opportunity program admission.
• Graduation rates, statewide, for all undergraduates, by racial/ethnic category, and by regular and opportunity program admission
• Length of time to degree, statewide, for all undergraduates, by racial/ethnic category, and by regular and opportunity program admission [combined].

              In relation to these indicators, the P-16 Plan directs SED to:

• Seek additional State and federal investment to expand the highly effective opportunity programs and financial aid for needy students.             

Racial/Ethnic Gaps in Degree Completion.  Tables 17 and 18, below, show six-year baccalaureate and three-year associate degree graduation rates, USNY-wide, by racial/ethnic category.

Table 17

Source: NYSED, Higher Education Data System, 2008.

Among full-time students earning baccalaureate degrees from the institution they first entered six years earlier, Black students earned degrees in 2007 at a slightly higher rate than in 2004; however, it was 16 percentage points below the rate for all full-time students; graduation rates of Native American students became slightly poorer; the gap between them and all students widened from 7.2 points in 2004 to 10.3 points in 2007; graduation rates of Hispanic students became significantly better, with the gap closing from 17.7 points in 2004 to 14.6 in 2007; and In both years, Asian students had higher baccalaureate graduation rates than all students.

Table 18

Source: NYSED, Higher Education Data System, 2008.

For students enrolling in associate degree programs three years earlier:

• Black full-time students earned associate degrees from the institution they first entered three years earlier at the same rate in 2007 as in 2004; the gap narrowed from 8.7 to 7.5 percentage points below the rate for all full-time students.

• In 2004, associate degree graduation rates of Native American students equaled the rate for all students; by 2007, it had fallen 7.6 points below the rate for all students.

• The gap narrowed for Hispanic students (as it did for those earning baccalaureate degrees), from 8.8 points below the associate degree graduation rate for all students in 2004 to 6.9 points below in 2007.

• For Asian students, the gap was all but eliminated, narrowing from 3.4 percentage points below the rate for all students in 2004 to 0.6 percent below in 2007.

Racial/Ethnic Gaps in Retention.  Lower graduation rates of some racial/ethnic groups stem in part from lower first- to second-year retention rates.  Tables 19 and 20 show those rates.

In baccalaureate programs, 82.2 percent of all first-time students in the fall of 2006 returned in the fall of 2007.  By racial/ethnic category, 87.3 percent of Asian first-time students returned as did 83.3 percent of White students (both rates higher than the rate for all students), compared to 76.9 percent of Native American students, 77.7 percent of Hispanic students, and 75.2 percent of Black students.  Changes from the prior year did not show significant improvement.

In associate degree programs, 60.3 percent of all first-time students in the fall of 2006 returned in the fall of 2007, a persistence rate 21.9 percentage points below that for baccalaureate students.  By racial/ethnic category, 67.3 percent of Asian first-time students returned as did 63.1 percent of White students (higher rates than for all students), 57.8 percent of Hispanic students, 53.1 percent of Black students, and 49.7 percent of Native American students.  Changes from the prior year did not show significant improvement.

Table 19

Source: NYSED, Higher Education Data System, 2008.

Table 20

Source: NYSED, Higher Education Data System, 2008.

The City University of New York

Since the Statewide Plan was submitted, CUNY has continued to attract students of color, women, and students with disabilities.  While total freshman admissions grew by 20 percent between 2003 and 2007, Hispanic enrollments in the freshman class rose by 26 percent and Black enrollment by 18 percent.  Similarly, as the size of the freshman class entering associate degree programs expanded by 22 percent, Hispanic enrollment rose by 37 percent, while Blacks posted a growth rate of only 16 percent.  Women now constitute 60 percent of undergraduates, a percentage that has remained fairly constant in recent years. 

Performance Gaps.  CUNY closely monitors the academic performance of its students, including that of members of groups traditionally under-represented in higher education.  As part of the Access to Success Initiative sponsored by the Education Trust and the National Association of System Heads, CUNY has committed itself to reducing by one-half the access and performance gaps between under-represented minorities and other students by 2015.  As a part of this initiative, CUNY has also targeted the deficits between low-income students and their peers.

On some measures, CUNY’s Black and Hispanic students do about as well as other students.  For example, for the 2006 cohort of first-time freshmen entering baccalaureate programs, the difference in one-year retention rates between Black students and White students was just 3.3 percentage points and for Hispanic and White students, just 4.2 percentage points.  Over time these differences widen, however, a matter of great concern to the University.  After six years, the graduation rate for Black students was 13.1 points lower than that for White students in the 2001 freshman class, while for Hispanic students the differential was 14.6 percentage points.

For the class of students beginning CUNY associate degree programs in fall 2006, the gaps in the one-year retention rate were somewhat larger than they were for baccalaureate students, at 8.5 points for Black and White students, and 6.4 percentage points for Hispanic and White students.  The differential in six-year graduation rates is of the same order of magnitude, with a Black-White difference of 7.7 points and a Hispanic-White disparity of 7.0 points.

New Program Implementation.  To address differences in entrance to CUNY and academic performance between members of underrepresented and other groups, CUNY has advanced significantly with implementation of programs that were anticipated four years ago.  The Chancellor’s Initiative on the Black Male in Education (BMI) is now well under way and has established a strong foundation of work.  Projects have been undertaken on all CUNY senior, comprehensive, and community college campuses, focusing primarily on outreach and retention through mentorship, student development, and pipeline programs.  Though targeted toward Black males, projects do not discriminate on the basis of race or gender and serve as models for improving educational outcomes for all students.  All BMI programs and activities are open to all eligible students, faculty and staff, without regard to race, gender, national origin or other characteristic.  Over 3,000 CUNY students and prospective students have been reached through BMI-sponsored diversity recruitment and academic support activities.

During the program’s first two academic years, funds from the New York City Council provided BMI’s sole funding source.  As part of an ongoing effort to obtain external funding, in 2007 BMI secured $35,000 from the Goldman Sachs Foundation to supplement funds for three projects: the College Success Initiative: Learning by Teaching at the College of Staten Island; the Male Educational Ladders Initiative, a targeted GED program at Medgar Evers College; and the College Initiative, a University-wide program based at Lehman College that assists formerly incarcerated individuals in making the transition to higher education.

BMI also secured a large grant from the Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation and the Schott Foundation for Public Education to implement an education awareness and teacher development project, the Teachers as Leaders Project.  The project represents a novel strategy that exposes underrepresented students, particularly Black males, to education and teaching careers within the context of a BMI program that also offers appealing mentorship, academic, and social supports.  The Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation signed a Memorandum of Understanding with The Schott Foundation for Public Education providing for funding up to $365,000 per year for 2007-08 and 2008-09 to support this Project.  In addition to serving as the fiscal manager for this grant, The Schott Foundation provides support for two external researchers to evaluate the project and conduct related research.

University Summer Immersion Programs.  CUNY has fulfilled its promises to continue the University Summer Immersion Programs to build students’ college preparation in reading, writing, and math; continued summer programs (including ESL, orientation sessions, and math and science bridge courses) to address particular student needs; continued the SEEK and CD programs to provide academic and counseling support; and offered academic support (including advising and tutorial programs).  Learning communities, which have shown notable promise at Kingsborough Community College, are also being introduced elsewhere in CUNY.  In addition, the University has improved the quality of information available about the assessment tests that are used to place students into developmental course work and determine their readiness to exit from it and take credit-bearing courses.  A number of colleges are now offering test preparation workshops to assist students taking the tests for the first time.

International Student Services.  Efforts continue to centralize and develop CUNY’s international student services.  A centralized, Web-based guide for international students has been developed.  Professional development opportunities for campus-based international student advisors have increased awareness of new federal regulations and of trends in cross-cultural communication.  A Request for Proposals has been developed to promote good practices, including retention/mentoring initiatives for international students on the CUNY campuses.  Finally, the Central Office of Student Affairs established an ongoing relationship with the Department of State in which it serves as the official sponsor for the CUNY J-1 Student Exchange Consortium Program.  The Consortium allows all CUNY institutions, notably the community colleges, to benefit equally from international student exchange programs.

Veterans Services.  Serving veterans also remains an important priority at CUNY.  The University has implemented Project PROVE (Project for Return and Opportunity in Veterans Education) to support and mentor students who are veterans.  Responses to a Request for Proposals have identified and developed good practices in facilitating outreach to veterans; promoted program enhancement for student veteran retention; and worked to strengthen the academic success of student veterans.  Nine campus RFP projects were awarded in the summer of 2008 in the project’s third year. 

Independent Colleges and Universities

              CICU reports that 41 percent of Hispanic students, statewide, are enrolled in independent four-year colleges and universities.  In 2005-06, independent institutions awarded 57 percent of all baccalaureate and graduate degrees conferred on Hispanic students.

              Recognizing that the availability of Hispanic faculty can stimulate Hispanic students to enroll in college, CICU reports that, between 2001 and 2005, independent four-year colleges and universities added 158 full-time faculty members who were Hispanic (from 743 to 901), for a 21.3 percent increase.

Proprietary Colleges

              APC reports that some proprietary colleges are basing admission decisions on ability-to-succeed criteria.  Some are providing strong guidance on choice of program, making increased use of placement exams, tracking attendance to spot problems, requiring weekly meetings with students struggling academically, mandating use of learning centers, requiring students to take more time in remedial classes, added staff for tutoring and support services, and assigning tutors to students in remedial classes.  Some have developed first-year experience programs, initiated success skill seminars and required study skills courses, required increased writing in order to improve written communication skills, and fostering both faculty and peer support.

State University of New York

              SUNY reports the following graduation rates for students enrolled through the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP):

Table 21

Source; SUNY System Administration, 2008.

EOP students’ graduation rates were stable over the period.

State Education Department

An SED report highlighting programs and pathways that smooth the transition and broaden access to college summarizes institutional practices associated with improved persistence and learning.  SED uses its findings in working with institutions with substantial numbers of high-risk students or that are addressing issues relating to student persistence or attainment.

              Opportunity Programs.  Annually, the Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP) enrolls approximately 4,500 students at 50 USNY higher education institutions.  In 2005-06, 73 percent of CSTEP seniors graduated and 48 percent of students enrolled attained a 3.0 or better GPA.  Thirty percent of graduating seniors enrolled in graduate or professional studies; another 31 percent were employed in targeted professional fields.

              The Arthur O. Eve Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) has a success rate unparalleled in higher education nationwide.  To participate, students must be inadmissible according to the independent college’s or university’s regular admission criteria and meet the economic criteria common to HEOP, EOP at SUNY, and SEEK and College Discovery at CUNY.  For the most recent student cohort, 58 percent of HEOP entering freshmen at the 59 participating institutions graduated, exceeding the national rate of 51.8 percent for four-year institutions; 75 percent of those graduates went on to graduate or professional education or were employed on graduation. 

• Length of time to degree, statewide, for all undergraduates, by racial/ethnic category and by regular or opportunity program admission.

              There has been some progress in closing the gap.  Table 22 shows time to baccalaureate degree, 2003 through 2007, by racial/ethnic category of degree recipient.  Between 2003 and 2007, the six-year graduation rate for all baccalaureate degree recipients improved by 2.4 percentage points, from 60.5 percent to 62.9 percent.  In 2007, 75.2 percent of those earning a degree in six years did so in only four years.  Black baccalaureate degree recipients’ graduation rate increased at twice the rate for all students (4.8 percentage points), from 42.1 percent to 46.9 percent.  In 2007, 61.4 percent of those earning a degree in six years did so in four years.  Hispanic recipients’ rate also improved more than did the rate of all students, by 5.3 percentage points, from 43.1 percent to 48.3 percent.  In 2007, 61.9 percent of those earning a degree in six years did so in four.  The graduation rate of Native American students was almost unchanged, improving by only 1.7 percentage points, from 50.9 percent to 52.6 percent.  In 2007, 66.3 percent of those earning a degree in six years did so in four.  The six-year graduation rate of Asian recipients improved by 3.6 percentage points (1.5 times the rate for all recipients), from 64.2 percent in 2003 to 67.8 percent in 2007.  In 2007, 71.8 percent of those earning a degree in six years did so in four years.

Table 22

Source: NYSED, Higher Education Data System, 2008.

              Other Accomplishments and Actions

Next Steps

• The New York State Commission on Higher Education’s Final Report says:

• Given their importance and long-standing track record of success, increased financial support should be provided for the opportunity programs for economically and academically disadvantaged citizens, including: College Discovery (CD) and Search for Education, Elevation and Knowledge (SEEK) at CUNY; Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) at SUNY; and the independent sector’s Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP).

• The Regents seek funding to expand the HEOP and CSTEP programs to assist greater numbers of disadvantaged students to finish college.

• The Statewide Plan identified the following steps to improve retention and graduation and urged all institutions enrolling undergraduates to implement them:

• Adopting retention and improvement plans (if they have not already done so) with concrete goals to be met and resources to be allocated and assess their activities to achieve those goals.

• Continuing to increase educational quality and to demand that students -- especially first-year students -- meet high standards.

• Giving students clear information and advisement on the institution’s expectations of performance in terms of its standards, especially for first-generation higher education students and students from at-risk backgrounds or with marginal prior preparation.

• Working with feeder schools to help them meet the Regents goal that graduating high school seniors are prepared for college and to assure that middle school and high school pupils have the information they and their families need concerning academic demands, costs of attendance, and sources of financial aid. 

• Providing academic, financial, social, and personal support - including faculty, staff, and peer advising; counseling and mentoring; and other resources - when students need such support in order to help them stay in college.

• Increasing opportunities for student interactions with students, faculty, and staff to minimize isolation, particularly in classes and other student-learning activities, especially for first-generation college students and those from groups underrepresented in higher education, from at-risk backgrounds, or with marginal prior preparation.

• Focusing on students newly admitted to the institution to assure that they are well oriented to its expectations and services, are able to access academic, social, and personal support, and interact with their fellow students and with faculty and staff.  

• Adopting policies that recognize transfer credit on the basis of course equivalency to maximize retention of credit transfer students.

• Using institutional financial aid to encourage full-time attendance rather than part-time attendance, and to reduce the need to hold off-campus jobs demanding more than 20 hours of work per week.

SED will continue to encourage institutions to adopt these strategies.  Self-study instructions for reregistration peer reviews and for peer reviews related to requests to move to a new level of study now ask the institution to analyze its use of these steps and directions to peer review teams ask that their reports assess their use. 

1. Students with Disabilities.  The Regents as institutions to focus in their master plans on access and success for their students who have disabilities.  The Regents will work with the higher education community to assure that institutions have adequate financial support to maintain and initiate appropriate programs and services for these students.

Summary of Findings

• Between 2003 and 2007, the number of students with self-reported disabilities grew by 8.2 percent, at a time when total enrollment grew by only 3.6 percent.

• Six-year baccalaureate graduation rates for students with self-reported disabilities improved by 2.8 percentage points between 2004 and 2007 and were only 1.0 point lower than the rate for all students in 2007.

Indicators of Progress

              The sectors and SED report developments related to the following Indicators of Progress for this priority in the Statewide Plan:

• Change over time in enrollment, statewide and by sector, of students self-reporting disabilities.

In relation to this indicator, the P-16 Plan directs SED to:

• Increase the number of students with disabilities transitioning directly from high schools to vocational rehabilitation training programs, employment and/or college.

Table 23 shows that, between 2003-04 and 2007-08, the number of students with self-reported disabilities enrolling USNY-wide continued to increase.  It grew by 8.2 percent between fall 2003 and fall 2006, from 38,230 to 41,383.  Table 1, above, shows that total enrollment grew by only 3.6 percent over the same period.  Consequently, in 2003, students with self-reported disabilities constituted 3.4 percent of all students; by 2006, they were 3.6 percent of all students.

 Table 23

Source: NYSED, Higher Education Data System, 2008.

The City University of New York

In 2003, CUNY colleges had 4,481 students with self-reported disabilities and 4,544 in 2006 (a 1.4 percent increase).  They were 2.1 percent of all CUNY students in 2003 and 2.0 percent in 2006.  CUNY reported 4,561 such students in the fall of 2007.

Independent Colleges and Universities

Independent institutions enrolled 14,121 students with self-reported disabilities in 2003 and 14,871 in 2006, for a 5.3 percent increase.  They were 3.2 percent of all independent sector students in 2003 and in 2006. 

Proprietary Colleges

Proprietary colleges had 866 students with self-reported disabilities in 2003 and only 752 in 2006, for a decrease of 13.2 percent.  They were 1.9 percent of all proprietary sector students in 2003 and 1.6 percent in 2006. 

State University of New York

In all four years, SUNY campuses and community colleges enrolled the most students with self-identified disabilities, followed by independent institutions, CUNY colleges, and proprietary colleges.  SUNY had 18,762 such students in 2003 and 20,921 in 2006, for an 11.5 percent increase (about one and one-half times the USNY-wide percentage increase).  They were 4.6 percent of all SUNY students in 2003 and 5.0 percent in 2006. 

• Students with self-reported disabilities transferring from two-year to four-year institutions, statewide.

State University of New York

              SUNY reports the following numbers of students with disabilities transferring from two-year institutions to SUNY four-year campuses:

Table 24

Source: SUNY System Administration, 2008.

Over the period, the number of students with disabilities transferring to SUNY four-year campuses from two-year institutions grew by 168.9 percent.

• Graduation rates of students with self-reported disabilities, statewide and by sector.

Table 25 compares associate degree and baccalaureate graduation rates of first-time students with disabilities with all first-time students’ rates.  The proportion of full-time students with self-reported disabilities earning baccalaureate degrees over six years from the institution they entered initially grew from 59.1 percent in 2004 to 59.9 percent in 2005, to 64.2 percent in 2006, which was higher than the proportion of all full-time, first-time students, then declines to 61.9 percent in 2007.

Table 25

Source: NYSED, Higher Education Data System, 2008.

Six-year baccalaureate graduation rates of full-time students with self-reported disabilities improved in each sector as well.  At SUNY campuses, the proportion increased from 52.1 percent in 2004 to 53.0 percent in 2006.  At CUNY, it nearly doubled, growing from 28.2 percent in 2004 to 55.1 percent in 2006.  At independent institutions, the six-year baccalaureate graduation rate increased from 64.1 percent in 2004 to 67.2 percent in 2006.  In the proprietary sector, it increased from 50.0 percent in 2004 to 72.1 percent in 2006, the highest of any sector.

USNY-wide, the proportion of full-time students with self-reported disabilities earning associate degrees in three years from the institution they initially entered declined from 23.8 percent in 2004 to 19.8 in 2005 to 18.7 percent in 2006.

SUNY campuses and community colleges and independent institutions both saw declining graduation rates.  At SUNY, the proportion of students with self-reported disabilities earning associate degrees in three years declined from 24.4 percent in 2004 to 20.0 percent in 2006.  At independent institutions, the proportion was 26.4 percent in 2004 and only 4.3 percent in 2006.

CUNY colleges and proprietary colleges both saw increases.  At CUNY the proportion increased from 12.2 percent in 2004 to 13.1 percent in 2006.  In the proprietary sector, it grew from 26.7 percent in 2004 to 36.8 percent in 2006.  

Proprietary Colleges

              APC reports that early and continuous intervention is important.  Some proprietary colleges have increased the use of such technological aids as specialized software for the visually hearing, Kurzweil scanners, specialized keyboards, sound devices, and posture support systems.  Some augment counseling staffs with personnel with training and experience in working with students with disabilities, including full-time coordinators of services to students with disabilities.  Some have introduced on-line programs to meet the needs of students with physical disabilities. 

• Success of a Regents priority legislative proposal to provide funds to colleges to improve services for students with disabilities.

State Education Department

During this period, the Legislature did not enact the Regents proposal to provide funds to colleges to improve services for students with disabilities.

Other Accomplishments and Actions

The City University of New York

In keeping with its plans and projections, CUNY has achieved remarkable progress in its efforts to serve students with disabilities.

• In order to establish a disability Web site on its Portal, CUNY first undertook a comprehensive effort to ensure, to the greatest extent possible, that the Portal itself was accessible to students with disabilities.  It has contracted with Kognito, Inc., to develop an accessible, interactive Web site to provide information and training to all members of the CUNY community on disability issues; the site should be launched by the spring of 2009.  “Reasonable Accommodations,” a resource guide for faculty and staff, has been placed on the CUNY Portal..

• The CUNY Office of Student Affairs has established the Learning Disabilities Project at City College, which supplies technical assistance to all CUNY disability services professionals and faculty in their efforts to provide reasonable accommodation and support to students with learning disabilities. This project also offers students low-cost referrals to community providers for psychoeducational assessments.

• Each April, CUNY Disability Awareness Month features significant faculty and staff development programs centered on disability issues.  Activities have included a three-day training program for faculty and staff on the Americans with Disabilities Act, and CUNY’s hosting of the Society of Disability Studies annual conference, a gathering of the world’s foremost disability studies scholars.

• Pre-production work on a marketing video for use by disability coordinators and admissions officers is complete.  CUNY is beginning discussions with PBS about producing this video as a public service announcement and running it in regular rotation via PBS affiliates.

• CUNY has developed a strategic plan to create more meaningful access to college for high school pupils with disabilities.  Conceived in order to meet the burgeoning demand for higher education opportunities for these pupils and to ensure that they are prepared for the demanding transition to college life, CUNY proposes creating “College Access Now,” a comprehensive, holistic program.

• Over the last four years, more than 2,000 CUNY students with disabilities have received accessible transportation services to participate in co-curricular opportunities through the New York Community Trust Transportation Grant.

• CUNY has established an Office of Deaf & Hard-of-Hearing Services to assist campuses in lowering costs and improving quality of services to deaf and hard-of-hearing students.  It has recently hired its first full-time interpreter and expects to dramatically lessen CUNY’s reliance on agency-provided services by 2009.

• Accessibility solutions have been devised to make the CUNY COMPASS and CPE exams accessible to most students with disabilities.  CUNY has established a University-wide committee to consider waivers and substitutions for students for whom these exams prove inaccessible.

• Through a USDE grant, a PeopleTech project has been created to effect a working infrastructure that integrates faculty, students with disabilities, and assistive technology and related teaching strategies.

• Students with disabilities are represented on roughly half of campus Technology Fee committees.  The Central Administration will not approve any campus Tech Fee plan that does not explicitly address the access needs of students with disabilities.

Next Steps

• SED will continue implementing activities in the Statewide Plan and the P-16 Plan, including increasing “the number of students with disabilities transitioning directly from high schools to vocational training programs, employment and/or college.”

• Smooth Student Transition from PreK-12 to Higher Education

1. Preparation for College.  The Regents will strive to eliminate gaps in student performance (PreK-12) based on economic status, race, ethnicity, or gender.

The P-16 Plan identifies as one of USNY’s Aims that “Everyone will graduate from high school ready for work, higher education, and citizenship.”  Most 12th grade pupils plan to go on to some form of postsecondary education (degree or nondegree).  In 2003-04, an estimated 82.6 percent planned to do so, including 66.4 percent inside and 16.2 percent outside the State.  For the 2004-05 class, 82.9 percent planned to go on to postsecondary education, including 66.0 percent in the State and 16.9 percent outside the State.  (A change in the way the New York City Department of Education computes estimated proportions means that 2005-06 data are not comparable.)

Education Week’s “Quality Counts 2008” identifies New York as one of only three states that require all pupils to finish a college-preparatory curriculum in order to graduate from high school.  (The other two are Rhode Island and Texas.)

Summary of Findings

• To assure that every high school graduate is prepared for higher education, work, and citizenship, the Board of Regents is reviewing and updating the State Learning Standards.  The reviews are being undertaken in collaboration with representatives from higher education institutions, including those with teacher preparation programs, to strengthen the alignment between expectations and knowledge and skills needed for both high school graduation and college-level work.

• The first annual Excelsior Scholars Program was launched in 2007-08 to provide an opportunity for high performing 7th grade pupils to participate in advanced mathematics and science coursework at local colleges.  In the summer of 2008, 642 7th grade pupils engaged in rigorous, hands-on, real world math and science applications at 13 colleges and universities.

• The public high school graduation rate, statewide, improved from 65.8 percent in 2005 to 68.6 percent in 2007.  At the end of August 2007, the rate increased to 71.1 percent.  For pupils taking up to five years, the completion rates were 71.8 percent in 2005 and 73.3 percent in 2006.

• In 2007, more than 23 percent of the high school graduating class in New York earned scores of three or higher on Advanced Placement exams -- the nation’s highest percentage – compared to about 15 percent for the nation as a whole.

• In 2007, over 60,000 pupils USNY-wide benefited from coordinated high school – college connections through programs including Liberty Partnerships, Learn and Serve America, and the Science and Technology Entry Program.

Indicators of Progress

              The sectors and SED report developments related to the following Indicators of Progress for this priority in the Statewide Plan:

• Change over time in the number of pupils passing Regents exams with 65 or greater.

Table 26

Source: NYSED, Office of P-16 Education, 2008.

              Table 26 shows that the number of pupils scoring 65 or higher on the English Language Arts exam improved by 22.1 percent between 2003 and 2007.  The number doing so on the Global History and Geography exam grew by 3.4 percent.  On the U.S. History and Government exam, the number scoring 65 or higher improved by 9.3 percent.  On the Living Environment exam, the number grew by 12.6 percent.  On the Mathematics A exam, the number scoring 65 or higher improved by 49.6 percent.

• Change over time in the number, statewide, of recent New York high school graduates taking remedial college courses.

              Remediation and Retention.  Tables 27 and 28 show the percentage of full-time, first-time students in baccalaureate programs and associate degree programs in 2004 and 2005 taking three or more, two, one, or no remedial courses in their first year and the number in each category returning for a second year of study.  In both years, about five percent of the full-time, first-time students in baccalaureate programs took one or more remedial course.  Nearly half of the full-time first-time students in two-year colleges’ associate degree programs took at least one remedial course, as did some 30 percent of those in four-year institutions’ associate degree programs.

              Troubling as these proportions may be, they are lower than those found in other states.  A 2008 report in Inside Higher Education stated that, nationwide, more than 60 percent of community college students who enroll immediately after high school take at least one remedial course and that 56 percent of entering freshmen in the California State University system are in remediation. 

              In New York, at both two-year and four-year institutions, most students taking remedial work do so in mathematics or in writing.  At four-year institutions, there has been a downward trend since 1998 in the number taking remediation in any subject.  At two-year colleges, the proportion of full-time, first-time students taking remedial mathematics or remedial writing in growing; the proportion taking remedial courses in any other subject (including ESL) is declining.  The growth in remediation in math and writing has been so great that it more than offset the declines in other subjects.

Table 27

Source: NYSED, Higher Education Data System, 2008.

              In baccalaureate programs, retention of full-time, first-time students to the second year of study decreases as the number of remedial courses taken increases.  Of full-time, first-time baccalaureate students in the fall of 2006 taking no remedial courses, 82.9 percent returned in the fall of 2007; for those taking one remedial course, the retention rate dropped to 70.3 percent.  It dropped to 68.2 percent for those taking two remedial courses and to 66.0 percent for the small proportion taking three or more.

Table 28

Source: NYSED, Higher Education Data System, 2008.

              Table 28 shows the same retention pattern for full-time, first-time students in associate degree programs, where 62.2 percent of those entering in the fall of 2006 who took no remedial courses returned in the fall of 2007.  The rate dropped to 59.2 percent for those taking one remedial course and to 55.2 percent for those taking two.  Only 53.1 percent of full-time, first-time associate degree program students who took three or more remedial courses in the fall of 2006 returned for the fall of 2007. 

• Change over time in associate and baccalaureate degree graduation rates by high school grade point average and by SAT/ACT score.

              Table 29 shows that success in earning an associate degree between 2004 and 2007 is strongly related to high school grade point average.  Of the full-time students entering an institution with grade point averages of 90 or higher, by 2007 47.1 percent had earned associate degrees within three years (compared to 23.4 percent of all full-time, first-time students).  Only 8.2 percent of those with averages below 70 did so.

Table 29

Source: NYSED, Higher Education Data System, 2008.

              Table 30 shows that success in earning a baccalaureate degree between 2004 and 2007 is strongly related to SAT and ACT scores.  Of the full-time students entering an institution with SATs of 1200 or higher (or ACTs of 26.6 or higher), by 2007, 77.8 percent had earned baccalaureate degrees within six years (compared with 62.9 percent of all full-time, first-time students).  Only 43.4 percent of those with SATs below 800 (or ACTs below 16.5) did so. 

Table 30

Source: NYSED, Higher Education Data System, 2008.

• Illustrative examples of institutional efforts to improve public school student achievement and evidence of the efforts’ success.

The City University of New York

Partnerships with the New York City Department of Education have been strengthened to enhance pupil participation in, and preparation for, higher education.  Today, CUNY has one of the most comprehensive programs of K-12 collaborations of any university in the country.  Fifteen CUNY-affiliated high schools operate on its campuses, and ten early college secondary schools have been developed through a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.  CUNY’s flagship collaborative program, College Now, which helps pupils meet high school graduation requirements and prepare for success in college, is now reaching over 30,000 pupils in almost 300 public high schools.  Research indicates that College Now participants tend to do better academically than their counterparts once they enter college.

Over the past year, College Now has worked closely with New Visions for Public Schools on an array of efforts to better understand college preparedness and to increase the likelihood that graduates from New Visions-managed New Century High Schools who matriculate at CUNY are successful when they do so.  This partnership is ongoing.  Further, the Manhattan Hunter Science High School, which graduated its first class a year ago, has achieved remarkable results by virtually all objective measures and is nationally recognized as a model for small science high schools.

Over the past five years, the academic preparation of first-time freshmen entering CUNY has improved and, on some measures, improved considerably.  For example between 2003 and 2007, the mean high school grade point average of freshmen enrolling in baccalaureate programs rose from 83.1 to 84.5, the mean score on the Regents English Language Arts exam increased from 81.4 to 83.0, and the mean score on the Math A Regents improved dramatically from 71.9 to 81.9.   The academic profile of freshmen matriculating in CUNY’s associate degree programs arced upward, with gains in high school GPA from 74.0 to 74.8, English Regents from 68 to 71.5 and Math A Regents from 57.6 to 71.0.  Over this period the size of the entering classes grew, increasing access to higher education to the people of New York.

Independent Colleges and Universities

              Individual independent institutions offered a broad variety of enrichment opportunities for high school pupils.  A small sample of opportunities provided in 2008 includes the following:

• Albany College of Pharmacy offered high school juniors six-week summer opportunities to work with faculty members conducting research in the pharmaceutical sciences.

• Alfred University offered a variety of short institutes for high school pupils in a variety of areas, including astronomy, computer engineering, creative writing, entrepreneurial leadership, and theatre.

• Barnard College offered a four-week Summer in NYC liberal arts program for rising juniors and seniors combining pre-college classes and opportunities to explore New York City.

• Clarkson University’s Horizons program offered girls in grades 7 and 8 two one-week sessions designed to encourage exploration of science, mathematics, and engineering through hands-on projects and personal enrichment activities.

• The College of New Rochelle’s America Reads program provided tutors in schools throughout the academic year to work with pupils beginning in first grade.

• Cornell University’s Camp $tart-Up was a one-week interactive business and leadership experience for girls ages 14 to 19.

• Hamilton College offered Leaders for Life – High School Leadership Camps to pupils in grades 7 through 12 to enhance their leadership skills through work in small and large groups.

• Hartwick College offered its 60th annual two-week Summer Music Festival and Institute to outstanding musicians aged 13 through 18.

• LeMoyne College’s Scholars Institute promotes the sciences and scientific careers throughout the academic year for pupils in grade 12.

• New York Institute of Technology’s HORIZON program provided a summer program for the personal development of pupils aged 3 through14.

• New York University provided a variety of opportunities, including College Preview, through which grade 11 and 12 pupils in partner schools audit regular NYU courses, Looking for Shakespeare, in which an ensemble of pupils aged 13 through 18 create and perform an original adaptation of one of Shakespeare’s plays, and the High School Law Institute, in which pupils in grades 10 and 11 take courses in law and participate in mock trials.

• Syracuse University offered The Syracuse Challenge to Syracuse City School District pupils in grades 9 though 12 opportunities to achieve academic goals they contracted in grade 8 to reach and guaranteed successful pupils admission to Syracuse University’s College of Arts and Sciences and individualized financial aid packages. 

Independent institutions also have established partnerships with school districts to improve performance.  A few examples include:

• Daemen College has partnered with the City of Buffalo to improve math and science achievement in four city schools.

• Elmira College and the Elmira City School District offer an America Reads program in selected high-need schools.

• Manhattan College engages in on-going outreach with elementary and secondary schools in the Bronx providing tutorial services.

• Manhattanville College has a mentoring program with Port Chester Middle School through which 7th and 8th grade pupils meet monthly with Manhattanville undergraduates for lunch and discussion.

• Nazareth College’s Partners for Learning program with the Rochester City School District provides Nazareth students as tutors and classroom assistants at six schools.

State Education Department

In relation to this indicator, the P-16 Plan directs SED to:

• Set a State graduation rate standard, publish four- and five-year graduation rates by school and specify a schedule of improvement targets for schools to close the gap between their graduation rate and State standard.  Set targets now for the students who entered 8th grade in 2004 and will graduate in 2008.  This action is especially important to assure that more schools intervene to help the most underserved students, such as Black males, English Language Learners, and students with disabilities.

• Research and benchmark other states for effective, innovative strategies that improve high school graduation and attendance rates.  Include strategies that begin in middle school and focus on the transition from middle to high school.  Emphasize a meaningful curriculum that includes the arts, music, physical education and career and technical programs.  Provide effective strategies to schools to enable them to achieve the State targets through regional networks.

• Align the Regents and Big Five districts’ strategies for improving high school graduation.

• Benchmark the knowledge and strategies that link high school and college experiences in highly effective programs such as the Liberty Partnership Program and the Science and Technology Entry Program, advocate for additional resources to reach more students, and promote good practices USNY-wide to improve high school and college graduation rates among low income students.

• Adopt a schedule and process to raise the student learning standards, using expert panels.  The schedule will address standards in science, U.S. and global history and geography, English and other languages, career development and occupational studies, and pre-kindergarten.  Benchmark the standards of other states and nations to match the demands of citizenship, higher education, and work.

• Revise State assessments based on the higher standards.

Regents Pre-K-12 Learning Standards. With approximately 48 percent of first-time students in two-year colleges, and 13 percent of first-time students in four-year colleges, taking one or more remedial course, it is critically important that there be alignment between the expectations for high school graduation and college readiness across all the State Learning Standards.  To assure that they are aligned with the Regents goal that every New York high school graduate will be prepared for work, higher education, and citizenship, the Board has begun a comprehensive review of the Learning Standards, most of which have not been updated for ten years.  The review began with the English Language Arts standards and will continue through the core subjects.  The reviews are being undertaken in collaboration with representatives from higher education institutions, including those with teacher education programs, teachers, administrators, and other interested parties.  The intent is to put in place a system that will review Standards for a subject at least every five years.   

              Pupil Achievement.  USNY-wide, improved pupil achievement is becoming evident (e.g., see Table 26, above).  Table 31 shows that the four-year high school graduation rate of the 2003 entering cohort was more than two percentage points higher than that of previous cohorts (68.6 percent graduated in June 2007, compared to 65.8 and 67.2 percent for the 2001 and 2002 cohorts).  By August 2007, the rate had increased to 71.1 percent.  (Another six percent of the 2001 and 2002 cohorts graduated after a fifth year.)

Table 31

Source: NYSED, Office of P-16 Education, 2008.

              The graduation rates of Black and Hispanic pupils also improved.  Between 2005 and 2007, the four-year graduation rate of Black 9th grade pupils improved by 5.5 percentage points, from 45.3 percent to 50.8 percent, while that of Hispanic 9th grade pupils improved by 5.2 percentage points, from 42.2 to 47.4 percent.  An additional ten percent of each group graduated after a fifth year.

The period 2006 to 2008 saw significant improvements in grades 3-8, USNY-wide.  Mathematics achievement increased, especially in grades 5-8.  Across grades 3-8, almost 73 percent of pupils met the mathematics standards in 2007 as did nearly 81 percent in 2008.  English Language Arts achievement also increased, especially in the middle grades.  Across grades 3-8, more than 63 percent of pupils met the English language arts standards in 2007; for 2008, the proportion increased to 68.5 percent.

              New York had the nation’s highest percentage of 2007 high school graduates earning a score of three or better on Advanced Placement exams, according to the College Board.  In New York, more than 23 percent of the class of 2007 earned such scores; for the nation as a whole, the proportion was about 15 percent.

              On the other hand, New York has a limited ability to affect the preparation of students entering college in the State.

• In the fall of 2006, one out of five first-time students came from outside New York State.  Of the 80 percent who were New York residents, an unknown share received their elementary and secondary educations outside the State.

• While 88 percent of the New York residents matriculating at four-year institutions in the fall of 2006 were recent high school graduates, that was true only for 62.1 percent of the residents matriculating at two-year colleges. 

Notwithstanding this limitation, the Statewide Plan recommended to colleges and universities steps to take to improve retention and graduation (see Priority A4, above).         

              Programs to Assist At-Risk Pupils.  In 2006-07, 89 percent of graduating pupils who participated in the Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP) earned Regents diplomas and 85 percent entered college.  That year, 51 postsecondary institutions across New York State with STEP and/or CSTEP conducted “Day of Service” outreach to 51,294 secondary school pupils, encouraging minority pupils to prepare for careers that require the study of math and science.  This included current CSTEP students visiting classrooms and speaking to secondary school pupils about opportunities in math, science, engineering and other technical fields.

              STEP celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2006-07.  Celebration activities included regional symposia to engage pupils and partners in promoting careers in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields, statewide conferences, and recognition ceremonies.

Through the Liberty Partnership Program (LPP) 55 colleges and universities across the State collaborated with schools and other local stakeholders to deliver comprehensive pre-college drop-out prevention programs to at-risk pupils.  Figure 1, below, shows that the LPP drop-out rate declined from two percent in 2004-05 to only 0.8 percent in 2006-07; the pupil/school persistence rate exceeded 98 percent in each of the three years; the 12th grade graduation rate exceeded 80 percent; and the college-going rate exceeded 70 percent.  A majority of college-going pupils planned to enter college in New York.

Figure 1

Source: NYSED, Office of K-16 Initiatives and Access Programs, 2008.

Other Collaborations in Support of Pupil Achievement.  All SUNY and CUNY community colleges belong to Tech-Prep consortia with local school districts to provide seamless articulation of occupational study including at least the last two years of high school and the first two of college.

Most of the seven Local Education Agencies that were designated as “Districts in Corrective Action” are participating with the College Board and Syracuse University to expand their AP placement efforts, including pupil participation in a campus-based six-week summer program where participating students will receive college credits.

              In 2006-07, SED identified a record number of schools and districts as high performing or rapidly improving: 1,658 public schools, 14 charter schools, and 288 districts; a further 220 schools and 26 districts were rapidly improving.  The percent of eligible schools recognized as high performing increased from 33 percent in 2005-06 to 48 percent.  The high performing share of eligible districts grew from 18 to 42 percent.

In May 2007, representatives of selected high performing schools and districts were invited to participate in a forum on “Learning from Leaders.”  Information about the recognition of high performing schools and districts was posted to SED’s Web site. Recognition was also given to Schools removed from Registration Review, Outstanding Early Childhood Programs, Title Distinguished Schools, Title I National Board Certified Teachers, Special Parent Advocacy Organizations, and Special Reading and Mathematics and Early Childhood Honorees.

Next Steps

• As work on the Learning Standards progresses, SED will convene representatives of the four higher education sectors to review draft standards and performance indicators and assess their alignment with readiness for freshman courses.

• The Regents are continuing to seek funding to expand the STEP and Liberty Partnership programs in order to assist greater numbers of at-risk pupils to graduate from high school and enter college.

• As directed by the P-16 Plan, SED will analyze and publish retention and graduation statistics.  It also will research and benchmark practices in other states found to improve persistence and completion and encourage higher education institutions to adopt those that are consistent with their missions.

1. Information and Assistance in Preparing for College.  Beginning with pupils in the middle school grades, the Regents encourage collaborative efforts among the Department, colleges, and school districts to publicize the variety of services and information available to help K-12 pupils and their families access and prepare for success in future college study and to assure that information is clear and understandable by potential students and their families.

A 2008 USDE report, “Parent Expectations and Planning for College,” reinforces the importance of this priority.  It reports the results of a 2003 survey of expectations of parents of middle school and high school pupils for their children’s higher education.  Nationwide, nearly two-thirds of the responding parents expected their children to earn at least a baccalaureate degree.  However, there was a significant difference of opinion about the adequacy of the information about college that parents received from their children’s schools.  Parents of older pupils were more likely to regard as good the advice they were receiving than were parents of younger (i.e., middle-school) pupils.   

With respect to information about cost of attendance, while 81 percent of parents with annual household incomes of more than $75,000 had enough information, the proportion dropped to 68 percent for those with incomes between $50,000 and $75,000, to 57 percent for those with incomes between $25,000 and $50,000.  Only 49 percent of parents with family incomes of $25,000 or less said they had enough information about the cost of college for their children.  These results confirm the need to improve the provision of information to families at lower income levels and to families at all income levels beginning in the middle school grades.

Summary of Findings

• Some 70,000 high school pupils annually take college credit courses while still in high school.

• The Board of Regents has proposed a Smart Scholars program that would transform the traditional four year high school to college model by giving historically underrepresented pupils an opportunity to graduate from high school with as many as 30 hours of college credit, putting them on a fast track to college readiness and completion without remediation.

Indicators of Progress

              The sectors and SED report developments related to the following Indicators of Progress for this priority in the Statewide Plan:

• Change over time in the grade in which information about higher education is first provided to elementary, middle, and high school pupils and their families.

In relation to this indicator, the P-16 Plan directs SED to:

• Require colleges and universities to provide prospective students with accurate information on the institution, job placement where appropriate, student financial assistance, and transfer opportunities before they enroll.

• Systematize linkages between the professions community and school districts to encourage middle and high school students to consider careers in the licensed professions, particularly in high-need areas, and help them to prepare for the advanced education they will need to qualify for licensure.

Advertising, Student Recruitment, and Admission Standards and Procedures.  The Commissioner’s Regulations require higher education institutions to provide specified types of information to students and potential students.  Standards for their advertising, however, exist now only as a non-regulatory code of conduct.  Recent years have seen an increase in questionable advertising and aggressive recruitment practices.  SED is considering amending the Regulations to set required standards for advertising and assure that advertising, student recruitment, and admission standards and procedures are linked strongly to an institution’s academic programs. 

• Change over time in parent involvement in schools.

In relation to this indicator, the P-16 Plan directs SED to:

• Create a Family Partnerships policy and action plan that will improve the involvement of parents in their children’s schools.  Provide parents with the information and skills they require to support and advocate on behalf of their children.  Build capacity in schools to increase parental involvement in activities to improve student achievement.

Parent Involvement in Schools.  In 2006-07, more than 300 persons attended SED’s seven public forums across the State to solicit comment on proposed revisions to the Parent and Family Partnerships policy.  More than 250 parents, teachers, and community members completed an SED-developed online survey in English and Spanish.

• SED received comments from teachers, administrators, and school boards.  There is strong support for the policy and its principles.

• In February 2007, the Regents directed SED to strengthen communication, increase regulatory enforcement, evaluate program and policy effectiveness, and allocate or reallocate resources needed for implementation.

• In May 2007, SED developed an action plan to implement seven policy priorities identified in the 2005 and 2006 public sessions.  It emphasized recurring recommendations from the public: improve communication, establish a clear complaint process for parents, enforce existing rules and regulations, and make partnerships more accessible for parents and families. 

Other Accomplishments and Actions

College Courses for High School Pupils.  In the fall of 2007, the Community College Research Center at Teachers College, Columbia University, reported the results of a study of high school pupils in Florida and in New York City taking courses for both college and secondary credit.  It found that they were (1) more likely than their peers to earn a high school diploma, (2) significantly more likely to go to college, (3) more likely to go to a four-year college, and (4) more likely to enroll full-time. In college, they were more likely to persist and earned significantly higher grade-point averages.

USNY has many opportunities for high school pupils to take college courses and well over 70,000 of them are taking advantage of those opportunities:

• CUNY’s College Now program annually gives tens of thousands of qualified high school pupils opportunities to take college credit courses while still in high school.  All 17 undergraduate CUNY colleges offer College Now programs at almost 300 of the City’s 425 public high schools, serving over 30,000 students per year.

• USNY-wide, more than 31,000 public high school pupils enrolled in SUNY college courses in the fall of 2005.  Individual campuses have many programs in a variety of academic fields targeted directly at such pupils.

• At least 56 independent colleges and universities offer courses to high school pupils for college credit, including Adelphi University, Bard College, Cornell University, Daemen College, Mount Saint Mary College, Paul Smith’s College, Polytechnic University, Roberts Wesleyan College, St. Lawrence University, and Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology.

• Early College/Middle College programs integrate high school instruction with programs leading to an associate degree.  Various models are offered by CUNY colleges, Bard College, Syracuse University, and other higher education institutions.

New York University’s decision that to cease accepting college credit earned by high school pupils, effective for the fall 2009 entering class, is a setback for this service.

The City University of New York

CUNY has recently adopted a revised statement on college preparatory coursework, incorporating an explicit recommendation for four years each of English, history or social studies, and mathematics; three years of science; three to four years of foreign language; and one or two years of performing or visual arts.  Pupils are encouraged to take the PSAT or PLAN in their sophomore year, and to prepare for either the SAT or ACT before completing high school.  These recommendations appear prominently on CUNY’s admissions Website.

Within the last year, leaders of CUNY and the New York City Department of Education have committed themselves to working together to implement a comprehensive approach to ensuring college preparedness for graduates of the City’s schools and to enact a more consistent and comprehensive sharing of data regarding the performance of graduates at different CUNY colleges and within different programs.  The two agencies are close to agreement on a protocol for exchanging data that will allow the tracking of pupils from grades 9 to 12 in high school into CUNY.  The agreement will make possible analyses of college readiness and curriculum alignment.

In addition, the strategic plan proposing “College Access Now” (see Priority A5, above) would identify potential CUNY students with disabilities as high school freshmen and sophomores.  It would engage them in a rigorous, pre-college curriculum designed to raise their readiness and expectations for participation in college; facilitate their transitions to college; improve their retention and graduation rates; facilitate their employment placement or acceptance to graduate and professional school; and improve CUNY colleges’ capacity to ensure their access and promote their success.

Independent Colleges and Universities.

              CICU publishes an annual “Your College Search” guide to give pupils and their families profiles of independent institutions and other information, and advice on choosing a college.  Its monthly “College Connections” newsletters provide high school guidance counselors with information and sources of advice on visiting, comparing, and choosing colleges, as well as additional sources of information for college searches.

In 2007 and 2008, CICU partnered with school districts on three “College Quest” tours for 79 middle school and high school pupils who visited multiple independent college campuses, giving them opportunities to visit classes, meet students and faculty members, and learn about admission and financial aid processes.  Through GEAR-UP, it also arranged tours of 15 institutions in 2007-08 and six in the fall of 2008.

Through its GEAR-UP grant, CICU conducts professional development workshops for GEAR-UP staff, district teachers, tutors, school counselors, and administrators across the State.  Subjects have included: “Successful Support Networks to Ensure Academic Achievement,” “”Transitioning to College Life: Issues, Resources and Special Programs,” “Admissions: Processes, Decisions, Visits,” and “Academic Preparation and Career Awareness.”

Individual independent institutions also have taken steps to give pupils and their families information needed for college choice.  A few examples include:

• Alfred University’s “How to Get into a Top Art School” course for high school juniors and seniors prepares art students for the college admission process.

• Manhattan College gives 11th and 12th grade pupils an introduction to engineering and SAT preparation.

• New York University’s High School Law Institute offers New York City 10th and 11th grade public school pupils courses on aspects of the law and participation in mock trials.

• St. John Fisher College’s Summer Institute is designed to assist motivated pupils in grades 9 through 12 in the college selection and application process, including interviewing techniques, developing personal statements and admission essays, and financial aid.

• Union College’s Camp College gives traditionally underserved pupils in grades 9 through 11 advice and guidance in beginning the college selection and admission process and a simulation of the college experience.

Next Steps

• The Regents seek creation of a Smart Scholars program to transform the traditional four-year high school to college model. This $100 million initiative:

• Give at least 12,000 disadvantaged pupils the support to graduate from high school on time with as much as 30 college credits, and then complete college in three years.
• Encourage at risk pupils by providing advice to middle and high school pupils and by providing college courses in high school.
• Build on the success of CUNY, SUNY, and many independent colleges to offer college courses in high school, inspiring high school pupils to go to college. 
• Reduce the cost of college for students and families by reducing from eight years to seven the time between entering high school and graduating from college.

The Legislature did not fund this initiative in 2008.

• The New York State Commission on Higher Education’s Final Report says:

• New York State should create “Education Partnership Zones” in which institutions of higher education and schools collaborate on a full range of educational development including early learning and pre-kindergarten, elementary and adolescent literacy, math and science studies, restructuring of schools, and building teacher capacity.  Students’ access to higher education would be supported through the “Million Dollar Promise,” under which EPZ students are guaranteed the opportunity to attend, tuition-free, with State payment for unmet needs, a community college or a four-year CUNY or SUNY college if they met certain standards and graduate from high school.  Participating independent colleges and universities would support graduates from EPZ schools with special financial assistance, as needed.  In addition, an award of $1,000 would be available from state funds to support exceptionally qualified EPZ students who choose to attend institutions of higher education in the State.
• High school students whose basic academic skills are insufficient must be offered a new opportunity to become college-ready while still enrolled in high school, at no cost to them.  After high school assessments, those students in need of remediation should be offered appropriate supplementary coursework developed by teams of high school and college faculty.  Students who opt not to take remediation courses while in high school could enroll in total immersion programs during the summer prior to college enrollment.  The costs of supplementary course instruction would be funded through a College Readiness Act.  

• The Regents are seeking funding for the development of Regional Educational Alliances of schools, higher education, institutions, libraries, museums, health systems, community organizations, and other organizations to ensure that children enter school ready to learn and are supported through high school and completion of postsecondary education.  This is similar in concept to the Higher Education Commission’s Education Partnership Zones proposal (above).

• The Regents seek $6.5 million per year to support community collaborations with schools in ways that encourage parents to be involved in their children’s education. 

• The Regents also seek $1 million per year for a Planting the Seed program to inspire pupils, especially in high need schools, to pursue careers as teachers and other licensed professionals.  The program would provide information, coordinate grass roots efforts, and link pupils with practitioners from diverse backgrounds of professions from accountancy through veterinary medicine.

• SED will continue working with its USNY partners to create more effective strategies for school/parent partnerships.

C. Meeting New York’s Needs through Graduate Programs and through Research

1. Strong Graduate Programs to Meet the State’s Needs.  The Regents will advocate that our colleges and universities, and the State and federal governments, strengthen graduate study and State and federal support for graduate students.  Institutions are asked to identify the emerging areas of scholarship for which they will need faculty, their needs for new faculty to replace those departing or retiring, and the extent of their need for faculty reflecting the diversity of New York’s student body. 

USNY-wide, enrollment of graduate students grew by 4.3 percent between 2004 and 2007, from 192,426 in the fail of 2004 to 200,652 in the fall of 2007.  In the fall of 2007 they were enrolled in nearly 13,000 graduate degree and certificate programs.

Summary of Findings

• Between 2003 and 2007, the number of faculty, USNY-wide, grew by 11,987 (12.1 percent).  Nearly all growth (95.1 percent) was at four-year and graduate institutions; the growth at two year colleges accounted for only 4.9 percent.

• The State Labor Department projects a 24 percent growth between 2004 and 2014 in employment of all faculty at all institutions, with an average of about 6,200 openings per year, about half from replacement and half from growth.

• The number of master’s degrees earned remained was almost the same in 2006-07 as in 2003-04.  The number of doctorates earned grew by 17.7 percent, from 3,952 in 2003-04 to 4,650 in 2006-07.  In both years, independent institutions awarded the largest number of both master’s and doctoral degrees, followed by SUNY, CUNY, and proprietary colleges (only a few of which offer graduate study).   

Indicators of Progress

              The sectors and SED report developments related to the following Indicators of Progress for this priority in the Statewide Plan:

• Change over time in the number of full-time and part-time faculty, statewide.

In 2007, USNY institutions of higher education employed 111,399 faculty.  Between 2003 and 2007, the number of faculty, USNY-wide, grew by 11,987 (12.1 percent).  Independent institutions had 61.9 percent of the growth, followed by SUNY campuses (17.0 percent), CUNY colleges (15.6 percent), and proprietary colleges (5.6 percent).  Nearly all the growth (95.1 percent) was at four-year and graduate institutions; the increase at two year colleges accounted for only 4.9 percent.

As Table 1 shows, between 2003 and 2007, total enrollment grew by 5.1 percent.  The ratio of students to faculty, USNY-wide, was reduced from 11.2:1 to 10.5:1.

The Commissioner’s Regulations require that, “To foster and maintain continuity and stability in academic programs and policies, there shall be in the institution a sufficient number of faculty members who serve full-time at the institution.”  The 2004 Statewide Plan pointed out that the proportion of faculty who served full-time declined from 52.1 percent in 1995-96 to less than half by 2003.  In that year, 49.9 percent of all faculty served full-time.  Since then, the proportion of faculty that is full-time has declined slightly, to 49.2 percent in 2007.  Patterns differed between four-year and graduate institutions and two-year colleges.  

Four-Year and Graduate Institutions.  Table 32 shows that, four-year and graduate institutions, USNY-wide, increased the number of both full-time and part-time faculty.  However, the number of part-time faculty grew by 17.5 percent while the number of full-time faculty grew by only 11.4 percent.  Consequently, the proportion of all faculty at four-year and graduate institutions that was full-time was virtually unchanged in 2007 (53.2 percent) from 2003 (53.8 percent).

Table 32

Source: NYSED, Higher Education Data System, 2008.

Similar patterns were seen in all sectors.  Four-year proprietary colleges had a 34.3 percent increase in full-time faculty and a 51.2 percent increase in part-time faculty.  Independent four-year and graduate institutions had a 12.8 percent increase in full-time faculty and a 15.5 percent increase in part-time faculty.  CUNY senior colleges had a 9.6 percent increase in full-time faculty and a 25.3 percent increase in part-time faculty.  SUNY four-year and graduate campuses had a 6.7 percent increase in full-time faculty and a 12.2 percent increase in part-time faculty. 

Two-Year Colleges.  Table 33 shows that two-year colleges also increased the number of both full-time and part-time faculty.  However, the number of part-time faculty grew by only 2.4 percent, while the number of full-time faculty grew by nearly double that rate (4.3 percent). The proportion of all two-year college faculty who were full-time was almost unchanged, growing only from 33.8 percent to 34.2 percent.

Table 33

Source: NYSED, Higher Education Data System, 2008.

By sector, independent two-year colleges had a 22.0 percent increase in full-time faculty and a 15.6 percent decrease in part-time faculty.  CUNY community colleges had a 15.1 percent increase in full-time faculty and a 1.8 percent decrease in part-time faculty.  SUNY two-year campuses and community colleges had a 1.7 percent increase in full-time faculty and a 6.4 percent increase in part-time faculty.  At proprietary two-year colleges, the number of both full-time and part-time faculty decreased, the former by 13.0 percent and the latter by 8.0 percent.  

The City University of New York

A World-Class, Diverse Full-time Faculty.  CUNY is continuing toward its goal of assuring that full-time faculty offer 70 percent of courses.  This work has required a vigorous hiring effort and major resource investment.  CUNY reports that, since 1999, the number of full-time faculty has increased by almost 1,000.  Cluster hiring has added new faculty lines across CUNY in selected disciplinary areas, including photonics, digital media, U.S. history, teacher education, biosciences, urban environment, demography, art history, visual art, and foreign language.  Since 2004, 166 hires have been made in these areas, including 59 in STEM disciplines (35.5 percent of the total), 54 in teacher education (32.5 percent), and nine in U.S. history (5.4 percent).

CUNY has committed itself to recruiting and maintaining a diverse faculty by establishing an Office of the University Dean for Recruitment and Diversity charged with implementing an Inclusive Excellence initiative.  Another example of its commitment to a diverse faculty is the Latino Faculty Recruitment Initiative, launched in 2006 by the Chancellor.  The Initiative’s mission is outreach to the Latino community in higher education in order to attract a significantly larger pool of applicants for existing faculty openings.  Within a brief period, it has made great strides in attracting high performing Latino faculty to CUNY.  In the process, it has identified a number of good practices in the areas of faculty recruitment, faculty retention, and pipeline strategies.

• Final reports of Regents accreditation and Department site visits. 

              Since adopting the Plan, the Board of Regents has acted on institutional accreditation for 11 institutions, of which six (54.5 percent) offer only graduate study and one offers both undergraduate and graduate study.  The term of accreditation ranged from two years to ten (which is the maximum term), averaging 5.6 years. 

• An independent graduate school’s mission is “to train the next generation of leaders in the field of translational research” in the medical sciences, which takes findings of the research lab to the clinic and findings of the clinic to the lab.  The team found that the school effectively engages its students in cutting-edge research and provides an impressive environment for the training of translational scientists.  Ease of student interaction with faculty members is a strength.

• A specialized graduate school in figurative art publishes a high quality catalog of the diploma projects of all its recent graduates.  It annually brings to the campus, esteemed professionals in figurative art from Europe and elsewhere to review and provide written commentary on M.F.A. student project.  Faculty have intensive and continuous mentoring relationships with each student.

• Labor market trends and institutional projections of needs for new faculty.

              The U.S. Department of Labor projects a 23 percent increase in employment of faculty (full- and part-time, tenure-track and non-tenure-track) at postsecondary institutions of all types between 2006 and 2016, an increase “much faster than the average for all occupations.”  The Occupational Outlook Handbook states that a significant number of openings will be created, nationwide, by enrollment growth and the need to replace large numbers of faculty who are likely to retire.  Many faculty members “were hired in the late 1960s and the 1970s to teach members of the baby boom generation, and they are expected to retire in growing numbers in the years ahead.“  “As a result,” across all types of postsecondary institutions, Ph.D. recipients seeking jobs as faculty “will experience favorable job prospects over the next decade.”

              The New York State Labor Department projects a 24 percent growth between 2004 and 2014 in employment of all faculty at all institutions, with an average of about 6,200 openings per year, about half from replacement and half from growth. 

• Change over time in faculty distribution by gender and racial/ethnic characteristics, statewide.

State University of New York

              The shares of SUNY faculty who are members of minority groups or are female have remained stable over the period.  Tables 34 and 35 show the proportions of SUNY faculty that are members of minority groups or female, as reported by SUNY.

Table 34

Source: SUNY System Administration, 2008.

Table 35

Source: SUNY System Administration, 2008.

Independent Colleges and Universities

              CICU reports that the racial/ethnic composition of faculty at independent colleges and universities has changed from 91 percent White and nine percent Asian, Black, and Hispanic in 1987 to 85 percent White and 15 percent Asian, Black, and Hispanic in 2001, to 83 percent White and 17 percent Asian, Black, and Hispanic in 2007.  As noted above, CICU reported that independent four-year colleges and universities increased the number of full-time faculty who are Hispanic be 21 percent between 2001 and 2007. 

• Change over time in the number of master’s and doctoral degrees conferred, by level, discipline, gender, and ethnicity.

              Table 36 shows the number of master’s and doctoral degrees awarded, 2003-04 through 2006-07, by sector.

Table 36

Source: NYSED, Higher Education Data System, 2008.

              USNY-wide, the number of master’s degrees earned remained was almost the same in 2006-07 as in 2003-04.  However, the number of doctorates earned grew by 17.7 percent, from 3,952 in 2003-04 to 4,650 in 2006-07.  In both years, independent institutions awarded the largest number of both master’s and doctoral degrees, followed by SUNY, CUNY, and proprietary colleges (only a few of which offer graduate study).

The City University of New York

Over the past five years, CUNY has experienced growth in graduate enrollment, particularly at the doctoral level.  While master’s degree enrollment has grown by 3.2 percent since 2003, doctoral enrollment rose by 14.5 percent, to 4,252 students.  Over the same period, the number of graduate degrees conferred grew by 17.3 percent.

• Change over time in aggregate financial support for graduate and first-professional degree students, statewide.

The City University of New York

CUNY recently completed an operational review of its Ph.D. programs in some of the laboratory-based sciences and is now recruiting students nationally in biology, biochemistry, chemistry, and physics under the restructured programs, with support packages that include paid tuition, health insurance, and stipends of $24,000 per year.  A new doctoral science Web page coordinates and directs prospective students to information on each program, as well as information about CUNY’s science consortium.  The restructuring of the science doctoral programs is also leading to new investments in graduate student support so that CUNY may attract the best qualified students.

In other disciplines, doctoral student support has improved significantly, enabling competition for the best candidates for advanced studies.  Packages now provide five years of in-state tuition and stipends of $18,000 per year, leading to new records in Graduate Center applications, yield, and total enrollment.

Other Accomplishments and Actions

In 2005, the Legislature established the Senator Patricia K. McGee Nursing Faculty Scholarship Program to increase the number of regular and adjunct clinical nursing faculty in the State.  It makes competitive grants to RNs who are New York residents enrolled in a master’s degree program in nursing in the State that will qualify them as nursing faculty or adjunct clinical faculty.  Recipients may receive up to three years of aid, which may not exceed the tuition and average non-tuition cost for New York residents in a SUNY master’s degree program, up to $20,000 per year.  The number of awards is determined by annual appropriations; however, the annual cost of the program is capped at $600,000.  Recipients who do not teach after graduation for at least four years as nursing faculty members or adjunct clinical faculty members at a New York institution must repay the aid plus interest.  The program sunsets in 2010.

The City University of New York

CUNY has responded to specific academic and training needs by establishing entire schools as well as new programs.  The new Graduate School of Journalism, for example, the Northeast’s only public graduate school of journalism, is enabling students of high academic attainment and limited financial means to further their education in the media capital of the world.  It graduated its first class in December 2007.

CUNY looks forward to opening a new CUNY School of Public Health, to be sited at Hunter College.  Currently building the components required for full accreditation by 2011 from the Council on Education for Public Health, the planned school will fulfill a variety of workforce development, teaching, research, and urgent public health needs.

System wide emphasis on strong graduate and professional programs is also manifested by the achievements of the CUNY School of Law.  Its graduates achieved a first-time pass rate of 82.8 percent on the July 2007 New York State Bar Exam, the highest pass rate in the School’s history and a dramatic improvement from the 50 percent rate in 2002 (and higher than the statewide average of 79.1 percent for first-time bar exam test-takers).  The School also recently received membership in the Association of American Law Schools, joining 160 other law schools that have attained membership standing through a rigorous review process.

Science doctoral education at CUNY has been restructured.  Approved by the Board of Trustees and by the Regents and the Governor in 2008, the new structure will allow City College and Hunter College to grant Ph.D.s in biochemistry, biology, chemistry, and physics jointly with the Graduate Center.  City College will also grant the Ph.D. in five engineering disciplines.  This restructuring is expected to strengthen CUNY’s offerings in laboratory sciences and to enable flagship campuses to showcase their doctoral programs for federal grants and for general philanthropy.

CUNY’s individual colleges also recognize the need for professional credentials beyond the undergraduate degree.  To that end, a number are expanding their professional degree offerings and enrollments.  CUNY and its colleges also understand that changes in licensure laws will drive new programs in the health sciences.  For example, in response to a new licensure requirement for mental health counselors in New York State, CUNY is developing master’s degree programs in Mental Health Counseling.  Developments in other fields — for instance, a need for graduates who combine a solid background in natural sciences with other specialized skills — has stimulated creation of such programs as the M.S. program in Biological Laboratory Management.  CUNY also is pursuing the possibility of offering some professional graduate programs online.  The School of Professional Studies, for example, expects to launch five to seven master’s degree programs by 2012; at least one will be fully online.

State Education Department

In October 2006, the Regents authorized the American Museum of Natural History to award Ph.D. degrees, making it the first museum in the nation to offer its own doctoral program.  SED is reviewing the American Museum of Natural History for institutional accreditation by the Board of Regents. 

Next Steps

• The New York State Commission on Higher Education’s Final Report says:

• A minimum of 4,000 SUNY and CUNY doctoral students should be recruited over the next five years, and offered salaries that are competitive with levels at similar institutions.  SUNY and CUNY should set a new standard for inclusion and equity by adopting special recruitment strategies aimed at rectifying the low percentage of doctoral students and faculty from historically underrepresented populations.  To achieve greater equity in the doctoral student population and to strengthen the pool of future faculty, additional funding should be allocated for the purpose of recruiting and retaining doctoral students from underrepresented groups.

• SED will continue to monitory the number of full-time faculty at individual higher education institutions in terms of the requirements of the Commissioner’s Regulations that, “To foster and maintain continuity and stability in academic programs and policies, there shall be in the institution a sufficient number of faculty members who serve full-time at the institution.” 

1. Creation of New Knowledge through Research.  The Regents encourage institutional initiatives, consistent with their educational missions, and ask institutions to describe in their master plans their research priorities and their recommendations to New York State relating to the discovery and dissemination of new knowledge, including knowledge to inform and support the development of policies to help meet the State’s economic and social needs.

Summary of Findings

• New York academic institutions spend $3.8 billion on research and development, more than those in any other state except California.  Between 2002 and 2006, their R&D expenditures’ growth rate was 4.4 percentage points higher than California’s.  However, Florida and Ohio institutions had higher growth rates. 

Indicators of Progress

              The sectors and SED report developments related to the following Indicators of Progress for this priority in the Statewide Plan:

• Comparison of research expenditures at New York doctoral degree institutions with those in key other states and their change over time.
• Increases in aggregate and per capita college and university research and development expenditures in New York compared to competing states, as reported by the National Science Foundation [combined].

Table 37 compares 2002 and 2006 research and development expenditures at New York higher education institutions with those in the six states used by the New York State Commission on Higher Education for comparison purposes plus the four additional states whose institutions also generate significant R&D expenditures that were included in the Statewide Plan’s analysis.  Table 38 shows the change in academic R&D expenditures per capita for the same states and the nation. 

In both years, New York institutions spent more on R&D than those in any other state except California.  New York institutions increased R&D expenditures by 37.3 percent between 2002 and 2006.  California institutions’ expenditures grew by only 32.9 percent.  Institutions in Texas (the state with the third highest total in the nation) increased their research and development spending by only 29.0 percent.  Consequently, New York’s share of the nation’s academic R&D expenditures increased from 7.6 to 7.9 percent, California’s increased from 13.4 to only 13.6 percent, and Texas’ declined from 7.0 to 6.8 percent.  However, institutions in Florida and Ohio increased R&D expenditures at a much greater rate than did New York’s, 40.7 percent and 46.6 percent, respectively. 

Table 37

Note: Expenditures are from all sources (federal, state, and local governments; industry; institutional funds; and other sources).

Source: National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources, Survey of Research and Development Expenditures at Universities and Colleges, fiscal year 2006.

Table 38

Note: Expenditures are from all sources (federal, state, and local governments; industry; institutional funds; and other sources).

Source: National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources, Survey of Research and Development Expenditures at Universities and Colleges, fiscal year 2006.  U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, 2008.

• Increases in university-related licensing income, licenses generating income, U.S. patents issued, U.S. patent applications filed, and start-up companies formed in New York compared to competing states, or comparable indicators from surveys published by the Association of University Technology Managers.

State University of New York

              SUNY reported the following information related to patents, licenses, and start-up companies:

Table 39