SUNY Seamless Transfer Initiative

The SUNY Seamless Transfer Initiative enhances the existing SUNY Seamless Transfer policy and SUNY's leading transfer support programs. The SUNY Seamless Transfer Initiative will introduce new high-impact practices and approaches to improve transfer admission, retention, and graduation.

At the direction of the Chancellor and the SUNY Board of Trustees, the Office of Student Success and the Office of the Provost collaborated with leadership from the University Faculty Senate and the Faculty Council of Community Colleges to convene a Transfer Task Force. This Task Force was charged with conducting a comprehensive evaluation of the transfer landscape across the SUNY system.

Launched in Fall 2023, the Task Force undertook a rigorous review of SUNY’s existing transfer-related policies, procedures, and programs. This work was informed by both internal data and national best practices, with the goal of developing a forward-looking strategy to enhance transfer student success and improve overall student outcomes.

In fall 2024, the SUNY Transfer Task Force released the Recommendations Report, which outlined 32 specific recommendations organized under four strategic objectives. The report received unanimous endorsement from the SUNY Board of Trustees in December 2024, signaling strong institutional commitment to advancing transfer reform across the system.

Our Advisory Teams

We've assembled expert faculty and staff from every region and SUNY sector.

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Task Force Recommendations

Learn more about the work of SUNY's Transfer Task Force and read the full report.

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Transfer Events and Training

Review our upcoming and past transfer training sessions and events occurring statewide.

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SUNY-Wide Transfer Success Metrics

Metric	Goal
Double the overall 6-year transfer graduation rate for the 2025 cohort. SUNY institutional reporting tools will be used to perform annual assessments which will be supported by SUNY-provided data dashboards. The current SUNY rate of 21% will be doubled for the 2025 cohort.	40% Cohort Graduation Rate
Reduce the number credits not that are not articulated. Using student-level transfer credit acceptance figures, SUNY will achieve 80% average acceptance, in contrast to the current 56-60% national average. Preliminary assessments indicate SUNY has 64-67% acceptance, slightly higher than the national average.	80% Average Credit Acceptance
Raise the SUNY-to-SUNY segment of the transfer-out rate to over 60%. SUNY data from SIRIS and SUNY institutional reporting tools will be used to assess and target a 10% improvement in the transfer admission rates (transfer-out) to demonstrate that added efforts to publicize Transfer Paths and SUNY options have an impact on enrollment.	10% Improvement Within 6 Years
Reduce average excess credit. Reduce excess credits accrued by at least 6 credits on average. Current data indicates that SUNY was able to reduce excess credits by 1.16 credits through the implementation of Transfer Paths.	6 Credits Average Reduction Within 6 Years
Reduce average time to degree by ½ semester. Reduce the time to degree students experience by ½ semester on average. Currently, transfer students spend an average of 3.1 years at the 4-year institution after transferring.	1/2 Semester Average Reduction Within 6 Years

Metric

Goal

Double the overall 6-year transfer graduation rate for the 2025 cohort.

SUNY institutional reporting tools will be used to perform annual assessments which will be supported by SUNY-provided data dashboards. The current SUNY rate of 21% will be doubled for the 2025 cohort.

40%

Cohort Graduation Rate

Reduce the number credits not that are not articulated.

Using student-level transfer credit acceptance figures, SUNY will achieve 80% average acceptance, in contrast to the current 56-60% national average. Preliminary assessments indicate SUNY has 64-67% acceptance, slightly higher than the national average.

80%

Average Credit Acceptance

Raise the SUNY-to-SUNY segment of the transfer-out rate to over 60%.

SUNY data from SIRIS and SUNY institutional reporting tools will be used to assess and target a 10% improvement in the transfer admission rates (transfer-out) to demonstrate that added efforts to publicize Transfer Paths and SUNY options have an impact on enrollment.

10%

Improvement Within 6 Years

Reduce average excess credit.

Reduce excess credits accrued by at least 6 credits on average. Current data indicates that SUNY was able to reduce excess credits by 1.16 credits through the implementation of Transfer Paths.

6 Credits

Average Reduction Within 6 Years

Reduce average time to degree by ½ semester.

Reduce the time to degree students experience by ½ semester on average. Currently, transfer students spend an average of 3.1 years at the 4-year institution after transferring.

1/2

Semester Average Reduction Within 6 Years

Timeline and Process

The SUNY Seamless Transfer Initiative is a comprehensive, multi-year project carried out in collaboration with our campuses and governance bodies. After the Transfer Task Force completed its work and the recommendations were approved, the project moved into the development and implementation phase. Throughout 2025 and beyond, a series of milestones and launch events will take place. You can review our high-level timeline to learn more about the timing of projects and have insight into the project rollout plan. If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact us.

A diagram depicting the phases of the SUNY roadmap.

Media and Additional Information

Learn more and share the news about the SUNY Seamless Transfer Initiative by downloading and sharing the media below. You are free to make these available to stakeholders on your campus and make use of the digital assets provided.

Infographics


Seamless Transfer Initiatives Summary (PDF)	SUNY Transfer Equivalency Platform (PDF)

SUNY Transfer Metrics (PDF)	SUNY Transfer Steps (PDF) Coming Soon!

View additional media resources, assets, and downloads on the Transfer Hub.