SUNY Community Colleges to Celebrate Completion Day

Albany – The State University of New York and City University of New York community colleges will celebrate NYS Completion Day tomorrow, Wednesday, Oct. 3, sending a message to all prospective students that completing an associate degree ensures greater opportunities for scholarship and transfer throughout their college career and generates more job prospects following graduation.

New York State Completion Day was established in proclamation by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo.

 “New York is home to some of the strongest, most competitive public community colleges in the nation, and we want to ensure that all students who attend our colleges have the tools they need to complete their degree,” said SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher. “Completion Day serves as a reminder to all New Yorkers that a top-quality higher education is within reach.”

Chancellor Zimpher and others throughout New York will also be a part of the statewide webstream event hosted by Finger Lakes Community College. The 1 p.m. event will feature Author Isa Adney, who will offer advice for making the most of community college. A recording will be available at www.FLCCconnects.com after 3 p.m. and use Twitter hashtag #nycompletionday.

The 37 SUNY and CUNY community colleges will hold Completion Day events, workshops, guest lectures, and counseling sessions to help students understand the importance of graduating and help them plan to achieve their long-term college and career goals. SUNY events include:

• SUNY Adirondack will participate in the statewide video and Twittercast, as well as local activities; a Completion Mind Games competition will be held; and resource tables will be set up. The college will also have a large pledge banner for students to sign and encourage faculty and staff to wear apparel from their alma maters.
• Broome Community College President Kevin Drumm will host a president’s table on campus where students can sign a pledge board and get their photos taken in graduation regalia. Additional events will be held throughout the day, including a Skype with dual degree students in Mexico.
• Cayuga Community College will host a panel featuring recent alumni who will share the struggles they faced in completing their degrees and how their decision to complete has affected their lives.
• Clinton Community College members of Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society for two-year colleges, will ask students to sign a pledge to complete their academic programs.
• “We're Here to Support Your Success at C-GCC!" at Columbia-Greene Community College from noon to 1:50 p.m., will include faculty demonstrations as well as videos running graduate success stories. Faculty will also discuss the importance of completion during tomorrow’s classes.
• Faculty and staff at Corning and Monroe Community Colleges will wear clothing bearing names of their alma maters and talk to students about what motivated them to graduate.
• Dutchess Community College will stream the statewide event in the James and Betty Hall Theatre, and encourage faculty and staff to reinforce the importance of degree completion. On the campus walkway Thursday, there will be a “Road to Completion” pledge signing event.

·         Erie Community College alumni who transferred to Buffalo State will talk to current students about their adjustment to a four-year college.

·         Fashion Institute of Technology students will visit tables to get information on honor societies, careers, internships, academic support and other topics.

·         Fulton-Montgomery Community College will offer students an opportunity to pledge their commitment to complete, encouraging faculty and staff to talk about completion during class, and live stream an alumni talk on the important role community college played in their success. 

·         Herkimer County Community College’s Phi Theta Kappa students are encouraging their fellow students to sign a pledge banner and wristbands will be given to those who sign.

·         Hudson Valley Community College students are invited to view the statewide event in the Maureen Stapleton Theatre with SUNY Senior Vice Chancellor for Community Colleges and the Education Pipeline Johanna Duncan-Poitier. Students will also be encouraged to sign a banner pledging to complete their associate's degrees, and Center for Careers and Employment will staff a display in the Campus Center and provide career and transfer information to students.

·         Jamestown Community College has a full day of events and activities planned, including asking students to sign a completion pledge and asking faculty will to dress in clothes from their alma mater.

·         Jefferson Community College plans include asking students to sign a banner, a carnival with completion activities, two completion day ‘cabs’ to transport students, and exhibits with posters prompting students to ask how a college degree leads to professional and financial rewards. For example, a display of a Ford Mustang prompts students to ask: “How can I buy this?” A human service display invites students to “Ask me how I saved a life.”

·         Mohawk Valley Community College students can have their photos taken in graduation regalia and get a quick review of their credits to determine how close they are to completion. The MVCC Foundation will also announce its new Completion Scholarship, an initiative to help students who left before graduating return to college and complete MVCC degrees.

·         Vinny Guadagnino will be the guest speaker at Niagara County Community College at Noon, in the Fine Arts Auditorium. He will discuss the importance of completing a degree and how to “control the crazy” peer pressures that tend to arise and succeed. Guadagnino is most known for his role on the reality MTV show, The Jersey Shore.

·         Orange County Community College has invited alumni who are prominent in the Middletown community to talk about their paths to success.

·         Rockland Community College will highlight some of the careers that students can pursue with an Associate's Degree. Activities include blood pressure screening, a bomb squad demonstration, paramedics working with a simulated patient, hospitality students making fresh salsa, and performing arts students demonstrating "stage fighting."

·         Schenectady County Community College President Dr. Quintin Bullock will urge students to complete their degrees and one of SCCC’s most intriguing alumni, Dr. Stacy M. Grant, an explosives expert for the Air Force, will Skype in as part of an alumni roundtable discussion. Students will also sign a large banner in the cafeteria with a completion oath.

·         Suffolk County Community College will host a Completion Day event on all three campuses. On the Ammerman campus, students will sign a wall pledge and faculty and administrators will also sign, pledging their support of students. On the Brentwood campus, bracelets will be distributed to students who sign a pledge card, and faculty will share personal stories with students. The Eastern Campus will hold a BBQ, music, and T-shirt and banner signing events.

·         At Sullivan County Community College, faculty who are also alumni will talk to students about the benefits of a community college education.

·         SUNY Ulster will host a resource fair where students who sign pledge to complete are eligible to win one three iPads donated by the Ulster Community College Foundation.

·         Westchester Community College will host a Halloween Day Fair with informational tables staffed by faculty and administrators.  

NYS Completion Day has adopted the slogan, “Commit. Complete. Compete.” to emphasize that graduation puts students in a better position to compete for scholarships, internships and jobs in an uncertain economy.

The U.S. Census Bureau reports that individuals with an associate degree can expect to earn $400,000 more in their lifetime than a high school graduate.

About the State University of New York

The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive university system in the United States, educating approximately 468,000 students in more than 7,500 degree and certificate programs on 64 campuses with nearly 3 million alumni around the globe. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunity, visit www.suny.edu.