CUNY graduates (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)

There is perhaps no institution in our city that has done more to create economic opportunity for New Yorkers than the City University of New York (CUNY). For generations, CUNY has provided its students with the tools they need to build a brighter financial future for themselves and their families. Yet today, CUNY finds itself at a financial crossroads. Steep budget cuts threaten the programs that are most effective at helping students earn a degree.

To ensure that far more New Yorkers from low-income backgrounds can succeed in the city’s fast-changing economy, policymakers should prioritize fully funding CUNY.

The stakes for New York are clear. A 2023 report from the Center for An Urban Future found that over 60% of jobs posted in New York City in 2022 required a bachelor’s degree — with these jobs offering a median starting salary of $79,800, compared with a median salary of $42,900 for jobs that don’t. 

As industries with a large share of accessible jobs, such as retail and hospitality, struggle to recover from the pandemic, helping more New Yorkers obtain well-paying jobs will require new efforts to close the city’s alarming college attainment gaps. Just 25% of Hispanic New Yorkers, 30% of Black New Yorkers, and 49% of Asian New Yorkers hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to 68% of white New Yorkers. 

Investing in CUNY isn’t just a win for students, it’s vital for the economic security of New York City and State. CUNY graduates earned $57 billion and paid an estimated $4.2 billion in New York State income taxes in 2019, according to an analysis by the office of New York City Comptroller Brad Lander. Nearly 80% of graduates stay in the city when they’re done with their studies, and CUNY has educated approximately 10% of the state’s private-sector workforce. 

Despite the essential role CUNY plays in creating economic opportunity, it faces a difficult financial picture. The end of federal pandemic aid, coupled with declining tuition revenue and city-imposed cuts, means that CUNY stands to see a net budget cut of $140.9 million in fiscal year 2024. This gap could widen even further if tuition revenue continues to decline.

Alarmingly, many of the programs jeopardized by these cuts are delivering phenomenal results. The Accelerated Study in Associate’s Programs (ASAP) initiative has become the most effective program in the nation for increasing community college graduation rates with intensive advisement, scholarships, and other supports that help students finish on-time. The Accelerate, Complete, and Engage (ACE) program has similarly boosted graduation rates by 40% at CUNY’s four-year colleges, although restricted funding has limited that program to serving just 3% of all eligible students.

Also at risk is CUNY Reconnect, which has helped more than 16,000 New Yorkers with some college credits but no degree to return to CUNY over the past year. These programs are boosting enrollment and increasing CUNY’s effectiveness, while serving as a lifeline to students from low-income, immigrant, and first-generation college families. 

New York’s elected leaders are nearly unanimous in expressing the desire to expand economic mobility, while ensuring New Yorkers are ready for the well-paying jobs the city’s economy is creating and making the state’s tax base more resilient. 

No institution is better positioned to deliver on those needs than CUNY. Now is the time to invest in CUNY’s effectiveness, not limit its potential.

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Jonathan Bowles is the Executive Director of the Center for an Urban Future (CUF). Eli Dvorkin is CUF’s Editorial and Policy Director. On Twitter @jbowlesnyc, @wetwax, & @nycfuture.