2008 Woodie Awards
Undergraduates continue to outweigh graduates at PSUC
Christena Rulli
Issue date: 10/27/06 Section: News
Originally published: 10/26/06 at 7:08 PM EST
Last update: 10/26/06 at 7:08 PM EST
- Page 1 of 1
While Plattsburgh State University College has had an enrollment increase in the number of undergraduate students, the number of graduate students has stayed steady in the past few fall semesters.
The numbers for each area at PSUC play a small part in the larger State University of New York picture.
Approximately 40,536 students are pursuing a graduate degree and over 300,000 are going for undergraduate degrees within the SUNY system in the 2005-2006 school year.
According to reports from the Office of Institutional Research, the college has 5,567 undergraduates, an increase of approximately 173 students, and 650 graduate students - the same as last fall - for this semester.
However, the reports cannot clearly say how many of the graduate students were once undergraduates at this school.
According to Sharon Derr, director of graduate admissions, no distinctions are made when applying to become a graduate student.
In other words, there are not any designated spots for current PSUC students wanting to enter into a graduate program versus outside students.
"Each application is looked at alike and to see if they meet the graduate requirements," she said.
According to David Hill, dean of education, health, and human services, students in the education program that want to become teachers have two options of gaining certification.
The initial certification, which is temporary, can be acquired as an undergraduate or graduate.
This is basically good for beginning teachers. The other is the professional certification, which can be permanent and only obtained through gaining a master's degree.
However, both can be obtained at the same time if a student decides to do both undergraduate and graduate study at the college.
"We have really good teacher education programs and we want to be able to prove that to the satisfaction of the accredited body," Hill said.
PSUC graduate student Jarrod Peters is experiencing both the undergraduate and graduate programs.
He received a bachelor's degree in adolescent education with a math concentration and is now earning his master's in curriculum and instruction.
"I thought it would be easy to come here, since it's my alma mater for my undergraduate study," he said.
Peters admits he likes being a graduate student, but says there are downsides.
"They don't offer as many classes as they do in undergraduate programs, and courses that I need to graduate haven't been offered," he said.
The numbers for each area at PSUC play a small part in the larger State University of New York picture.
Approximately 40,536 students are pursuing a graduate degree and over 300,000 are going for undergraduate degrees within the SUNY system in the 2005-2006 school year.
According to reports from the Office of Institutional Research, the college has 5,567 undergraduates, an increase of approximately 173 students, and 650 graduate students - the same as last fall - for this semester.
However, the reports cannot clearly say how many of the graduate students were once undergraduates at this school.
According to Sharon Derr, director of graduate admissions, no distinctions are made when applying to become a graduate student.
In other words, there are not any designated spots for current PSUC students wanting to enter into a graduate program versus outside students.
"Each application is looked at alike and to see if they meet the graduate requirements," she said.
According to David Hill, dean of education, health, and human services, students in the education program that want to become teachers have two options of gaining certification.
The initial certification, which is temporary, can be acquired as an undergraduate or graduate.
This is basically good for beginning teachers. The other is the professional certification, which can be permanent and only obtained through gaining a master's degree.
However, both can be obtained at the same time if a student decides to do both undergraduate and graduate study at the college.
"We have really good teacher education programs and we want to be able to prove that to the satisfaction of the accredited body," Hill said.
PSUC graduate student Jarrod Peters is experiencing both the undergraduate and graduate programs.
He received a bachelor's degree in adolescent education with a math concentration and is now earning his master's in curriculum and instruction.
"I thought it would be easy to come here, since it's my alma mater for my undergraduate study," he said.
Peters admits he likes being a graduate student, but says there are downsides.
"They don't offer as many classes as they do in undergraduate programs, and courses that I need to graduate haven't been offered," he said.
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