Continued stabilization efforts yield gains while J-Term participation also increases
SUNY Fredonia has achieved its first spring-to-spring enrollment increase in eight years, marking another milestone in the university’s continued enrollment stabilization efforts.
For the Spring 2026 semester, total enrollment stands at 2,985 students, up from 2,950 in Spring 2025 — an increase of 1.2 percent. The growth follows momentum last summer to stabilize enrollment and end years of steady decline.
“This spring’s increase, while modest, is significant,” said Vice President for Enrollment Management and Services Kathryn Kendall. “Last fall, we shared encouraging signs of stabilization — including rising graduate enrollment and strong retention. To now see spring-to-spring growth reinforces that our strategies are gaining traction and that students continue to see the value of a Fredonia education.”
In August, university leaders highlighted a 17 percent rise in graduate enrollment and a first-year retention rate of 79 percent, which is well above the national average in higher education.
SUNY Fredonia President Stephen H. Kolison Jr. said the spring growth reflects sustained, campus-wide efforts to strengthen recruitment, expand academic pathways and support student success.
“In a higher education environment where many institutions continue to experience enrollment pressures, this increase signals forward momentum,” President Kolison said. “We are building on last fall’s stabilization and continuing to position Fredonia as a university where opportunity, affordability and personal attention come together.”
President Kolison credits targeted outreach, expanded graduate programming and coordinated retention initiatives for contributing to the upward trend. Dr. Kendall emphasized that enrollment stability, and now modest growth, is the result of collaborative efforts across many areas of campus including academic affairs, student support services and enrollment management.
The positive enrollment news at the start of the spring semester follows an increase in student participation in “J-Term,” the short academic term between the fall and spring semesters, allowing students to earn credits in an accelerated format. Overall student enrollment during the most recent J-Term between the Fall ‘25 and Spring ‘26 semesters was up 6 percent, and total credit hours increased 24 percent year-over-year, driven primarily by the increase in the number of in-demand graduate offerings.
