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Health & Fitness

Purchase College-SUNY Baccalaureate and Beyond Program Hits Milestone of Helping Nearly 500 Community College Students

Purchase, NY (July 1, 2013) -- For some, the number 13 is bad luck.  But certainly not for Purchase College-SUNY’s innovative Baccalaureate and Beyond program, now in its 13th year.

A successful example of a public-private partnership, the program has just hit a milestone of helping almost 500 mostly community college students achieve a goal of moving onto four-year colleges to major in the areas of social sciences and humanities, as well as science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

“The Baccalaureate and Beyond program is a great reflection of how a public institution like Purchase College can partner with the private sector to help mostly underrepresented minority students or first-generation college students attain a four-year education and move onto successful careers,” said Purchase College Professor of Chemistry Joe Skrivanek, who founded the program.

“The fact that we’ve now helped nearly 500 students during the time the program has been in action is extremely gratifying to me and the others who have been intimately involved with this,” said Skrivanek, who two years ago was given an award for the program by President Obama.

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The program was launched in 2000 with funds from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Since then, the Baccalaureate and Beyond has garnered support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), as well as private enterprises including Pepsico, Morgan Stanley, and the Lumina Foundation, whose goal is to increase the proportion of Americans with high-quality college degrees, certificates or other credentials by 60 percent by the year 2025. The program has also received significant private support from Deborah Slaner Larkin and Phyllis Hyacinthe.

Baccalaureate and Beyond  works with six institutions to welcome community college students: Westchester Community College, Rockland Community College, Orange County Community College, Dutchess Community College,  Sullivan County Community College and Nassau Community College.

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According Professor Skrivanek, approximately 85 percent of the students in the program have completed their two-year degree and more than 70 percent of these students go on to complete their four-year degree. Thirty-three percent of the students go on to pursue graduate or professional studies. Interestingly, in just thirteen years, the program has produced two Ph.D.’s, 4 M.D.’s, and 7 Master’s Degrees.

During the five-week program (the latest of which was just completed), students spend time in the classroom or in the laboratory being co-taught by faculty from Purchase College and participating community college faculty.  At the end of the five-week period, the students make presentations on a particular research project.  These presentations took place this past Friday, June 28.

Also during the five-week period, students take field trips to major companies, and receive academic support from top Purchase College professors. Internships, job placement, and assistance with graduate school applications and medical school preparation are also valuable components of the program.

“Each year, we adapt and freshen the program to ensure we are using the most up-to-date teaching techniques, as well,” said Karen Singer-Freeman, associate professor of psychology at Purchase, who is a coordinator of the program. 

For instance, she points out that the program has started to use ePortfolio, which Singer-Freeman calls an “academic Facebook” that “encourages a student to create an academic brand for themselves.”  With ePortfolio, students can showcase their academic achievements on individualized pages; collect and reflect upon their work; share their educational and work experience; create resumes and create a plan of study and work online with their academic advisor.

The Baccalaureate and Beyond Program is recognized as a model for the seamless transfer of community college students to four-year institutions. Over the last two years, the program’s founder, Dr. Skrivanek, has been working at SUNY System Administration to replicate this program throughout the 64 campus SUNY System. Currently there are 30 campuses (12 four-year and 18 two-year) divided into six regions that are working together under Dr. Skrivanek’s leadership to replicate the Purchase Program.


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