College in New Group of SUNY Institutions that Embrace “Guided Pathways”

May 14, 2019

Hudson Valley Community College is one of seven community colleges that will join a state-wide effort to increase college completion and ultimately help students create a faster pathway to a career.

Started by the State University of New York in 2018, the SUNY Guided Pathways initiative is now being implemented at a total of 17 SUNY campuses. The goal of the program is to help students discover a career path early in their education and set clearer and more structured pathways to help students achieve their ultimate career goal.

Guided Pathways strategies include: the creation of “program maps” that clearly show students a pathway to their ultimate career goal; the creation of stronger partnerships with both K-12 institutions and four-year transfer partners; and the strengthening of academic advisement so students stay on track to complete their goals.

Research shows that students who discover and begin working toward a career path early in their academic career are ultimately more successful at completing their goals.

According to the American Association of Community Colleges, the Guided Pathway model “starts with student end goals for careers and further education in mind and ‘backward maps’ programs and supports to ensure that students are prepared to thrive in employment and education at the next level.”

As recently announced in SUNY’s press release “Chancellor Johnson Announces Seven Community Colleges Added to SUNY’s Guided Pathways to Increase Graduation Rates and Connect Them to In-Demand Jobs”, the seven new colleges joining the SUNY effort in 2019 are: Dutchess Community College, Erie Community College, Finger Lakes Community College, Hudson Valley Community College, Jefferson Community College, Schenectady County Community College, and SUNY Ulster.

SUNY’s Guided Pathways model is closely based on findings of the Community College Research Center and the work of the national Pathways Project led by the American Association of Community Colleges.