Roger Hannigan Gilson is reporting for the Times Union in a surprise announcement June 7, third-year students at Hudson Senior High School were granted "instant admission" to Columbia-Greene Community College. The students and their parents were called to a meeting at the school under the pretense of "a symbolic send-off" before they learned the true purpose of the gathering. Students were then given QR codes that led them to a form allowing the high school to transmit student information and transcripts to the college. Hudson Superintendent Lisamarie Spindler said the instant admission was important to "create equality and access." All students who graduate from Hudson High School, including those who receive a Career Development Occupational Studies Commencement Credential, are able to attend Columbia-Greene under the initiative, Spinder added. The college wants the juniors to take advantage of its offerings, though the main focus is not about students attending this local college, but about pursuing post-secondary education in general, Drummer said. "We mostly want you to continue your education and not be distracted by some of the things going on with the workforce, where (students) are being offered incredible jobs without a college degree," she said. "We think that's a disrupter — the value of a college education can not be matched." Forty-seven percent of Hudson High School graduates in 2019 planned to attend a two-year school, according to data reported to the state Education Department, a number that dropped to 43 percent last year, while the percentage of graduates who said they were directly entering the workforce rose from 18 percent to 24 percent. Read the full story in the Times Union.