BY ROSSI SEALEY
The City University of New York’s Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) is making a difference in addressing low graduation rates in the two-year colleges it serves. Founded in 2007, and offered at 14 CUNY colleges, including some four-year programs, ASAP provides holistic support to students, helping them complete their associate degree in three years or less.
Three-year graduation rates among ASAP students rose from 36.2% in FY2024 to 38.5% in FY2025, according to the most recent Mayor’s Management report.
The program offers free unlimited OMNY cards for transportation, tuition scholarships, advising, career exposure opportunities, and textbook assistance. ASAP requires full-time enrollment.
ASAP has increased its support for CUNY students over the years, currently serving some 25,000 students annually, and a total of over 120,000 since it began. As of fall 2025, the program supported 44% of first-time, full-time associate degree-seeking students, according to a recent CUNY ASAP Fast Facts evaluation report.
The report also showed that 69% of ASAP graduates enroll in a bachelor’s degree program upon entering ASAP, and of those, 43% earn their degree.
“It’s really that kind of commitment, ensuring that students, have all of the resources they need that are very customized to their needs,” said Christine Brongniart, Executive Director of CUNY ASAP. Brongniart also heads Accelerate, Complete, Engage (ACE), launched in 2015, which follows the ASAP model to support bachelor’s degree students. It currently serves seven CUNY colleges and over 7,856 students since its start.
Brongniart hopes that more investment in ACE’s expansion will create a clear pathway for graduates to complete their bachelor’s degree through ACE.
“The hope is that the city and the state continue to invest in an expansion so that we can ensure that the majority, if not all, of our ASAP graduates are moving to a support structure that will continue to support them to maintain academic momentum and ensure that there is a pathway to bachelor’s completion,” said Brongniart.
In late November, the NYC Council Committee on Higher Education held a hearing, led by the Chairperson Eric Dinowitz, to examine CUNY’s graduation rates. Since 2018, according to the Mayor’s Management report, graduation rates for associate’s degree students increased from 33.1% in FY2018 to 37.6% in FY2024 Baccalaureate students saw a similar pattern: 56.6% in FY2018, rising to 60% in FY2024. Both showed a slight dip in FY2025.
Dinowitz urged CUNY administrators to boost these numbers and explore support systems to help students and CUNY.
“The graduation rates, in my view, they’re not where they need to be, and we need to set our sights a lot higher,” said Dinowitz in the Council hearing. “We are partners here in the City Council to make sure that our students are achieving everything they can, both to benefit themselves and, of course, our entire city at large.”
CUNY students face challenges from multiple factors as they proceed through college.
They must often balance work, family, and school, which can be challenging for these students. This can lead to reduced course loads or increased stress, making it harder to stay in school.
“I was kind of doing less classes because I don’t have the ability to do five classes at once, so I take four classes,” said Ylé Blackburn, a Brooklyn College senior and double major. “For other students, I’m very much aware it just takes a slower time to get through the process than for others at times.”
There are also systemic issues, including limited courses, funding, and advising.
COVID-19 sparked a change in the way students attended school as they had to transition to remote learning. This shift disrupted accessibility, as some students lacked laptops or reliable Wi-Fi. The pandemic imposed financial and mental hardships on many families.
Blackburn, who started college back in 2020, has experienced challenges in her academics with disability support services because of the lack of communication during COVID.
“I went an entire semester without accommodations because during COVID, there was no direction on the website on where to submit my accommodations for help, and then I failed a class,” said Blackburn.
She adds that the accommodation process is ongoing and often challenging. While she appreciates the staff’s efforts to support students, she believes the current systems can be more of a hindrance than help.
Blackburn is set to graduate in May 2026.
Another contributor to declining graduation rates for CUNY college students is unpreparednes. Not all city high schools prepare students for college..
“I think because the Department of Education(DOE) is so focused on increasing graduation rates, it graduates students who are unprepared for post-secondary careers and education,” said David Bloomfield, professor of Education Leadership, Law, and Policy at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center.
Bloomfield stressed that high schools should clearly explain college academic requirements to students, adding that the city’s college placement process is a key issue. “The city has a motivation for placing students in colleges, and I think sometimes it doesn’t inform students of both the economic and the academic consequences of that decision.”
Across the United States, about 71% of students who started at four-year public colleges in 2018 completed their degrees within six years, while 43% of those starting at two-year public colleges graduated within the same time frame, according to a 2024 national report.
The CUNY ASAP and ACE models are influencing efforts nationwide to improve these rates. According to the CUNY’s ASAP and ACE evaluation report, “More than 60 institutions across Ohio, California, Colorado, New York (SUNY), North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Maryland have implemented — or are preparing to implement — the ASAP model with technical assistance from the CUNY National Replication Collaborative.”
Brongniart adds that it’s an expensive model, but the returns are clear, and scaling it could make a big difference.
“We’re replicating this model through the country, and again it takes millions and millions of dollars up front, but I mean the return is more and more clear,” said Brongniart. “The potential to scale this model it makes such a dramatic impact to lift the tide across the university and other systems too.”