The College is moving ahead with plans to create an independent
graduate college to offer programs currently under the Center for Graduate
Education and Special Programs, it was announced by Sue Lehrman, dean of the Center.
The new college, which could be
chartered this summer by the state Board of Regents, would offer graduate
programs in educational studies, engineering (electrical and mechanical),
computer science, business administration, health administration and bioethics.
Those graduate programs are now
administered by Union's Center for Graduate Education
and Special Programs, which would be re-organized to become the graduate
college. Union College
officials are working with the State Education Department and various
accrediting bodies to ensure a seamless transition.
The new college has tentatively been named the Graduate
College of Union University. It would have three schools – management,
engineering and education – and the Center for Bioethics. The graduate college would have
its own board of trustees.
“An independent graduate college would allow
for the expansion of our programs through targeted marketing, fundraising, and
recruitment to meet the growing regional demand for full- and part-time
graduate study,” said Lehrman.
“This is an important and exciting time for
our students, our faculty and our graduates,” she said. “We have seen
substantial growth in our programs, and expect to see even more growth with the
opening of Sematech and other regional high
technology initiatives. The establishment of an independent graduate college
would also help us to further strengthen and expand the partnerships with
businesses and other organizations that have been so important to the success
of our programs.”
The graduate college would have a
unique academic relationship with Union
College through a lease arrangement
in which faculty and students would continue to have access to all Union
College facilities and ancillary
services. The program offices would remain in Lamont House on the Union
College campus, with classes and
labs at Union.
The graduate college has
petitioned to be affiliated with Union
University, a federation of
independent undergraduate and graduate institutions. It currently consists of Union
College, Albany
Medical College,
Albany Law
College, Dudley Observatory and
Albany College of Pharmacy. Established in 1873, Union
University has a board of governors
comprised of representatives of the member institutions' boards of trustees.
The president of Union College
serves as the chancellor of Union University.
Educational Studies, one of the
few secondary education teacher programs that requires a full year of student
teaching, has a placement rate of nearly 98 percent in Capital Region schools,
an area that does not have a teacher shortage. The program also has a 78
percent pass rate on the National Teachers Certification Exam, compared to the
48 percent national average.
The College's MBA program, the
largest full-time program in the Capital Region, has seen a 25 percent increase
in students over the last two years. The MBA job placement rate is over 90
percent. The Health Systems MBA is one of only 21 dually accredited programs in
the country, and one of only 4 accredited programs in the state. The Global MBA
programs attract students from nearly 20 countries.
The Engineering Division, which
features small class sizes and a mix of practical and theoretical curriculum,
has partnered with a consortium of engineering companies to ensure its programs
meet the needs of the changing Capital Region economy.
The Center for Bioethics offers
one of the nation's two distance learning programs, a joint venture with Albany
Medical College
designed with the flexibility to serve working healthcare professionals.