Dear Members of the SUNY Oswego Community–
Last year around this time, I was just starting my third month at SUNY Oswego—getting acquainted with our beautiful campus, meeting many of you, and gaining a deeper understanding of our university's remarkable role in our community. It was an exhilarating period that underscored our collective potential to drive educational excellence and regional prosperity. However, it also revealed some challenges, particularly regarding our financial health.
At the beginning of the 2023-2024 academic year, we faced a budget shortfall of $5.4 million. Through prudent financial planning and the diligent efforts of our senior leadership, we managed to reduce that deficit to $1.9 million by year-end. That process, while challenging, underscored the importance of increasing enrollment and improving student retention to strengthen our fiscal foundation.
I am pleased to report that today, we are in a stronger position—both in terms of budget and enrollment. While we have more work ahead to reach pre-pandemic enrollment levels, we have made some important progress worth celebrating.
Enrollment Update
Our enrollment continues to be a primary source of our revenue, particularly through tuition and residence hall occupancy. This year, while overall enrollment is down slightly, we saw encouraging increases in the number of new undergraduate, transfer, and graduate students for Fall 2024. Our international enrollment grew to 215 students from 25 countries, and enrollment of underrepresented minority students increased by 26 percent. Additionally, our enrollment and residence hall occupancy exceeded the projections we made last spring, offering some much-needed relief on the budget front.
At this year’s Opening Breakfast, I spoke again about student retention as a key area we must focus on. I am encouraged by the work led by Vice President for Enrollment Management Cory Bezek in this regard, work that involves multiple campus units developing and implementing wrap-around services to support our students. I’m also proud to share that ours is the SUNY campus with the highest enrollment in the Advancing Completion through Engagement (ACE) program, a comprehensive support initiative aimed at helping Pell-eligible students achieve academic success and graduate on time. This fall, we welcomed our ACE cohort of 273 students, and we are committed to supporting them through their educational journey.
Budget Progress
With improved enrollment and residence hall revenue, we’ve made progress in addressing our budget deficit. Our total operating budget for 2024-2025 stands at $112 million. Additionally, we are receiving substantial support from SUNY, including:
- $2 million in additional operating aid,
- $133,000 to support student internships, and
- $9,000 for research.
We are forecasting a much smaller operating deficit for 2024-2025 of $880,000. As we work to eliminate this deficit, we will also focus on rebuilding our reserves to enable strategic one-time investments for our future. This is important, especially as we finalize and begin implementation of our new strategic plan. In the meantime, spending will continue to be monitored closely, and all requests to fill open positions will be reviewed by Vice President for Administration and Finance Victoria Furlong and myself.
Looking Ahead
We will discuss our budget and enrollment more fully at tomorrow’s meeting of the President’s Budget Advisory Group, from 8:00am to 9:30 am, which is accessible via Zoom. Please note you will have to sign in using your email address and password, which will bring you to the Oswego Zoom page where you will re-enter their password and then complete the multi-factor authentication. I encourage all members of our university community to join us, and if time allows, we will answer any questions you may have.
I also remain dedicated to further strengthening SUNY Oswego’s reputation, building relationships, and supporting your efforts as we work together toward a bright and sustainable future for our university. Here is a summary of my engagements during September.
Thank you for your continued support and dedication to our community.
Remain well,
Peter O. Nwosu
President
@sunyoswego_president