SUNY moving to Uniform Data Reporting Requirement as new rules commence
As the nation recognizes Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, State University of New York Chancellor John B. King, Jr. on May 25, 2023 honored the significant contributions those in the AAPI community have made while announcing efforts at SUNY on AAPI data disaggregation and student success.
“SUNY honors the extraordinary commitment of Asian American and Pacific Islander students, faculty, and staff across our campuses. We also renew our commitment to access, success, and upward mobility for all SUNY students and our values of diversity, equity, and inclusion. As an institution dedicated to equity and justice for all, we are committed to recognizing the successes and the barriers facing the AAPI community and to elevating the voices of Asian American and Pacific Islander students, faculty, and staff,” said SUNY Chancellor King.
Chancellor King made these comments when he convened a group of SUNY and New York State experts to discuss AAPI data disaggregation and student success on May 25, 2023.
“Disaggregating our AAPI data recognizes the short sightedness of grouping people, while raising the possibility of using authentic voice in our efforts to raise student success measures,” said SUNY Old Westbury President Timothy E. Sams of this important development.
SUNY Old Westbury, which is recognized as an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution by the U.S. Department of Education, enrolled 10.6 percent of its total enrollment from these communities in Fall 2022.
By fall 2023, SUNY will launch uniform data reporting standards—per Executive Law § 170-e (Assembly Bill A6896A)—at System Administration and all state-operated campuses. This will provide increased transparency among Asian subgroups by breaking down Asian American and Pacific Islander data by ethnic group. Subgroups nclude: Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Korean, Vietnamese, Asian Indian, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Native Hawaiian, Guamanian and Chamorro, and Samoan, and will be regularly updated to capture the top 10 AAPI ethnic groups of the state’s population.
As of the Fall 2022 semester, SUNY enrolled over 30,000 AAPI students, representing 8.3 percent of SUNY’s total enrollment.
Consistent with law and executive orders, SUNY System and state-operated campuses will also begin collecting disaggregated demographic data from those with Hispanic origins and those who identify as LGBTQIA+ for students, faculty, and staff.
Others involved in SUNY-wide discussion on the merits of this new process included NYS Office of General Services Commissioner Jeanette Moy, New York State Senator John C. Liu, New York State Senator Kevin Thomas, Assembly Member Jenifer Rajkumar, University at Buffalo President Satish K. Tripathi, University at Albany Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Carol H. Kim, and SUNY Schenectady President Steady Moono said.