FREDONIA – As college students around the country prepare to head back to school; SUNY Fredonia is gearing up for its largest incoming first-year class in the school’s history.
The school announced this week 1,200 first year students are expected to fill classrooms this fall.
“These significant enrollment gains are being achieved at a time when the pool of high school graduates continues to shrink across the nation,” said SUNY Fredonia’s Director of Admissions Cory Bezek in a statement. “We are being very proactive in the outreach to these students to make sure they are not only admitted to Fredonia, but are also wanted and recruited by Fredonia.”
Officials said they overhauled the undergraduate admissions process last year to prepare for the expected increase in freshmen.
“Changes in admissions were necessary to enable Fredonia to fulfill its mission of being a comprehensive university with a liberal arts focus,” said Vice President of Enrollment and Student Services Cedric B. Howard. “The driving theme in reimagining the admissions process was to prepare Fredonia to serve as a catalyst for building a college-going culture in Chautauqua County and beyond.”
SUNY Fredonia’s second largest first-year enrollment was 1,128 last year.
School officials report the entering class of students brings a rich and varied heritage to campus. They hail from eight different foreign countries and 19 states and are fluent in 42 languages other than English and represent 542 high schools whose graduation classes range from 14 to over 900 students. Among this entering class are 13 valedictorians and salutatorians.
As the entering class has grown over the past years, Fredonia has also spent more time paying attention to students who are closer to home, including those in Chautauqua County.
“Our new Pathway programs with our Pre-college Outreach Office have allowed us to be able to provide a greater service to our county and surrounding area,” said Associate Vice President for Enrollment Services Daniel M. Tramuta.
