More than 1,100 first-year students and 700 transfer students will join the SUNY New Paltz community this fall, as the University prepares to welcome a diverse and academically strong incoming class. Our newest Hawks – including an additional 350 new graduate program enrollees – will bring our overall campus population to more than 7,000 students for the 2023-24 academic year.
“Our community is eager to begin supporting and collaborating with this new class of talented, diverse and academically qualified students,” said Stella Turk, interim vice president for enrollment management. “This is an exciting time to be at SUNY New Paltz. Our new students bring incredible energy and a rich array of experiences, and we cannot wait to see what they will accomplish during their time here.”
The incoming class is academically strong, with new high school students bringing an average GPA of 92 and transfers coming in with an average college GPA of 3.2.
They also represent diverse backgrounds and experiences. According to Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) classifications, about 56% of incoming first-year and transfer students at New Paltz self-identify as white, and 36% self-identify as non-white (Hispanic of any race, Black or African American, Asian, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific, Two or more races or International), with an additional 8% for whom race/ethnicity is unknown.
Another trend with this year’s incoming class is an increase in students coming to New Paltz from out of state. The number of first-year students from outside New York has nearly doubled since last year, from 31 deposits in 2022 to 61 deposits in 2023, with the majority enrolling from New Jersey. This increase follows a SUNY-wide initiative to match public in-state tuition rates for students from eight states, to help attract more students nationwide to the State University of New York system.
New first-year students and their families will begin settling into their on-campus homes on Move-In Day, Thursday, Aug. 24. Returning students will continue to arrive through the weekend before classes begin on Monday, Aug. 28.
Convocation 2023: A reimagined Welcome Week tradition
Convocation has been a rite of passage for new SUNY New Paltz students for nearly 40 years, an initial bookend to their university experience that sets the stage for their academic and personal growth and, ultimately, the joy of Commencement and the triumph of earning a degree.
In 2023, for our 37th annual Convocation event, we’ve made some changes to refresh and revitalize this campus tradition for our newest generation of students.
We’re focusing on creating spaces where students can have real conversations and connect with one another and with the faculty and staff who will guide and support them during their years here.
Part of that shift means moving the event to Wednesday, Aug. 30, during the first week of classes, when more people are on campus. The ceremony had traditionally been held on the Friday prior to classes beginning, before many upper-class students and faculty members had returned to campus.
The program includes a class photo, a processional down Excelsior Concourse, brief words of welcome from President Darrell P. Wheeler and Student Association President Xaviana Blunt ’24 (Black Studies) on the Old Main Quad, and BBQ receptions organized by academic school.
The Science of Reading Fundamentals: A new microcredential at SUNY New Paltz
The fall semester will see the launch of the Science of Reading Fundamentals microcredential, a new, fully online, self-paced, non-credit sequence of learning modules designed to provide P-12 educators, administrators, parents and others with knowledge of the research-based building blocks of literacy instruction.
Teachers who register and complete the microcredential will receive 35 Continuing Teacher & Leader Education (CTLE) hours toward their New York State certification requirements. Content can be completed at the user’s preferred pace, with flexibility built in to meet the needs of diverse enrollees. Scholarships are available to the first 5,000 New York State-certified teachers who apply.
Focused on reading skill across P-12, this fully online, self-paced microcredential features five modules centered on the foundational pillars of the Science of Reading: Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Fluency, Vocabulary and Comprehension. Enrollees will learn, assess and practice across topics with successful completers ready to apply knowledge and skills acquired.
This new academic offering is made possible by a $6.37 million donation to SUNY New Paltz from the Ibis Group, a non-profit with the mission to ensure every student has access to evidence-based instructional methods to master grade-level reading by the end of the first grade. The gift, the largest in University history, was first announced at the Tribeca Festival in New York City on June 9.
It is one of a growing number of microcredentials being offered throughout the State University of New York system. These short, focused content offerings, taught by SUNY faculty, are designed to provide in-demand skills, know-how and experience to support New York’s workforce development and the needs of today’s modern learner. More information about SUNY microcredentials is available here.
