Syracuse University won’t meet its undergraduate enrollment target for the next fiscal year, according to the school’s chancellor.
In a letter to the SU community, Chancellor/President J. Michael Haynie said the fall 2026 enrollment “carries real financial consequences,” including a budget deficit, since the school’s main revenue source is undergraduate enrollment. Haynie added that SU officials are already at work to improve enrollment numbers for 2027.
“[T]his is a moment for urgency and purpose — not panic,” Haynie said in the letter. “Universities that respond with focused, strategic effort will emerge stronger. Those that do not will find their options narrowing. I am committed to ensuring Syracuse is in the former category.”
Haynie said he’s spoken with other universities’ officials, who say “enrollment volatility is widespread.”