SUNY Empire’s opportunity programs see largest enrollment on record 

(SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY — NOVEMBER 15, 2024) Empire State University’s opportunity programs currently serve over 1,000 students, the largest number in program history. The growth and expansion of these programs, bringing access to affordable and flexible online higher education, is only just beginning.  

Dana Brown, senior director of enrichment and opportunity programs, said Empire State University’s journey into opportunity programs began with the Empire State Opportunity Program in 2020, which was expanded to include students across the state during the pandemic. 

“In that first semester, we saw a huge shift in retention amongst that cohort,” Brown said. “We added thirty more students to the program, and we had over 100 students that started in cohort one.”  

Brown said the program’s success paved the way for successfully applying for the educational opportunity program, which launched in 2021. Both efforts led to noticeable increases in student retention, leading Brown and her team to examine what was keeping students enrolled at SUNY Empire and how to continue the success.  

“The question was: are students being retained because of the financial support they are receiving, or is it the social, emotional connection they are making with staff and faculty?” Brown said.  

That led to the creation of another opportunity program modeled after peer and faculty support, as opposed to financial: the Empire Promise program. Other programs were also added, including the Presidential Scholars program and Military Veteran Opportunity Program, which are modeled after the Empire Promise Program.  

“We identify students who qualified based on data that shows certain populations that are underserved at this institution,” Brown said. “Those programs are really our institution’s way of saying that we are not going to allow groups of students to go underserved and so those programs modeled that.”  

Brown said seeing the success of each program and consistent growth in enrollment and retention is a testament to the legacy of her career, these students, and the narrative of higher education in the future.  

“It shifts the culture, it shifts the story and the narrative for their life, and it changes the legacy for them,” Brown said. “I think my goal is always impact and experience for students, where they feel like they belong.”  

Brown said the focus on community and belonging differentiates Empire State University’s opportunity programs, putting student support at the forefront of their mission.  

“Everybody needs a group of people that will rally around you at the end of the marathon and say you can do it when you haven’t found the strength in yourself to get to the finish line,” Brown said. “Somehow, when your friends are cheering for you, you find it within yourself to go okay, I can make it and get to the end.”