SUNY Fredonia In A Deficit, Cancels 13 Majors

Students received the bad news in a letter on Monday night that many of the majors offered by the institution are going to be ending soon.

Fredonia has been in a downward slide for years

Bad news continues at the State University of New York at Fredonia.  According to Buffalo Business First, enrollment has been trending downward for years.  It was at its peak in 2009 when they hit almost 6,000 students enrolled.  However, since then it has gone down nearly every year and saw a low of around 3,000 students in the fall of 2023.

READ MORE:  The Best College Town In New York State

They've decreased the deficit, but not eliminated it

Because of the diminishing enrollment, Fredonia has been struggling financially.  They were in a deficit of almost $17 million at the end of fiscal year 2022. They've been able to decrease the deficit to around $12 million but it's still not enough.  Something had to give.

Majors are being dropped

According to Buffalo Business First, the letters that the students received came from the college’s executive vice president and provost, David Starrett.  He said:

"These decisions have not been made lightly, but have been made for the common goal we all share: ensuring that the university is responsive to student demand, directing our energies towards building degrees that students are seeking, the long-term financial health of SUNY Fredonia and the success of our students."

READ MORE:  Top Party Colleges In Western New York

The majors that will be dropped are:

• B.A. visual arts and new media, art history
• B.A. French
• B.A. French: adolescence education
• B.S. industrial management
• B.S. Mathematics: middle childhood specialist (grades 5-9)
• B.A. Philosophy
• B.A. sociology
• B.A. Spanish
• B.A. Spanish: adolescence education
• B.F.A. visual arts and new media, ceramics
• B.F.A. visual arts and new media, photography
• B.F.A. visual arts and new media, sculpture
• B.S.Ed. early childhood (birth - grade 2)

The students who are currently trying to achieve a degree in the majors will be able to finish their degrees, however, after June 5th, new students will not be able to enroll in those programs.

Click here for more on the majors that will no longer be available at SUNY Fredonia.