Hudson Valley Community College outlines five priorities for the future

Andrew Matonak, Hudson Valley Community College president, is talking with area school districts about offering courses to K-12 students at the $35 million science center the college opened last year.

Potential new partnerships will not only allow districts to offer students science electives, but also will create a new way for the two-year college to make itself more attractive to K-12 students. The effort comes as Hudson Valley works to overcome an enrollment decline. Student enrollment has dropped from about 14,000 in 2010 to about 12,000 students in fall 2014.

Students at LaSalle Institute, an all boy's Catholic, military school located next door to the Troy, New York college already walk to campus for physics classes. Hudson Valley also offers college in the high school programs and is involved in two of the early college high school programs in the area that allow high school students to earn a high school diploma and an associate degree in six years at no cost to the student.

Matonak sees potential to reach beyond the traditional college-going demographic of 18 to 24 year olds, a shrinking pool in New York state. Matonak is taking steps to offer courses to high school students or older students who are returning to college.

"We are all looking to maintain our market share of those [18 to 24 year old] students," Matonak says of the higher education industry. "But we need to look outside those students."

Enrollment is one of five issues Hudson Valley has identified as major focus for the near future.

The board of trustees approved a strategic plan Tuesday that maps out initiatives that will define the community college's response to the fast-changing higher education landscape. Among the school's priorities are academic innovation and student success, college-wide assessment, enrollment and retention, fiscal stability and resource development and technology resources.

Megan reports breaking news and covers education.