Buffalo State University announces updates to its framework for financial sustainability plan

May 23, 2025

Buffalo State University on Thursday announced key progress and updates on its Framework for Financial Sustainability, reinforcing its continued commitment to strengthening core academic offerings, growing high-demand programs, and building pathways that enhance both enrollment and student retention.

As Buffalo State tackles fiscal challenges similar to those facing campuses nationwide, Interim President Bonita R. Durand, Ph.D., announced in a video message to faculty, staff, students and the community that the university is positioned to remain on target to balance its budget by 2027-28. As the university nears the end of its fiscal year, it projects its deficit will be between $15.5 million and $17.5 million.

“I am incredibly proud of the progress we are making as a community to strengthen Buffalo State’s education mission and ensure students have the supports they need to achieve a degree that will serve them well throughout their lives,” Durand said. “I remain confident in our ability — with the support of SUNY, elected leaders and community partners — to take the necessary steps that will maintain our university’s position as a leader in higher education.”

Buffalo State’s Framework for Financial Sustainability has been augmented by historic levels of state support in the last three years. Under the recently approved state budget, Buffalo State is receiving $2.6 million in additional operating aid, bringing the total infusion of new support to $10.7 million in the last three years combined.

“Interim President Durand’s thoughtful, well-planned vision for Buffalo State is translating into progress,” said State University of New York Chancellor John B. King Jr. “The actions Buffalo State is taking are setting up the university for long-term financial stability and, most importantly, setting students up for maximum success. SUNY has provided more than $10 million of increased annual operating funding for Buffalo State over the last three years, and Dr. Durand and the entire Buffalo State community continue to have my full support and confidence as they take decisive action to shore up the university. A strong Buffalo State is essential to a strong SUNY.”

Strategic Growth
To meet the demands of prospective students, Buffalo State has created and revised programs to respond to changing needs, including the rollout of minors in business, and ethics and justice; a bachelor’s program in applied psychology; a master’s program in applied behavior analysis; and the ongoing development of a microcredential for school district business leaders in collaboration with Erie 1 BOCES. On Thursday, Durand announced that the university will merge its schools of Education and Professions as of fall 2025, creating administrative efficiencies and opportunities to explore new inter-disciplinary programs.

As a result of ongoing efforts to align both course offerings and support services with student needs, the campus-wide student persistence rate from fall 2024 to spring 2025 is 83.4%, up 7% from the previous year and the strongest rate the campus has seen since 2017. The persistence rate among Roar 2 Success students, who received customized supports designed to help them remain on track with their studies in their first year on campus, hit 89.7% — up 22% over 2023-24.

To further bolster the enrollment pipeline, Buffalo State has entered into a direct admit agreement with Buffalo Public Schools and is in conversations with the Williamsville, Kenmore and Niagara Falls school districts to create similar direct pathways for students to enroll at Buffalo State.

Aligning Academic Programming with Demand
As part of the university’s focus on areas of high student demand, Buffalo State has identified 19 additional programs for deactivation, beginning a multi-month process to analyze programs and set next steps that will be conducted in accordance with the campus shared governance policy.

A full list of the 19 programs is available below. The number of undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in these six bachelor’s and two master’s programs, 72, represents approximately 1% of all Buffalo State students, an average of nine students in these bachelor’s and master’s programs. Even in deactivating degree programs, courses necessary for other degree programs will continue to be offered. All students currently enrolled in these 19 programs will be able to complete their degrees as planned.

Operational Optimization
Beyond academic restructuring, Buffalo State is also engaging in a campus-wide evaluation of non-academic operations to better align staffing with current enrollment levels. This includes a review of temporary appointments, service delivery models, and workforce optimization planning across all departments, including the Office of the President, which will reduce operations.

In the last 10 years, student headcount at Buffalo State has fallen by approximately 45%, with a 25% reduction in the last five years, and a 5% percent reduction from Fall 2023 to Fall 2024. Despite that dramatic decrease in enrollment, changes were not made to staffing and programming. While the enrollment decrease was approximately 45%, staffing only decreased by approximately 25%.

It is initially estimated that academic and operational changes may result in up to 63 full-time equivalent reductions in staffing, which will be achieved through termination of temporary appointments, non-renewals and retrenchment, only when necessary.

This follows the implementation of a voluntary separation program, which has resulted in about 60 retirements.

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