Farmingdale State College Enrollment Tops 10,000

FARMINGDALE, NY - Farmingdale State College experienced a fall 2020 opening day enrollment of 10,070. It marks the second straight year it topped the 10,000-student milestone. The college also has its largest freshman class in over 10 years; all of this despite the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. The freshman class is 1,632, which is 112 more than fall 2019, the college said in a news release.

Farmingdale has 10,000 undergraduate students; the second highest Long Island undergraduate population of any four-year institution after Stony Brook University. Farmingdale also has 70 graduate students enrolled.

The college’s popularity was recognized in a survey by The Chronicle of Higher Education in
2018, which reported that from 2006 through 2016, Farmingdale ranked eighth among public colleges nationally in percentage of enrollment increased during that period, at 48 percent.

The College received 8,227 applications, a 3.2 per cent increase over last fall. Farmingdale’s enrollment is in dramatic contrast to downward state and national trends. Enrollment across many colleges and universities are expected to be down 5 to 20 percent in fall 2020 according to a June report from the Fitch Ratings Group.

Farmingdale President John Nader attributed the college’s enrollment success to a variety of factors, including employment outcomes for graduates, low debt for graduates, and the expansion of academic programs. FSC added six new academic programs over the last two years, in fields including business analytics, computer security technology, and geographic information systems.

"Our enrollment growth is the result of the remarkable outcomes enjoyed by our graduates,"
Nader stated. "Their success in landing excellent jobs while graduating with little or no debt really shows public higher education at its very best."

According to the SUNY gradwages, Farmingdale graduates rank among the top four in SUNY in salary earnings at five- and 10-year intervals. The five-year average earning was $63,861 and the 10-year average earning was $80,390. Consistently, over 90 percent of Farmingdale graduates are employed or in graduate school within six months of receiving their degree. The college also ranked second in SUNY in a recent calculation of low student debt. The average for a Farmingdale graduate was $24,531—which is $4,500 below the national average.

As part of its COVID-19 safety plan, Farmingdale is delivering instruction in a variety of methods this fall, including in-person, remote learning, and online classes. The student population on campus will be approximately 30 percent at any given time, and the residential population has been reduced to about 100 from the typical 600.