Office of the Provost

Program Performance

Since program inception, more than 55,000 Educational Opportunity Program students have graduated from the University. This figure does not include those who may have transferred and completed their degrees at another postsecondary institution. Educational Opportunity Program students compete favorably with their peers who entered the University through the standard admissions process. Because EOP students begin their careers with an economic and academic disadvantage, their success substantiates the effectiveness of the program’s structure and support services.

Based upon the most recent available data, the first year retention rate in the senior colleges is 84.5 percent. At ^[1]54% percent, the six-year EOP graduation rate is competitive with the public national graduation rate which was reported at ^[2]55% by the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.

Achievement Awards

Each year, the University recognizes Educational Opportunity Program students who achieve a cumulative 3.0 grade point average by presenting them with the SUNY Certificate of Achievement signed by the Chancellor.   In addition to receiving the award, students may participate in an honors ceremony held at the individual campuses. Annually, more than 2,000 students across the University are recipients of the award.

Honor Society-Chi Alpha Epsilon

Chi Alpha Epsilon is an honor society that acknowledges the academic scholarship of students who entered college through a access program (e.g. EOP, ACT101, EOF) Founded by Dr. Elbert Sadler at West Chester University in 1989, more than 10,000 students have been inducted into Chi Alpha Epsilon.   Within the State University of New York, Chi Alpha Epsilon exists on 21 of the 43 SUNY participating campuses. Educational Opportunity Program students are also members of other honor societies (e.g. Phi Beta Kappa)