SUNY Celebrates Historic $10.7 Million State Investment in the Arthur O. Eve Educational Opportunity Program
June 11, 2026
The Nearly 60-Year-Old Program Showcases SUNY's Affordable Excellence by Providing Comprehensive Support to Help Academically Under-Prepared Students from Low-Income Backgrounds Succeed in College
Chancellor King Met with EOP Students at Alfred State to Discuss the Program
Albany, NY – State University of New York Chancellor John B. King Jr. celebrated the historic $10.7 million increase in State funding for SUNY's Arthur O. Eve Educational Opportunity Program, highlighting the support during a visit to Alfred State College. Governor Kathy Hochul and the State Legislature approved the increase last month in the enacted fiscal year 2026-2027 State budget. The nearly 60-year-old initiative provides affordable excellence and comprehensive support to help students from low-income backgrounds who did not receive sufficient academic preparation in K-12 – many of whom are the first in their families to go to college – succeed in earning a degree.
"For nearly 60 years, SUNY's Educational Opportunity Program has supported tens of thousands of students, helping them move forward on a path to upward mobility and success," said SUNY Chancellor King. "The program has made higher education more accessible for students throughout New York State by opening the doors for meaningful and successful careers. We are grateful for the investment from Governor Kathy Hochul and the State Legislature, and for the SUNY Board of Trustees, to help EOP students thrive."
The SUNY Board of Trustees said, "SUNY EOP has proven time and again how to inspire and support generations of New Yorkers to gain an affordable and excellent education. Through the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the State Legislature, SUNY's Educational Opportunity Program will flourish to help students as they work to pursue their dreams."
Chancellor King met with EOP members to discuss the importance of SUNY's Arthur O. Eve Educational Opportunity Program for students at Alfred State College and throughout New York State. Through SUNY's EOP program, 106 students are supported at Alfred State College this year, and more than 9,000 students are supported throughout the SUNY System.
Since 2022, SUNY EOP enrollment has increased by 21 percent, reflecting continued demand for the program and the confidence students and families place in its supports. At the same time, the most recent SUNY EOP outcomes show strong first-year retention for the Fall 2024 entering cohort across every sector when compared to similar students attending peer institutions around the country: doctoral-degree granting institutions reached 90.1 percent, comprehensive colleges 72.3 percent, technology colleges 65.2 percent, and community colleges 64.5 percent. These results demonstrate that when EOP is adequately resourced, students persist, campuses are strengthened, and New York's investment produces measurable returns.
State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky, Chair of the Higher Education Committee said, "The Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) does something simple and powerful. It looks at a student who needed extra help in high school and says: you belong in college, and we will help you finish. For nearly sixty years, EOP has turned that promise into degrees, careers, and first-generation graduates across New York. The retention numbers tell the story. When this program is funded properly, students stay and students succeed. This historic $10.7 million increase means thousands more young people will get that chance. I thank my colleagues in the Legislature for standing behind a program that has earned this expansion."
State Senator Robert Jackson said, "EOP has changed the lives of generations of New Yorkers by proving that talent is not limited by income, ZIP code, or circumstance. This historic investment will ensure that thousands more students have access not only to higher education, but to the guidance, support, and opportunity they need to succeed. When we invest in programs like EOP we are investing in future teachers, nurses, engineers, entrepreneurs, and public servants whose contributions will strengthen communities across our state for years to come."
State Senator Lea Webb said, "The SUNY Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) is highly successful and provides students with important resources for their academic and social progress. As a member of our Senate Higher Education Committee and proud SUNY EOP Alum, I know personally that this program continues to make an incredible impact on students' and working families' lives. This program makes access to higher education more affordable and equitable for working families. I am thankful to Governor Hochul and Senate Majority Leader Stewart Cousins for their dedication to providing this historic $10.7 million increase for this program, and I appreciate Chancellor John B. King Jr. and the SUNY Board of Trustees for their continued advancement of this significant program."
State Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes said, "I have seen, firsthand, the success of SUNY's Arthur O. Eve Educational Opportunity Program. I will keep hammering this point home: opportunity. The opportunity to continue an education and have success in the long run. Demand for EOP remains high and that is a credit to the program. I thank Governor Hochul for this vital investment."
State Assemblymember Alicia L. Hyndman, Chair of the Higher Education Committee, said, "As the Chair of the Assembly Committee on Higher Education, I am pleased by the $10.7 million increase in State funding for the Educational Opportunity Program, which was approved last month by Speaker Carl E. Heastie, Gov. Kathy Hochul, and the State Legislature. The historic funding, enacted in the fiscal year 2026 to 2027 budget, improves upon the nearly 60-year initiative, which supports more than 9,000 SUNY students from low-income backgrounds who are often the first in their families to pursue higher education. Once again, I want to thank Speaker Heastie for making this a budget priority. Retention for the first-year entering cohort of Fall 2024 was high across every sector, from those pursuing doctoral degrees to those in technology colleges and more, which highlights that, when given the resources to succeed, scholars from underserved communities are capable of going above and beyond. The program also helps the State close gaps in fields such as nursing and education, two major sectors that took a hit during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. This initiative serves not only SUNY scholars but all of New York."
State Assemblymember Manny De Los Santos, MSW said, "As a proud SUNY EOP alum, I am living proof of what this program makes possible. EOP does not just create access, it creates opportunity, leadership, and generational change. For working-class families and communities of color who have too often faced systemic barriers to higher education, this program affirms that talent exists everywhere, even when opportunity does not. This historic $10.7 million increase is more than an investment in a program. It is an investment in potential, in equity, and in the future of New York. I am proud to support funding that ensures the next generation of students can rise, lead, and thrive."
State Assemblymember Phara Souffrant Forrest said, "As a SUNY EOP alumna, this $10.7 million investment is personal to me. This program changed the trajectory of my life, and I know firsthand what it means for a first-generation student from a low-income background to have that support system in place. I am proud to have fought for this funding, and I am thrilled that students across New York State will feel its impact for years to come. When we invest in EOP, we invest in the next generation of New York's leaders. That is always worth it."
State Assemblymember Latrice Walker said, "I applaud my colleagues and Gov. Kathy Hochul for prioritizing the futures of students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. The SUNY Educational Opportunity Program is well on its way to having helped 100,000 students pursue their academic and career goals. I am one of those students, a Black girl who grew up in public housing in Brownsville, Brooklyn. I'm also a proud graduate of SUNY Purchase. The doors of educational opportunity should swing open to everyone — regardless of their zip code or economic hardships."
SUNY has taken steps to expand the support and resources available to EOP students. In February, SUNY announced the expansion of the EOP Scholars Program to support students in nursing and teaching degree programs focused on shortage area following Chancellor King's June 2025 commitment to expand these efforts in the fields. In 2024, SUNY expanded this program to include mental health fields and engineering, and in 2021 SUNY launched the pre-medical Educational Opportunity Program, providing EOP students with additional support and mentoring towards their path to medical school.
To further support EOP students, SUNY launched a partnership to offer EOP students free access to comprehensive test preparation resources over the next three years, including practice tests, for graduate-level admissions exams and professional licensure exams. In February 2025, Chancellor King announced an EOP Career Development Internship Program in partnership with state agencies to provide students with real-world professional experience and skill development within a field that aligns both with their academic pursuit and personal interests.
Since its inception in 1967, SUNY's Arthur O. Eve Educational Opportunity Program has provided access, academic support, and supplemental financial assistance to students from low-income backgrounds, many of whom are the first in their families to attend college. In its 59-year history, EOP has graduated nearly 90,000 students and evolved into one of the country's most successful college access programs. EOP eligibility is based on income and academic readiness. More information about SUNY's EOP can be found here.
About the State University of New York
The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY’s 64 colleges and universities. Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers, five hospitals, four medical schools, two dental schools, a law school, the country’s oldest school of maritime, the state's only college of optometry, 12 Educational Opportunity Centers, over 30 ATTAIN digital literacy labs, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.7 million students across its portfolio of credit- and non-credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures system-wide are nearly $1.5 billion in fiscal year 2025, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and annually one in three New Yorkers who earn a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunities, visit suny.edu.
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