Governor Hochul Announces Boost in Student Enrollment at State University of New York for Second Consecutive Year

Governor Kathy Hochul on Nov 13th, announced overall enrollment gains for the second year in a row across the State University of New York colleges and universities, including increases in first-year undergraduate enrollment. The results follow the state’s ongoing historic investments in SUNY’s ambitious agenda and mark the first time in 15 years that all SUNY sectors have seen back-to-back increases in overall enrollment.

“As Governor, I have remained committed to increasing access to our colleges and universities — from removing financial barriers and expanding our tuition assistance program to launching SUNY's first ever direct admissions program,” Governor Hochul said. “Every New Yorker deserves the opportunity to pursue higher education, and I look forward to building on this progress to ensure even more students can enroll at one of our world class institutions.”

Fall 2024 enrollment systemwide was up 2.3 percent, compared with Fall 2023, for a total of 376,155 students across the system. Last year, enrollment was up 1.1 percent, year over year, the first increase in a decade.

OVERALL ENROLLMENT
Percent Change

	Fall 2023 to Fall 2024	Fall 2022 to Fall 2024
SUNY-Wide	+2.3%	+3.4%
State-Operated	+2.7%	+3.3%
Doctoral	+2.2%	+2.4%
Comprehensive	+2.7%	+3.2%
Technology	+5.0%	+7.6%
Community Colleges	+1.9%	+3.7%

In addition, first-year undergraduate enrollment was up at SUNY by 0.9 percent over Fall 2023. In stark contrast, during the same time period, nationwide first-year undergraduate enrollment results declined by 5 percent, according to a recent report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, amidst significant headwinds created by substantial delays and technical setbacks in the U.S. Education Department’s implementation of the updated Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Among incoming first-year undergraduates, SUNY reported increases in the share of Pell recipients (an indicator of students from low-income backgrounds) from 46.7 percent in Fall 2023 to 49.7 percent in Fall 2024, and in students who are under-represented by race/ethnicity from 35.7 percent in Fall 2023 to 36.5 percent in Fall 2024. These trends are particularly important in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling on race-conscious college admissions.

SUNY’s enrollment data is available online.

SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. said, “There is a place at SUNY for every New Yorker, and we are proud that thanks to Governor Hochul’s leadership more and more students are choosing SUNY’s extraordinary value and academic excellence. SUNY is on the move, expanding academic success, research innovation, student support, and opportunities for workforce development and upward mobility. We look forward to continuing this work in partnership with Governor Hochul, the legislature, and our partners at the local, state, and federal levels.”

The SUNY Board of Trustees said, “Thanks to strong campus leaders and stellar faculty and staff, and to the extraordinary efforts of Chancellor King and his team, more and more students see that SUNY colleges provide excellent educations to New Yorkers seeking degrees or credentials. Governor Hochul is a champion for New Yorkers, and we are thankful that her support for SUNY and our students is spurring growing success!”

SUNY On the Move

SUNY campuses also continue to earn high rankings in national reports, most recently in the U.S. News & World Report 2025 Best Colleges Rankings. All four university centers at Albany (121), Binghamton (73), Buffalo (76), and Stony Brook (58) are among the top national universities, while SUNY Geneseo (13) and SUNY New Paltz (19) led for SUNY in the regional universities (north) category, and Farmingdale led for SUNY in the regional colleges (north) category at number 6, followed in the top 20 by SUNY Canton (9), Alfred State (10); SUNY Cobleskill (10), and SUNY Delhi (14).

Governor Hochul and the state legislature have directed significant additional funding to public higher education over the last two years. SUNY’s state-operated campuses have received additional ongoing annual investment of $277 million from the FY24 and 25 Enacted Budgets — which has enabled SUNY to advance on its four priority pillars (student success; research and scholarship; diversity, equity and inclusion; and economic development and upward mobility) and expand opportunities for New Yorkers to gain high quality and affordable education.

SUNY's 30 Community Colleges also received $8 million in additional Direct State Tax Support this year, the first increase in such funding in almost ten years. The funding enhanced healthcare programs and provided mental health resources on campuses.

Other major advances include:

- Launching Governor Hochul’s Empire AI research center for the public good, housed at the University at Buffalo and involving SUNY’s four university centers as well as a consortium of leading public and independent universities;

- Cementing New York as America’s leading semiconductor R&D hub with the designation of NY CREATES — a partnership between SUNY, Empire State Development and industry — as the location of the CHIPS for America EUV Accelerator, the first national semiconductor technology center facility in the nation;

- Replicating Advancing Success in Associate Pathways (ASAP) and its baccalaureate counterpart Advancing Completion through Engagement (ACE) for more than 4,200 students at 25 SUNY campuses to help students succeed with financial resources and wraparound supports to increase timely degree completion;

- Launching the Empire State Service Corps and other paid internship opportunities;

- Increasing support for students with disabilities; and,

- Offering resources for child care, mental health and wellness and food security.

In addition, the Governor and the legislature have increased investment in and access to financial aid, including:

- Increasing direct student aid through the Tuition Assistance Program — doubling TAP's minimum award from $500 to $1,000, and increasing the maximum income threshold from $80,000 to $125,000 for dependent students this year; and

- Making completion of the FAFSA universal for high school seniors starting this year in order to help break down barriers to enrollment.

The application for Fall 2025 is open. Learn more about applying to SUNY. Applicants can apply at ApplySUNY or by using the Common App.

SUNY is also making it even easier for New Yorkers to find the right SUNY campus for them, including through Governor Hochul’s Top 10% Promise, which uses automatic admission to make higher education more accessible and encourage more high-achieving students to remain in-state.

About The State University of New York

The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY’s 64 colleges and universities. Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers, five hospitals, four medical schools, two dental schools, a law school, the country’s oldest school of maritime, the state’s only college of optometry and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.4 million students amongst its entire portfolio of credit- and non-credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures system-wide are nearly $1.16 billion in fiscal year 2024, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and one in three New Yorkers with a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunities, visit www.suny.edu.