Statement of Commitment
Hudson Valley Community College is committed to providing caring, personal, high-quality service at a reasonable cost to support students’ success in reaching and raising their goals.
Mission Statement
Hudson Valley Community College provides transformative, student-centered and high-quality educational opportunities that address the diverse needs of local and global communities.
Vision Statement
Deliver what the future demands. Hudson Valley Community College will meet the educational needs of a rapidly transforming world by leading today and anticipating tomorrow.
Core Values
Hudson Valley Community College is committed to:
LEADS – Leadership, Excellence, Accessibility, Diversity, Service
LEADERSHIP: Hudson Valley provides rigorous academic curricula and challenging co-curricular opportunities to promote the development of leadership qualities in students and to facilitate leadership development among faculty, staff, and students. Whether in our classrooms, labs, online environment, or throughout the Capital Region, Hudson Valley faculty, staff, and students lead the higher education landscape while developing the next generation of global citizens.
EXCELLENCE: Hudson Valley’s commitment to excellence impels faculty, staff, and students to consistently strive for outcomes that are exemplary rather than simply satisfactory. This striving for excellence touches on all aspects of life at our institution, from academic programs (oncampus, online, off-campus) to our environment, from student services to athletics, from publications to our daily activities. We celebrate our achievements and contributions to the greater society.
ACCESSIBILITY: Accessibility to high-quality education is vital to the growth and prosperity of the local, national, and international communities. Hudson Valley provides educational access to a diverse community of traditional and non-traditional learners in an environment that fosters lifelong learning and freedom of inquiry and expression.
DIVERSITY: Each individual must be able to work and learn in an atmosphere of respect, dignity, and acceptance. Our commitment to diversity requires each of us to continuously ensure that our interactions are respectful, protect free speech, and inspire academic freedom. Hudson Valley values equity, inclusion, and dignity for all. We recognize that our differences make us stronger. We take action when we observe someone being treated unfairly or in a demeaning manner.
SERVICE: Meaningful service to students is at the center of life at Hudson Valley, as is service by students, staff, and faculty to our greater community. We share skills and expertise to assist others through campus clinics, off-campus internships, service learning, and numerous volunteer opportunities to extend the culture of service well beyond our campus.
Historical Preamble
The college was created to respond to the needs of Rensselaer County and other nearby counties following World War II, and after the closing of the Veteran’s Vocational School in 1953. At first, the college’s programs were largely technical, but by 1960 the first science, business, and liberal arts programs were added. In the decades since, the college has steadily increased its offerings, both in degree and certificate programs, so that it is now comprehensive in its majors and mission.
Since its inception in 1953, Hudson Valley Community College has been sponsored by Rensselaer County under the supervision of the State University of New York. As one of the 30 community colleges in the state, all of its programs are registered and approved by the New York State Department of Education* with the authority to award certificates and associate’s degrees in arts, science, applied science, and occupational studies.
Hudson Valley Community College is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Commission on Recognition of Postsecondary Accreditation. Many of the college’s academic programs are also accredited by specialized national professional accrediting associations.
In 1966, the college began administering the Capital District Educational Opportunity Center to better serve the needs of the community.
* New York State Education Department Office of Higher Education and the Profession’s Cultural Education Center, Room 5B28, Albany, NY 12230, (518) 474-5851
Strategic Priorities and Goals
Prepare Students for Continued Success by Being Both High Tech and High Touch
- Continue to build a positive and seamless student experience
- Develop approaches to identify and address the full spectrum of student challenges to increase student performance
- Enhance virtual learning, ensure online course quality, and further develop robust, rich online experiences for learners
- Integrate AI into the curriculum and programs as appropriate and ethical to ensure opportunities for student success and identify ways it can be used to assist in streamlining college operations
- Establish a resource and support center designed to assist international and English as a Second Language students in succeeding at HVCC and beyond, manage international partnerships, and grow study abroad opportunities
Deliver Innovative, Timely Academic Programming and Structures for Today and Tomorrow
- Complete ATEC building to expand opportunities in skilled trades programs and to support our workforce in high-demand areas
- Standardize processes for prioritizing academic offerings and examining market penetration and transferability to ensure optimal capacity and enrollment in programs
- Continue meaningful engagement with community partners to align health services industry collaboration opportunities and academic programming
- Emphasize the paramount role creativity plays in STEM, health sciences, and the liberal arts
- Continue developing the next iteration of the STEM High School and other early high school college programs
Serve as the Community’s First Choice for Education and Workforce Development in the Capital Region
- Expand program offerings and sponsorships to address business and industry needs
- Engage community, alumni, advisory boards, donors, funding agencies, stakeholders, and benefactors to further support HVCC
- Enhance relationships with industry, pre-K-12, and higher education partners to ensure HVCC is aware of the needs of today and tomorrow
- Increase offerings, student support services, and opportunities at HVCC North, HVCC South, the Educational Opportunity Center, and the Albany International Airport
- Continue to develop partnership opportunities to attract skilled workers of diverse backgrounds to the Capital Region
Empower Faculty and Staff to Enhance Operations and Continually Improve the Student Experience
- Identify, adopt, implement, and further develop tools that fully enhance communication with students, the campus community, and our partners
- Improve faculty and staff recruitment and retention and expand opportunities for professional development
- Continue to develop an infrastructure that emphasizes safety and security, first-rate facilities, data-informed decision-making, and cutting-edge technology
- Enhance commitment to the principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice
- Develop a collaborative culture built on cross-functionality to empower employees to be forward-thinking and develop innovative solutions
Community Bill of Rights and Responsibilities
Hudson Valley Community College serves residents of the Capital Region and other areas in appropriate and diverse ways, striving always to improve their quality of life by offering affordable education, training and service. As a full-opportunity college dedicated to teaching and learning, Hudson Valley Community College makes it possible for every applicant to pursue an appropriate program of study. In the spirit of its mission, the Community Bill of Rights and Responsibilities states that:
All members of the college community have the right and responsibility to work and learn in a collegial setting:
- Where all members of the college community are treated with courtesy and respect;
- That has clear ethics and conduct codes with fair and consistently enforced consequences for noncompliance;
- That is safe, orderly and drug free;
- That has clearly stated, high academic standards and the instructional materials and equipment necessary to implement rigorous academic programs; and
- Where the college’s mission statement drives all academic and administrative operations and functions.
Campus Free Speech and Assembly
Below, please find the resolution outlining the guidelines regarding free speech and assembly on campus.
Resolution
WHEREAS, Hudson Valley Community College is a public college which shall make its facilities available for public discourse, subject to reasonable regulation as to the time, place and manner when its facilities may be used; and
WHEREAS the College wishes to identify a public area of the campus which will be the designated public forum to be used for the communication of ideas (“Designated Public Forum”); and
WHEREAS, the College maintains its right to designate and regulate the persons and activities permitted in areas of the campus that are deemed to be nonpublic (“Nonpublic Forum”) for the general well-being of academic, administrative and privacy purposes, it is
RESOLVED as follows:
Regulation of Time:
Black-out days: The College has “blacked-out” certain days on its calendar when the use of the campus and its facilities, including outdoor spaces are reserved exclusively for campus related activities that are at the core of its primary educational mission. During these black-out periods, no third party shall be allowed to use the Designated Public Forum for free speech purposes. The College defines the blackout periods to include the following:
- During Spring break and the break between Summer sessions as set forth in the current academic calendar
- During reading periods and examination periods as set forth on the then current academic calendar;
- During graduation related activities and events, including commencements;
- During major fall or spring campus-wide celebrations, such as speeches, concerts, weekend events, and Homecoming; and
- During those days when the College is closed, including, but not limited to seven (7) calendar days prior to the start of the Fall and Spring semesters.
Regulation of Place:
The College designates the Student Pavilion bounded by the parking lot, Hudson Hall, the McDonough Sports Complex and Cross Road as its Designated Public Forum. The President or the Vice President for Administration and Finance may change the designation to another area of campus in order to meet the College’s operational needs and for the convenience, health, safety, and welfare of the campus community.
Regulation of Manner:
The College requires parties seeking to use the Designated Public Forum to submit an application for each use, three (3) or more business days before the use. The application shall be submitted to and the Vice President for Administration and Finance or his designee shall promulgate the form of application which shall not;
- Inquire as to the content of the speech;
- Charge an application fee or a fee for the use of the Designated Public Forum;
- Impose insurance requirements;
Applicant shall be provided with, at the time of the application, a copy of the rules and regulations governing conduct on campus. Applicant shall be informed whether the application has been granted or denied on or before the morning of the requested use date. The application may be denied, for among others, either of the following reasons:
- Space already reserved;
- Request is for a black-out period.
If the application is denied, Applicant shall be informed of the next available date.
Applicant shall:
- Park in the Grove lot or another area designated by the Vice President for Administration and Finance or his designee;
- Pick up any brochures, leaflets, trash and any other debris brought onto Campus by Applicant or his/her volunteers, agents, servants or employees;
- Not use amplification equipment, except that equipment supplied by the College and use it at a volume which will not disturb classes or business and administration functions,
- Only occupy the Designated Public Forum between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m.;
- Be provided with a microphone/sound system, by the College, when requested for on the application, and upon approval of the Application.
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