Graduation rates at CUNY’s Hunter College in Manhattan and Brooklyn College in Flatbush jumped by nearly 10 percentage points since 2005, according to the latest college-completion data for New York.
The numbers come amid continued record enrollment at the public university and an increase in high-caliber candidates applying to its campuses.
Hunter’s six-year graduation rate climbed to 46.2 percent last year, while Brooklyn College’s completion rate went from 39.4 percent in 2005 to 48.5 percent in 2010.
CLICK HERE TO SEE GRADUATION RATES FOR EVERY NY COLLEGE FROM 2001-2010
“It’s a commuter school, so you don’t have the whole college feel, but, education-wise, I think it’s top notch,” said Brooklyn College senior Isaac Sasson, 21. “With the recession, a lot more quality students went to Brooklyn College that would have gone to a private school beforehand.”
At the other end of the spectrum, York College in Queens has seen its graduation rate plummet to the bottom among CUNY’s four-year schools — from 30 percent in 2005 to 19.5 percent last year.
Baruch College in Manhattan continued to yield CUNY’s highest six-year graduation rate — hitting 60.5 percent in 2010 — while the university’s Macaulay Honors College program saw its grad rate approach 90 percent.
Completion rates at the rest of CUNY’s campuses mostly saw gains of between 1 and 4 percentage points since 2005.
The system’s community colleges also produced mostly positive trends in students earning associate degrees within three years — but those rates remained stubbornly low.
Three-year completion rates ranged from 8.1 percent at Bronx Community College last year to 25 percent at Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn.
The low graduation rates at two-year schools have been recognized as a problem nationwide, and have prompted President Obama to propose in 2009 a $12 billion investment aimed at raising them.
Among the city’s private universities, New York University saw its six-year graduation rate climb by nearly 3 percentage points since 2005 to 85.6 percent in 2010, while Columbia University’s city-high grad rate ticked up a notch, to 92.5 percent.
Fordham University bumped up 3 points to an 80.7 percent six-year graduation rate, while Pace University slid slightly, to 55.4 percent.
Rates for every New York college are available on the state Education Department’s Web site: eservices.nysed.gov.