The State University of New York reported a 2.9% rise in fall 2025 headcount, marking the system’s third consecutive year of enrollment growth after a decade-long decline. SUNY’s total headcount reached 387,363, with first-time undergraduate enrollment up 3.1% and community-college headcounts climbing 5%. The gains are concentrated in community colleges, where first-time enrollments and outcomes tied to state outreach programs — including the SUNY Reconnect initiative and direct-admit policies — produced outsized increases. Transfer enrollments and selective-campus admissions also ticked up, but system officials note headcounts remain below Gov. Kathy Hochul’s 500,000-student goal. The enrollment rebound comes amid broader state efforts to reduce barriers to college, including free community-college programs for returning adults and guaranteed-admit pathways. SUNY leaders and state policymakers will use the data to justify continued investment in access programs and to push for retention interventions targeted at students in workforce-aligned fields. For campus leaders, the data suggest renewed demand for adult and workforce-oriented pathways and create urgency around capacity planning, advising and wraparound supports to convert admissions gains into retention and credential completion.