Governor Kathy Hochul today announced the expansion of SUNY ASAP|ACE, the nation’s leading evidence-based retention and completion model, from 4,270 students at 25 SUNY campuses in Fall 2024 to 7,050 students at 34 SUNY campuses in Fall 2025. Nine SUNY campuses will join ASAP|ACE this school year, and 14 current partner campuses will add spots to serve more students. This expansion is made possible using $12 million in allocated funding from the FY26 State Budget that places SUNY ASAP|ACE on the path to reach 10,000 students by Fall 2026.

“New York State is committed to helping our students reach their highest potential, and ASAP|ACE is a proven program to ensure students complete their degree on the path to a great job,” Governor Hochul said. “ASAP|ACE has already assisted thousands of New Yorkers in their higher education journey, and I am proud that more students will benefit from its expansion….”

….SUNY Chancellor John B. King said, “SUNY is committed to the success of every student, and ASAP|ACE is a proven, evidence-based strategy to improve retention and completion. I am thrilled that through Governor Hochul’s leadership and the support of the legislature, SUNY is expanding this vital program to even more students and campuses across the SUNY system….”

….SUNY’s first campus to replicate the completion model is Westchester Community College, and results from independent research show significant increases from enrollment to completion. Three years since SUNY WCC launched Viking Resources for Obtaining Associate Degrees and Success (Viking ROADS), MDRC’s research showed participants were 11.8 percentage points more likely to complete a degree than students in the control group (35.5 percent versus 23.7 percent). These results are even more impressive given that the study was conducted during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. These graduation improvements are in line with results from earlier evaluations of CUNY ASAP (18 percentage point impact) and the replication of ASAP in Ohio (15 percentage points). Taken together, these effects on college completion are the largest of any postsecondary program that has been evaluated by MDRC….

….MDRC President Virginia Knox said, “The ASAP/ACE model has an unparalleled record of success in study after study, including at SUNY Westchester Community College. It is heartening to see this remarkable, evidence-backed program being expanded by the state of New York to benefit thousands of students across the State University of New York system….”

Full press release