BY SERIN SARSOUR
The City University of New York is seeing a rise in enrollment across its campuses following the COVID-19 pandemic. The initial launch of CUNY Reconnect last fall, an initiative aimed at helping adults finish their degrees after stepping away from the University, surpassed its goal of re-enrolling 10,000 returning students this past spring after about 17,000 students signed up for classes through the program, according to the official CUNY website.
“When we invest in the success of working-age New Yorkers and their families, our communities and city benefit,” said NYC Council Speaker Adrienne Adams at CUNY Hostos Community College in the Bronx on May 16.
CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez has made an additional effort to increase future enrollment after the University partnered up with city public schools. In early October, Chancellor Matos Rodríguez joined NYC Schools Chancellor David Banks in hand-delivering letters to high school students, encouraging them to enroll in higher education after they graduate.
“We’re bouncing back,” said Chancellor Matos Rodríguez during a segment of Inside City Hall, a political talk show on Spectrum News NY1 hosted by Errol Louis, on Oct. 5. “This is the first time that we have positive enrollment compared to last fall. And particularly the numbers with new students, new freshmen, and new transfers is particularly encouraging for us.”
According to the most recent Mayor’s Management Report, enrollment of first-time freshmen in CUNY senior colleges has increased from 21,214 in fiscal year 2021 to 22,161 this year. The same report also shows a rise in high school students participating in College Now, a college preparatory program, from 30,444 students in 2021 to 34,625 students this year.
However, as quantity is going up, the quality of the CUNY institution may be in jeopardy as it faces a drop in faculty numbers. According to the September 2023 MMR, the number of full-time faculty members employed by CUNY community colleges went from 2,309 before the pandemic in fiscal year 2019 to 1,766 in fiscal year 2023. Additionally, the student/faculty ratio at senior colleges decreased from 28:1 in 2019 to 23:1 this fiscal year.
The number of CUNY students enrolled in the University’s Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) also has not made a comeback following the pandemic. According to the MMR previously mentioned, 20,309 students were reported to have been served by ASAP in fiscal year 2023, compared to the 25,345 students served by the program in fiscal year 2020.
CUNY Reconnect is accredited for a further increase in future enrollment, especially for people of color as 34 percent and 32 percent of re-enrolled students through the program identify as Hispanic and Black respectively, according to CUNY’s official website.
The $4.4 million program may receive even more support after Mayor Eric Adams revealed that his executive budget proposal included $5.8 million allocated to CUNY Reconnect for the 2023-2024 academic year.