SUNY system sees student enrollment increase for the 1st time in a decade
Students in the library at Stony Brook University on Oct. 12. Credit: Morgan Campbell
Total student enrollment across the State University of New York campuses has grown for the first time in a decade with a 1.1% increase this fall, compared with last year.
A total of 367,542 students are enrolled at SUNY’s 64 campuses.
“New York continues to make important progress toward building the best public higher education system in the country and as a result, more young students are choosing SUNY,” said Gov. Kathy Hochul, whose office announced the findings Wednesday.
Undergraduate first-time enrollment — a leading indicator — was up across all sectors, at 4.3%. SUNY Old Westbury is among the top five campuses statewide showing a more than 17% increase in undergraduate first-time enrollment from fall of last year to this year. The school has an enrollment of nearly 4,500, including 726 first-year undergraduate students.
"Our success is the result of a combination of the right time, the right message and the right team," SUNY Old Westbury president Timothy Sams said Wednesday. "Our campus is committed to preparing students to lead no matter what major they pursue. This preparation is enhanced by both SUNY's affordable tuition and our campus' historic mission to educate on issues related to multiculturalism, fairness and environmental justice."
The report, presented by SUNY chancellor John King to the Board of Trustees Wednesday, included demographic information for the SUNY system over a 10-year period. It showed that the percentage of white students has decreased from 61.1% to 51% from fall 2013 to this fall, while the percentage of Hispanic/Latino students has increased from 10.1% to 15.8%. The percentage of Black or African American students has remained nearly unchanged from 10.1% to 10.7% over the decade. The percentage of Asian students rose over the decade from 5.2% to 8.5%.
“We will continue reaching out to students and adult learners across our state to ensure they know about the opportunities on our campuses and the financial aid available,” King said.
All colleges in the SUNY system benefited from a free application period last fall, resulting in a surge of applications. A free application period was also offered last month.
Despite the recent increase, the report showed that overall enrollment has significantly fallen from 2013, when the system enrolled 459,550 students.
It also showed that the percentage of Long Island students attending the SUNY system remains relatively unchanged from fall of last year, with an 0.3% drop from local students attending this year.
Newsday reported last month that freshman enrollment this fall was above pre-pandemic levels at schools including SUNY Old Westbury, Stony Brook University and Farmingdale State College.
Enrollment has been in steady decline at community colleges nationally, in part because of falling numbers of high school-age Americans. Current freshman enrollment at Nassau Community College and Suffolk County Community College is lower than pre-pandemic fall 2019, by 26% and 20%, respectively, officials there reported last month.
But Nassau Community College’s freshman fall enrollment is higher than a year ago, and at Suffolk County Community College, this fall’s small decline in first-time students is leading to hopes that the downturn is stabilizing, school officials have said.
Joie Tyrrell is a Long Island native and covers education for Newsday, where she has worked since 1998.