Ramsammy pushes for change at Hudson Valley

A message from President Ramsammy

As we begin a new semester and a new year, I’m pleased to welcome you back to campus and provide you with a quick update on where we plan to focus our collective efforts in 2019.

When I arrived on campus last year and began meeting with faculty, college and student leaders, it became clear to me that retention and student success should be my primary focus in the opening stages of my presidency. To that end, the college has begun to implement several projects and processes that put student success at the forefront.

I’d like to review some of these briefly here in the Hudsonian, and encourage you, the members of our student body, to reach out to me about any additional efforts you feel may be helpful in creating a campus community clearly focused on student success.

Expanded Student Service Office Hours: To accommodate students who may work or have other responsibilities, we again offered expanded hours in many student service offices in the lead-up to the spring semester. Students paying their bill, looking to speak to someone in the financial aid office or enroll in a class, for example, were able to do so as early as 7 a.m. and as late as 6 p.m. We hoped that this expansion of office hours made the process of starting the spring semester a little more convenient for students.  

Sunrise Courses: In the fall, we piloted several early morning “sunrise” courses for those students who wish to start their school day a little earlier. We’re doing so again this spring in the hopes of building a stable of courses for students who need greater flexibility and convenience in their scheduling.

Off-Campus Locations: This past fall we committed to offering more courses at locations around the Capital Region. What does this mean for our current students? Well, if you live in southern Saratoga County, it might be more convenient for you to take a course at our Malta TEC-SMART location. If you are an Albany or Colonie resident, consider the courses offered at our newly-established Albany Center for Education. It’s all about making college more convenient for you, our students.

Access to College Scheduler: Students returning this spring may have noticed that there is a new tool to schedule their classes. The college recently acquired College Scheduler, a web-based schedule planner you can use to set your course schedules. The software’s Schedule Planner tool allows you to set preferences for certain course sections and add breaks when you might not be available to attend class. So far, the word from advisement offices is that students really appreciate the versatility of this new tool.

Broadening support services: Listening to student concerns, the college this past fall expanded academic support services in several specific areas. For example, biology tutoring offered through the Learning Centers is now available in the evening and on Saturdays for students not on campus during the day, and students who take a majority of their classes in Williams Hall can now find math instructional support without having to visit the LAC. Last fall, math tutors were assigned directly to Williams several days a week. In short, we saw a need to boost student academic support and we took action.

Updates to College Success Referral System: As students, you should know that our senior academic leadership has strongly encouraged faculty to make use of the College Success Referral System, our tool for letting students know when we feel they are in imminent need of academic assistance. Faculty and staff who have regular interaction with students are being encouraged to use this tool early in the semester.

So, if you receive one of these notifications, I strongly encourage you to act on it. Seek out the help that is suggested and give yourself a better chance for success. There is absolutely no shame in working with one of our tutors or academic coaches! In fact, studies have repeatedly shown that college students who take advantage of these support services are far more likely to continue their studies successfully.

Search for New Vice President and Dean of STEM: I’d like you to know that we are narrowing down candidates for two new positions at the college that will have a strong impact on how we move forward academically – the vice president for academic affairs and the new dean of STEM programs. Please note that we will be looking for student input when we bring these finalists to campus in the near future.

Coffee with the President: Finally, it may seem like a small thing, but I feel it’s vitally important for students, faculty and staff to have direct and open access to the college president on a regular basis. That was the idea behind our monthly Coffee with the President events in the fall. We scheduled these informal gatherings so that I could meet as many members of the campus community as possible, and to hear their questions and concerns. Please keep an eye out for a spring schedule of these outreach events. I particularly encourage members of the student body to attend.

My goal as we begin 2019 is to continue to find and champion effective ways to foster student success here at Hudson Valley. So, please let my office know of your ideas, and welcome back to our returning students and welcome to our new arrivals. I hope to see you at one of this spring’s Coffee with the President events, around campus or at one of our many student events.