April 11, 2007

BCC President Dr. Laurence Spraggs to Serve As Keynote Speaker
at the Northeastern Association of Two Year Colleges Annual Conference

-Conference Theme Is Retention; Which BCC Has Just Been Ranked #1 For Among NY Community Colleges-

(TOWN OF DICKINSON, NY) Broome Community College President Dr. Laurence Spraggs will be the keynote speaker at the annual conference of the Northeastern Association of Two Year Colleges (NATYC). The annual conference will take place Thursday, April 12 and Friday, April 13, 2007 at the Binghamton Regency in downtown Binghamton.

The annual theme of the conference is Retention and the Under Prepared Student. Dr. Spraggs keynote address is titled Achieving Significance in Student Retention, and will be given from 7:15 – 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 12 at the Regency.

“I am honored to have been asked to deliver the keynote address,” said Dr. Spraggs. “The conference is a significant opportunity to discuss many of the challenges associated with preparing and retaining young students while also highlighting how faculty and staff successfully meet these challenges.”

Among the 29 SUNY Community Colleges,   BCC has the highest retention rate based on a study of 4-year transfer students from the community college sector to the 4 year-sector. Eighty-two percent of BCC students who transfer to 4-year SUNY colleges are still enrolled at least one year later.    

“One of the primary factors BCC has such a high retention ranking is because of the dedication of our faculty and staff,” continued Dr. Spraggs. “It important to highlight how individual attention both inside and outside the classroom and academic counselors working with students to identify the course of study that best fits with a student’s interest plays a key factor in retention and how focusing on these areas can ensure long term academic and professional success for students.”

Seminars at the conference also include: Retention Techniques and Strategies, A Collaborative Campus Approach, Retention from the First Point of Contact, and If You Lead Them, They will Come.

The Northeastern Association of Two-Year Colleges was chartered in 1947. There are approximately 60 institutional members and more than 2,000 active individual members.

NATYC, Inc., encourages professional development through members' participation in special workshops, the general programs and proceedings of the annual conference, and regional committees and statewide commissions. All members receive publications of the Association, including INFO, the newsletter of NATYC, Inc.