Student Success at Scale

Supporting Student Success at Scale

College readiness and supports are critical to the retention and graduation of our community college students. Given open enrollment, and the varied levels of preparation, persistence and completion can a challenge for many of our students. SUNY has been nationally recognized for its evidence-based approaches to student success, scaling best practices from across the nation. These strategies and supports are critical to SUNY’s goal to increase college completion, transfer, and attainment of jobs with equitable outcomes.

Supporting Adult Learners

  • Adult Learner Leadership Initiative (ALL): In February 2025, building off the launch of SUNY Reconnect, Governor Kathy Hochul announced $1.1 million in grants for 22 community colleges statewide to implement wide-ranging action plans designed to help more adult learners access transformational educational opportunities that lead to upward mobility. These grants build on the State’s commitment to creating more workforce development opportunities to ensure every New Yorker can pursue a degree or credential that helps access jobs in high-demand fields.
    • SUNY partnered with Achieving the Dream to facilitate and support the development of campus action plans, rooted in data, to design, pilot and prepare for implementing a range of evidence-based adult-centered strategies, align their action plans with other work underway that supports adult learners and leverage the ALL work for effective implementation of Reconnect.
    • Campuses each identified 3-4 key strategies for their action plans, including:
      • Marketing and recruitment targeted to specific adult learner populations
      • Expanded use of credit for prior learning
      • Expanded use of co-requisite models to help adult learners address gaps in academic preparation
      • Availability of academic offerings and non-academic support in-person on weekends/evenings
      • Transparency on course schedules and advance course scheduling
      • Creating a sense of belonging for adult learners both on campus and online
      • Using online and blended learning practices
      • Aligning campus policies with adult learner needs
  • CAEL Adult Learner 360 Survey: In Spring 2026, through a partnership with the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL), 10 SUNY community college campuses were chosen to participate in a project to identify adult learners' needs to further support their success. The initiative will help guide further actions that SUNY community colleges can take to support adult learners, including SUNY Reconnect program participants.
    • At no cost to the selected community colleges, the 10 participating schools will administer CAEL's Adult Learner 360 assessment, which includes surveys for adult learners, as well as surveys for faculty, staff, and administrators, on their campuses to provide a clear picture of strengths and gaps in adult learners supports by comparing institutional practices with adult learner experiences.

Transfer Initiatives

SUNY is committed to making transferring to one of our campuses as smooth and seamless as possible. With SUNY-wide Seamless Transfer policies and programs in place, students can maximize the credits they receive toward their degree programs.

SUNY Academic Momentum Campaign

SUNY launched a multi-year Academic Momentum Campaign in the fall of 2025. This Campaign is designed to increase the retention and completion rates of all SUNY undergraduate students and eliminate gaps for Pell-eligible students and other demographic groups. All SUNY campuses are asked to contribute proportionally toward System goals by developing and implementing action plans that both strengthen effective practices already underway and adopt evidence-based strategies that are not yet in place or delivered at scale.

Advancing Success in Associate Pathways (ASAP)

Advancing Success in Associate Pathways (ASAP) and its baccalaureate version, Advancing Completion through Engagement (ACE) remove financial barriers to full-time study, provide structured pathways to help students gain and maintain academic momentum, and create connected communities through integrated supports and engagement activities—all in service of dramatically increasing timely completion rates for participating students. SUNY ASAP targets Pell-eligible students and provides multiple resources, including a cost of attendance award after accounting for financial aid, travel and textbook expenses, comprehensive personalized advisement services, academic support assistance, and career development activities.

Community Colleges