NORWICH – The Norwich City School District and SUNY Morrisville are working together once again this school year to offer high school students a jump-start on their college careers while also helping bolster enrollment at the SUNY Morrisville Norwich Campus.
This marks the second year NCSD and SUNY Morrisville have collaborated with Chenango County government to give students a chance to attend college credit courses at the high school and Follett Hall, where the SUNY Morrisville Norwich Campus is located. Classes have been underway for two weeks for the 250-plus NHS students taking college courses and the college bridging program continues to be valuable for both institutions and the community as a whole, say school officials.
“This has been an overall positive experience for everyone,” said Morrisville Norwich Campus Dean Marsha Cornelius. “We had an easy start-up this semester, even with some students taking more than one class. It has all worked out very well.”
NHS students enrolled in SUNY Morrisville courses have their tuition paid by funding extracted from the Chenango County annual budget - an offering made by county leaders to retain young people in the area and bolster the headcount at the Morrisville Norwich Campus. The cost of textbooks and other learning materials are covered by NCSD while any additional fees are waived by SUNY Morrisville. Savings to students typically amounts to more than $800 for a three-credit course.
More than 90 percent of the 50 NHS students taking the four offered college-level courses passed with a transferrable grade last year, Cornelius added. Even while numbers of those taking courses this year has grown exponentially and the number of available courses jumped from four to 15, she said hopes are for an even better outcome this time around.
According to Norwich Superintendent Gerard O’Sullivan, the college bridging program not only saves potentially thousands of dollars for students and families, but also leaves an immeasurable positive impact on the community.
“This is supposed to be a learning experience for all and if a student is not successful, they have learned what the demands and rigors are for college,” he said, also noting the key role parents and counselors play in students’ decision to enroll in college-level courses. “This has been a great opportunity for students ... we are continuing to improve the way we communicate with the Morrisville facility to make sure students are successful. I’m pleased with the way it’s gone so far this year.”
Despite its partnership with NCSD, the Morrisville Norwich campus still faces challenges as overall enrollment continues to decline. Figures presented to the Chenango County Planning and Economic Development Committee last week show the number of students attending classes at Follett Hall has dropped from more than 400 during the fall, 2012 semester, to 312 students this semester. The college is seeking $36,500 as part of the 2014 county budget to help with recruitment.
Declining enrollment can be attributed to a number of factors, Cornelius told committee members, including fewer students enrolled in school districts across the county, the growing number of online programs from competing colleges, and Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) grants that are made available to community colleges but not those that are part of the SUNY system.
Moreover, SUNY schools have difficulty soliciting their institution where other SUNY schools exist, she said. For example, SUNY Morrisville has trouble recruiting students from the Delhi area because of SUNY Delhi. Community colleges, on the other hand, are exempt from such strict regulations, she said.
“Community colleges are hurting this campus,” she told the committee. “We have become a smaller global community in every way and I think a lot of the problem is that some of the New York State laws have to change with what community colleges can do.”