A majority of City University of New York dropouts who re-enrolled for another chance at a college diploma stick with their studies with help from a city-funded program, university officials said Thursday.
Seven in 10 participants in CUNY Reconnect, an initiative that helps New Yorkers with some college credits earn their degrees, returned this fall or graduated from the program, now in its second year. CUNY officials hope the City Council will provide money to keep the program going.
In total, more than 25,000 students have registered through the program since its launch, helping the city’s public university system turn around years of enrollment losses.
“It’s not enough to bring them in,” Reine Sarmiento, vice chancellor of enrollment management said Thursday at a hearing of the City Council’s Committee on Higher Education.
“Our goal in Reconnect is to graduate them,” Sarmiento said.
Each Reconnect student is paired with a “navigator,” who walks them through the reenrollment process, offers virtual counseling during off-hours, and connects them with services they need like child care or forgiveness grants for loan, tuition or other fees they may owe CUNY.
The city-funded initiative received a $1.4 million budget boost this year to $5.8 million, according to Council figures. The mayor and City Council renew the program on a year-by-year basis.
“I know that budget cuts are coming and that difficult decisions will need to be made. But we have worked very hard to demonstrate the impact of CUNY Reconnect in our fine city, and we request your support in working with the mayor’s office,” said Sarmiento.
Among the New Yorkers benefitting from the program is Grace Hamler, who came across CUNY Reconnect when scrolling on her cell phone. She had previously earned some credits at Hunter College that she doubted would be enough to qualify for Reconnect, but called a representative anyway.
“I told him of my prior college experience that I hardly felt supported and that even so, life got in the way,” said Hamler. “Today at age 72, I am on the verge of completing my first full semester.”
More than 1,600 students who reenrolled through the initiative have graduated so far, college officials said.
CUNY last week opened a welcome center at York College in Jamaica, Queens, where dropouts seeking to resume their educations can meet with counselors to discuss registration and services. Another site is expected to open at the College of Staten Island in 2024, college officials announced Thursday.
