SUNY schools graduate 2/3 of students overall but vary widely

We’ve already stressed the importance of graduation rates when it comes to selecting a college. Graduation rates are a key indicator of a college’s ability to prepare you for future success.

A recent report from the Albany Times-Union found that 64% of students who enroll in the State University of New York (SUNY) system finish within six years, one of the highest graduation rates for any public university system in the nation.

We’re proud of this statistic because several SUNY schools are within a short distance of our headquarters in Western New York. And compared to most private universities, SUNY schools are very affordable, with tuition for the 2013-14 academic year at $5,870 per year.

SUNY schools succeed in graduating students

Top 5 SUNY schools by graduation rates:

1. Cornell, NYS colleges: 94%
2. Binghamton: 78%
3. New Paltz: 73%
4. Geneseo: 72%
5. Alfred: 70%

Made up of 465,000 students, SUNY is the nation’s largest public university system, so it’s great to hear that it’s doing a good job preparing its students for success. But a closer look at the numbers reveals widely varying results among various SUNY schools.

Mixed results for some schools

In fact, some SUNY schools only graduate a third of their students in six years. And Empire State College graduates a shockingly low 16 percent of its students in this time period–although the majority of its students just take a few online courses and apply these credits to a degree from another school.

Bottom 5 SUNY schools by graduation rates:

1. Empire State College: 16%
2. Canton: 32%
3.  SUNY IT: 33%
4. Old Westbury: 35%
5. Maritime: 42%

Improving SUNY’s graduation rates

But things might be on the upswing for SUNY. In her annual “State of the University” address in January,  SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher said the system would increase its efforts to help students graduate on time by making it easier to complete a degree and increasing access to online classes.

Zimpher hopes to make SUNY the largest public online provider of education in the nation and says that SUNY will make a three-year degree option available to 25 percent of its students by 2015.

New initiatives can reduce cost of college

We’re particularly enthusiastic about these new SUNY initiatives, as online education can help decrease the overall cost of college for students, making it less likely that students drop out because they can’t afford to pay for school.

And making a 3-year degree possible (as is the standard at European universities) will save students and families significant dough.

When tuition, fees, room, and board are taken into account, a year of SUNY education still costs students over $22,000. If a year can be eliminated, the student debt problem can be significantly improved. With lower loan balances resulting in lower interest fees, more students will be able to pay back their loans on time.

Importance of graduating college on time

Attending a SUNY school that graduates a majority of its students within 4-6 years will put students in a better position to graduate and have a successful career.

Time will tell whether SUNY’s new initiatives have a positive impact on reducing the cost of college, but we’re excited to see the public university system in our home state taking steps to graduate its students on time while providing an affordable education.