Chancellor King Launches SUNY Academic Momentum Campaign to Boost Retention and Completion

11/17/2025

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Nov. 17, 2025  — State University of New York Chancellor John B. King Jr. announced additional financial support and technical assistance to strengthen student retention and completion rates through SUNY’s Academic Momentum Campaign. The campaign was first addressed in Chancellor King’s 2025 State of the University Address to advance evidence-based student retention and success initiatives to support all SUNY students. 

SUNY’s Academic Momentum Campaign builds on the success of ASAP|ACE – the nation’s leading evidence-based strategy for college retention and completion. Thanks to investments made by Governor Kathy Hochul and the legislature, more than 7,000 SUNY students are currently enrolled in ASAP|ACE, and the academic momentum campaign provides an opportunity for campuses to learn from these successful models and scale several of their strategies, including high-quality advising and personalized student support. In addition, SUNY campuses — including the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) — will draw on proven best practices from across the country used at the colleges with the greatest success in retention and completion, particularly for students furthest from opportunity.

"Nobody goes to college thinking they will drop out, and SUNY’s Academic Momentum Campaign is furthering our efforts to help every student thrive at SUNY campuses," said King. "SUNY is providing historic levels of support to make sure our campuses can help each student succeed academically and grow personally. Through evidence-based strategies and strong support from SUNY, we know that our students will benefit from this initiative."

SUNY campuses are developing action plans to support increased retention and completion rates for students who enter in fall 2026. To support these locally driven efforts, SUNY is announcing:

• Additional resources to campuses to increase student success in key "gateway" general education courses. SUNY has invited campuses to join a voluntary Professional Learning Community for SUNY faculty and staff leading gateway course redesign work that will be led by a technical assistance provider with expertise in improving success in the courses that students use to meet general education requirements in written/oral communication and mathematics. Campuses will receive up to $15,000 each to support faculty and staff participation in the learning community, which will launch in February 2026.
• Leadership opportunities for faculty and staff to support academic momentum across the SUNY System. In recognition of the expertise of SUNY faculty and staff, SUNY will name up to 20 SUNY Faculty & Staff Academic Momentum Fellows to support campuses in the development and early implementation of their action plans. Ten faculty and staff will be identified across each of the community college and state-operated campus sectors to work in concert with the SUNY Office of Student Success to provide ongoing technical assistance to campuses. 
• Financial support for campus teams to work together on academic momentum solutions. Every SUNY campus is eligible for up to $20,000 to bring together teams to develop their action plan. These funds can be employed to provide release time for faculty and staff to engage in this important work, among other uses.

As part of the Academic Momentum Campaign planning process, campuses will receive individual technical assistance support from SUNY Student Success staff, have access to written resources and webinars to learn more about evidence-based practices in place within SUNY and from national exemplars, and join regional planning summits.

"Finding new and innovative ways to address just how many moments there are that can assist in supporting a student's experience is a bold and important step in higher ed,” said ESF President Joanie Mahoney. “We are grateful for the SUNY support to strengthen retention, as it remains a key focus for us at ESF. We owe it to our students to constantly be finding ways to meet their needs and enhance their experience." 

About SUNY ESF

The SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) is dedicated to the study of the environment, developing renewable technologies, and building a sustainable and resilient future through design, policy, and management of the environment and natural resources. Members of the College community share a passion for protecting the health of the planet and a deep commitment to the rigorous application of science to improve the way humans interact with the world. The College offers academic programs ranging from the associate of applied science to the Doctor of Philosophy. ESF students live, study and do research on the main campus in Syracuse, N.Y., and on 25,000 acres of field stations in a variety of ecosystems across the state.