There is more to the article "Graduation a matter of degrees," Aug. 13, when it comes to Empire State College.
The article discussed graduation rates for the State University of New York system based on a single measure: The success of students enrolling in college in the fall for the first time and undertaking full-time studies. These are 18-year-old high school graduates moving into their freshman year of college.
This particular student profile fits fewer than 2 percent of the Empire State College's 20,000 students. Rather, most of our students are working adults; many are raising families and meeting civic commitments in the communities where they live, while studying part-time.
Of this group of students, the average four-year graduation rate is 37 percent, the five-year rate is 41 percent, and the six-year rate is 43 percent.
The college's mission is to provide affordable access to higher education for nontraditional students. In doing so, we enroll learners five times a year, not just in the fall. They can study in person at 35 locations around the state and also online, and nearly 90 percent complete their degrees with us, not elsewhere.
Since the college's founding in 1971, nearly 70,000 students, for whom the traditional path to degree attainment may not have been available or desired, have earned a high-quality associate's, bachelor's or master's SUNY degree, through Empire State College. They are successful business, government, education and community leaders and can be found living and working across the state and beyond.
Merodie A. Hancock
President
State University of New York Empire State College
Saratoga Springs