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SUNY welcomes incoming class amid stabilizing enrollments
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The State University of New York at Fredonia is poised to welcome approximately 3,150 students for the start of the Fall 2026 semester, another sign of enrollment stabilization during a challenging period for higher education across the country.
Enrollment as of Saturday is on par with last year at the same point, marking the third straight year Fredonia's enrollment has leveled off following several years of decline.
The incoming class includes approximately 950 new first-year, transfer, and graduate students. Graduate enrollment is up over 9% compared with last year and has more than doubled over the last four years. This fall’s transfer class is also the university's largest since the pandemic.
"We have made significant changes to how we recruit students, from the way we communicate with prospective students and families to how we use data to guide our efforts," said Vice President for Enrollment Management and Services Kathryn Kendall. "We are being more intentional about connecting with students throughout the college search process, and we are seeing the impact of that work. Our focus now is on building from this stability and growing enrollment."
Fredonia is also seeing continued strength in student retention. Approximately 80% of last year's first-year students returned for their second year, an increase from last year and a rate that remains well above the national average.
"After nearly a decade of enrollment declines, we have stopped that trend," said President Stephen H. Kolison Jr. "An important part of our work ahead is continuing to strengthen our academic offerings and investing in programs that reflect what our students are looking for today and where we see strategic opportunities for growth. I am pleased that we now have an academic master plan that will be very important in shaping our program array. We are being responsive to the changing higher education landscape."
Classes for the Fall 2026 semester begin today.