SUNY Orange Continues Trend of Student Growth With Stronger Winter Session Enrollment

Morrison Hall, SUNY Orange's administrative office, in Middletown, N.Y., on Dec. 2, 2015. Holly Kellum/The Epoch Times

Orange County’s own community college has seen its winter session enrollment grow by 22 percent from last year, according to a recent statement by the State University of New York (SUNY) Orange.

It marks the eighth consecutive academic session in which the college saw enrollment growth among its credit programs after a big hit during the COVID-19 pandemic years.

Enrollments at community colleges across New York state had been declining slowly for years before the steep plunge related to the pandemic.

During the recent rebound, SUNY Orange was ranked third among the 30 or so community colleges in terms of the speed of enrollment recovery, according to data published by SUNY last fall.

“We are seeing that students, particularly SUNY Orange students, are responding favorably to the courses we are offering,” SUNY Orange President Kristine Young said in a statement.

The college’s two-week winter session, similar to the summer session, helps students earn credits and reduces workload during busier fall and spring sessions.

During the winter session, SUNY Orange offers a dozen online general education courses, including English, history, biology, computer basics, and sociology.

Almost one in nine winter session participants are SUNY Orange students. A small number of session students are from outside institutions and will transfer the credits upon completion.

“[Students] see the value in taking a class or two while they are home on their own breaks, [which allows them] to concentrate more fully during the longer semesters and hopefully be more successful academically,” Young said.

In addition to traditional degree programs and credit courses, the community college has made strides in diversifying noncredit workforce development programs in past years, including a newly renovated food and hospitality training center based off its Newburgh campus.

Since its inception in June 1950, the college has been supported by three major financial pillars: county money, state aid, and student tuition. Private donations have also helped.

This year, the college is celebrating its 75th anniversary with the theme “Transforming Lives for 75 Years.”

Three signature events are a reunion at the Middletown campus, a formal gala at the West Hills Country Club, and an anniversary breakfast with tours on the Newburgh campus over the weekend between May 16 and May 18, according to a recent statement.

Alumni are welcome to share personal stories of how SUNY Orange transformed their lives through video messages. Related instructions can be found on the college website.