As part of SUNY's comprehensive effort to increase student success across the System, and as announced in the Chancellor's 2025 State of the University address, 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.
Ambitious systemwide retention and completion goals will be established for the Fall 2026 entering first-time, full-time undergraduate cohort and will be informed by proportional campus targets. These goals will focus on increasing graduation rates (100% and 150%), one-year retention, credit accumulation, timely completion of gateway English and math courses, and FAFSA completion rates. Taken together, these metrics will provide a comprehensive picture of student momentum across SUNY.
View the SUNY Academic Momentum Campaign System Goals.
The SUNY Academic Momentum Campaign is being advanced in three phases. In summer 2025, the SUNY Office of Student Success (OSS) launched a discovery process, surveying campuses on their existing student success practices and analyzing campus historical data to inform the development of proposed system goals, campus targets, and planning materials. In fall 2025, campuses began reviewing proposed targets for the fall 2026 entering cohort and assembled cross-functional campus planning teams—moving through a structured planning process supported by SUNY OSS to realize agreed upon targets. In spring 2026, campuses will begin the early implementation of approved plans in preparation for full launch in fall 2026.
The Academic Momentum Fellowship Program, led by the Office of Student Success, supports the Campaign by partnering Fellows with campuses to strengthen strategies that improve student retention and completion. Academic Momentum Fellows work alongside the Office of Student Success to provide campus teams with technical assistance, consultation, and peer collaboration that will advance strategies related to credit momentum, gateway course completion, holistic advising, and other evidence-based approaches that support student success.
Learn about the Academic Momentum Fellows
SUNY is advancing two systemwide initiatives focused on improving outcomes for two important student populations: first-time freshmen and transfer students moving from SUNY community colleges to state-operated campuses. While each initiative employs a distinct strategy, they are purposefully aligned and designed to reinforce one another. Their goals are complementary, not competing, and together they reflect SUNY's commitment to ensuring that all students are fully supported as they enter and progress through their undergraduate degree programs.
The SUNY Seamless Transfer Initiative is an ongoing effort to advance the recommendations and success metrics articulated in the SUNY Transfer Task Force final report approved by the SUNY Board of Trustees in December 2024. Campuses will work toward institutional targets that roll-up to system success metrics through the adoption of tools, resources, process/practice recommendations, and policy reforms being actively advanced by the SUNY Office of Student Success Transfer and Articulation team to realize approved recommendations. This work is informed by ongoing collaboration and dialogue with a set of systemwide advisory bodies and campus transfer liaisons (see Transfer Advisory Council).
Learn More About the Academic Momentum Campaign and the Seamless Transfer Initiative
Explore resources that can help implement Academic Momentum initiatives on campus.
If you have any questions about the SUNY Academic Momentum Campaign, please contact us.
