PUBLIC ADVOCATE FOR THE CITY OF NEW YORK Jumaane D. Williams

DECEMBER 6, 2019

ADDRESSING THE UNDERFUNDING OF CUNY, NEW YORK'S ENGINE OF MOBILITY, INNOVATION, AND ECONOMIC SUPPORT

1 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007 • (212) 669-7200 • www.advocate.nyc.gov • @NYCPA

ADDRESSING THE UNDERFUNDING OF CUNY, NEW YORK'S ENGINE OF MOBILITY, INNOVATION, AND ECONOMIC SUPPORT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2

INTRODUCTION 6

SYSTEMIC UNDERFUNDING 8

EDUCATION QUALITY 17

ECONOMIC MOBILITY 22

ACADEMIC INNOVATION 24

ECONOMIC BENEFIT 28

RECOMMENDATIONS 33

CONCLUSION 38

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 39

ENDNOTES 40

1 OFFICE OF THE NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC ADVOCATE JUMAANE D. WILLIAMS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Funding challenges threaten to stall a major engine of mobility, innovation, and economic support that the City University of New York (CUNY) represents for its students and the city of New York. For decades, New York State and New York City have invested hundreds of millions of dollars to support CUNY’s mission to be a vehicle of social mobility that provides a high quality of education to all New Yorkers, regardless of their economic status, race, gender, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or ability status. CUNY has helped elevate the economic position of members of numerous marginalized communities for generations by providing them with a low-cost, high-quality education that can help them raise their earning potential. And now the City and State are at a critical juncture where they can either build upon their investment and bolster CUNY’s mission of an equitable education for all or oversee the erosion of one of New York City’s most venerable institutions.

Systemic underfunding amid a period of massive enrollment growth limits CUNY’s ability to maintain educational and operational excellence and alleviate the financial burden of thousands of students, most of whom come from low-income backgrounds, are people of more color, and graduated from NYC public schools.1 Over the past decade, per-student funding from New York State has dropped 18 percent, adjusted for inflation and enrollment growth.2 At the same time, the amount the state provides from the Tuition Assistance Program increased 11 percent, meaning more students attended CUNY using tuition assistance grants paid by the state that may not have covered the full tuition.

Given these developments, CUNY students have been increasingly stuck shouldering the financial burden of attending an institution of higher education. Though tuition remains relatively low for in-state students and CUNY students typically graduate with limited student loan debt, non-tuition costs – namely housing and food – can set back students and their families tens of thousands of dollars a year. Many CUNY students are food insecure or homeless, and 60 percent come from homes with incomes under $30,000.3 4 Some students work a part-time job to make ends meet, which can negatively impact their academic performance. As such, students have felt the underfunding less in terms of higher tuition, as New York has kept CUNY tuition relatively low and funded tuition assistance for New York residents, and more in terms of limited resources for their education.

The costs associated with attending college coupled with insufficient resources for students and the university has resulted in middling graduation rates for CUNY students, with just 55 percent of first- time, full-time senior college students graduating within six years (compared to 59 percent nationally) and 18 percent of community college students graduating within three years (compared to 22 percent nationally).5

2 ADDRESSING THE UNDERFUNDING OF CUNY, NEW YORK'S ENGINE OF MOBILITY, INNOVATION, AND ECONOMIC SUPPORT

Pressure to do more with limited funding has restricted the ability of CUNY colleges to hire additional full-time faculty, counselors and advisors, or pay nationally competitive salaries. More than half of undergraduate CUNY courses are taught by part-time adjunct faculty members who earn an average of $3,500 per course and may need to work a second job to make a living, leaving them unable to provide the support that some students need to succeed in a course.6 CUNY has also been forced to cut academic support services and course sections – with more than one-third of students reporting in 2016 that they could not register for at least one course, largely because there were no more remaining seats.7 Meanwhile, some libraries cannot afford books or journal subscriptions, and student advisors and mental health counselors have hundreds of students they must attend to on a daily basis.8 And underinvestment in infrastructure has contributed to CUNY facilities falling into a state of disrepair – marked by exposed wiring, persistent flooding, swarms of pests, and moldy ceiling tiles.

All of these concerns facing CUNY undermine its ability to continue elevating students to a path of financial security. CUNY colleges are among the top schools nationwide for moving students from the bottom quintile to the top quintile of income earners, according to a recent National Bureau of Economic Research study.9 Underfunding also inhibits the school’s ability to create, finance, and expand new programs aimed at alleviating the growing student financial burden and making up for under- preparation or lack of college readiness – like CUNY’s Accelerate, Complete, Engage (ACE) and Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) programs that give students sufficient resources to ensure they graduate on time – and programs aimed at studying and providing for underserved communities, like CUNY’s disability studies program or the Black Male Initiative.

CUNY’s precarious financial state undermines its ability to educate New York City’s youth who, once they graduate, will enter the workforce that is the bedrock of New York’s economic vitality. Many CUNY graduates remain in New York City upon receiving their degree, keeping their talents, tax revenue, and business in our city. Additionally, CUNY itself generates significant economic activity for New York City as a major purchaser of goods and services from city businesses not to mention the research, training, and certification programs that benefit the entire region. The school’s 45,000 employees also contribute millions of dollars in income and sales tax revenue for the city, state, and federal governments while also directly purchasing goods and services from local businesses.

Based on independent research and discussions with key stakeholders, the Office of the Public Advocate proposes the following recommendations to ensure the City University of New York has the resources it needs to provide the quality education that has allowed scores of students to escape poverty and expand access by making college more affordable for low-income students:

3 OFFICE OF THE NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC ADVOCATE JUMAANE D. WILLIAMS

Bolstering Educational Quality and Strengthening University Operations

1. Increase Funding from New York State and City: To ensure CUNY receives the funding it needs in future years to finance its operations and provide assistance to students, many of whom are people of more color and from low-income backgrounds, the State and City must expand their investment in public higher education.

a. Increase Combined City and State Funding: The State and City must vastly increase their combined contribution per full-time equivalent to CUNY to ensure CUNY can restore positions for full-time faculty and counselors, reduce class sizes, and expand resources for students. For fiscal year 2020, the State should provide CUNY with its requested $137.7 million and the City should provide an additional $108.2 million to ensure it can cover mandatory cost increases and finance strategic investments.

b. Increase City Contribution to Senior Colleges: The City should provide a greater percentage of funding for senior colleges to match CUNY’s contribution to New York City’s economy and culture. While the total currently provided by the State for senior colleges should not drop and the city should maintain its primary responsibility for financing community colleges, the overall amount given for senior colleges should increase with the City taking a greater share of the responsibility than it has historically. These budget increases can be financed using a new tax mechanism, including possibly a wealth tax similar to proposals championed by Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. However, any revenue generated from new sources cannot be used to supplant existing funding for CUNY and should be used solely to provide additional resources.

2. Close the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) Gap: The state legislature should add a provision to the annual budget to ensure it provides funds to cover the gap between the maximum TAP grant and the in-state tuition rate for public colleges for grants given to students who qualify for the maximum grant at a school where tuition is higher than the maximum TAP grant.

3. Increase the Percentage and Number of Full-Time Faculty: CUNY should stop relying on adjunct faculty members and work to create more full-time faculty positions. The recommended additional funding should include enough for more full-time faculty positions, including instructors, counselors, and advisors. Additionally, CUNY should ensure it hires individuals from marginalized communities to fill the new positions while also drawing from its massive pool of long-serving adjunct faculty.

4 ADDRESSING THE UNDERFUNDING OF CUNY, NEW YORK'S ENGINE OF MOBILITY, INNOVATION, AND ECONOMIC SUPPORT

4. Raise Adjunct Salaries: CUNY should raise adjunct salaries to at least $7,000 per course to ensure adjunct professors receive an equitable wage for teaching a full course load and can provide students with adequate attention and resources needed to ensure success.

5. Implement Warranty Tracking System: CUNY should implement a warranty tracking system to ensure the city does not finance repairs for systems that have fallen into disrepair that are covered by existing warranties.

Increasing Student Access and Affordability 6. Expand Access to State Tuition Assistance Programs: The state legislature should pass a bill to amend Governor Cuomo’s Excelsior Scholarship program and the Tuition Assistance Program to ensure more part-time students, who may be unable to graduate in four years, can benefit from state tuition assistance programs. Though students should be rewarded for graduating on-time, this might be impossible for some low-income students who cannot devote their entire time to their studies for two or four years. One option lawmakers should consider is to provide tuition assistance for a set number credits that a student can use over a longer or shorter period of time. This system could encourage some students to graduate more quickly, as they have funding for additional courses, while providing the flexibility others may need given their personal circumstances. New York State should also extend tuition assistance programs like TAP to currently incarcerated individuals.

The legislature should also work towards financing a true universal free college program for all students that incorporates financing for non-tuition expenses in these programs so low-income students can focus on their education while attending college and not have to worry about basic needs like housing or food.

7. Strengthen and Expand the Pell Grant Program: Congress should increase funding for Pell Grants and hold a hearing to debate bills aimed at bolstering the Pell Grant program to ensure a key source of tuition funding for CUNY students, which unlike other state programs can cover non-tuition expenses, is secured for future generations. It should also pass the REAL Act to restore Pell eligibility for incarcerated individuals.

8. Expand Title I, Part A of the ESSA to Provide Direct Aid to Postsecondary Institutions Serving Low-Income Students: The federal government should expand Title I, Part A of the Every Student Succeeds Act, which provides additional financing to K-12 schools that serve large populations of low- income students, to cover similar institutions of higher education.

5 OFFICE OF THE NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC ADVOCATE JUMAANE D. WILLIAMS

INTRODUCTION

With Americans increasingly tuning in to developments in the 2020 presidential race, the national discussion around higher education has once again focused on what major presidential candidates are talking about: college affordability and student debt. Some candidates have introduced sweeping proposals to completely eliminate the $1.5 trillion collective student debt for some or all borrowers and make public college and universities free while others have called for more incremental measures like giving borrowers the ability to refinance debt, increasing Pell Grants, and making community college free for many students.10 11 Following the adoption of tuition-free college proposals by both Democratic nominees in the 2016 race, the 2020 contenders have expanded the range of politically viable ideas around the affordability of higher education.

The policy discussion around higher education in New York has mirrored the focus on affordability dominating the national spotlight over the past few years. In January 2017, Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.) stood with US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to announce the Excelsior Scholarship, which would finance tuition costs at state colleges and universities, including community colleges, for students of families earning $125,000 or less annually.12 Days after Governor Cuomo’s announcement, Mayor Bill de Blasio revealed a new pilot program to help children save for college, giving $100 to NYC Child Savings Accounts for nearly 3,500 kindergarten students in Queens.13 And the New York State Legislature recently passed and funded the José Peralta New York State DREAM Act to give undocumented students access to state grants and scholarships to help reduce the cost of higher education.14

Despite promises of accessibility for hundreds of thousands of middle- and low-income students, these plans have had mixed success to date. Governor Cuomo’s plan - passed as part of the FY 2018 State Budget - has only granted awards to 3.2 percent of the undergraduates statewide, according to an August 2018 study from the Center for an Urban Future, as the majority of students were rejected because they did not take a sufficient number of course credits.15 (Though the income threshold was raised to $125,000 from $100,000 this year and an estimated 4,000 more students received scholarships, the program still impacts a small percentage of students.)16 Notably, the program does not cover costs other than tuition, including fees, books, housing, and food. The efficacy of the savings account and DREAM Act proposals can be measured in time, once the first cohorts of students eligible for each program enter college, but they will only focus on the affordability portion of the higher education dilemma. Meanwhile, student loan debt in New York more than doubled from 2006 to 2015, to $82 billion from $38.8 billion, while the number of students taking out loans jumped 41 percent during the same period.17

6 ADDRESSING THE UNDERFUNDING OF CUNY, NEW YORK'S ENGINE OF MOBILITY, INNOVATION, AND ECONOMIC SUPPORT

These proposals come as the public remains focused on urging lawmakers to improve education. According to Pew Research Center, the percent of respondents who argue improving education should be a top priority for federal lawmakers has remained steady over the last eight years, reaching 68 percent (the third highest priority) in 2019.18

While increasing affordability can undoubtedly expand access to marginalized communities that have long been unable to afford higher education, the local and national conversation needs to shift from focusing solely on getting students into college to identifying ways in which policymakers can bolster the quality of the institution these students pay tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars to attend.

This report examines the funding challenges facing CUNY and their impact on educational quality and access for CUNY students. CUNY provides educational advancement for more than 274,000 degree and non-degree seeking students, many of whom are people of more color, across 25 institutions and more than 1,700 academic programs.19 20

Notably, financial shortfalls amid growing enrollment at CUNY directly impact some of our most vulnerable communities, including families with limited economic means. As of 2016, 60 percent of CUNY students come from homes with household incomes under $30,000, and 42 percent come from homes with household incomes under $20,000.21 Many of these students - nearly 80 percent of undergraduates as of fall 2018 - are students of more color, and nearly 45 percent of students are the first generation in their family to attend college.22 23 With insufficient support, many of the students will remain in a cycle of persistent economic hardship that higher education can erode.

Additionally, most CUNY students come from public schools. In fall 2017, nearly 79 percent of CUNY students previously attended New York City public schools, including 80 percent of senior college and 76.5 percent of community college students.24 Our city has invested in public school students from K-12, paying for crucial resources (e.g. MetroCards or food) for some low-income students while subsidizing costs related to college applications (e.g. waived application and standardized test fees) for many others.25 Though a record 41,095 NYC public high school students applied to CUNY for free in 2018 and a “record-high” number of 26,145 NYC public school students enrolled in a CUNY school in 2017, those who attend will be forced to deal with difficult financial questions for the first time in their tenure in public education, as CUNY cannot cover the costs of transportation and food for all students who may need it.26

Funding challenges that limit the school’s ability to maintain operations and expand access for low- income students undermines the progress CUNY has made in recent years providing economic mobility for students, crafting innovative student assistance and academic programs, and providing vital economic support for the city through procurement and hiring practices.

7 OFFICE OF THE NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC ADVOCATE JUMAANE D. WILLIAMS

SYSTEMIC UNDERFUNDING

Over the past decade, state spending on public higher education has dropped below pre-recession levels despite a recent, post-recession increase. State funding nationwide for public colleges fell by more than $7 billion between 2008 and 2018 adjusted for inflation, and the average state spent 16 percent less per student in 2018 than a decade ago.27 In some states, per-student spending fell more than 30 percent, with Arizona spending nearly 56 percent less last year than it did a decade ago.

Additionally, community colleges have received less funding per student than doctoral universities. According to an August 2019 report from the Institute for College Access & Success, community colleges - which support greater shares of students of more color - received $2,900 less per student from state governments than schools with doctoral universities.28 As such, these schools take in 37 percent of the per-student revenue that doctoral universities receive as of the 2016-2017 academic year, given the greater appropriations and tuition revenues. Though doctoral universities also conduct more rigorous research than community colleges and have access to other forms of revenue, the funding disparity slights schools that provide students of more color with a pathway to a higher economic status.

Figure 1: Per-Student Revenue and Enrollment of Underrepresented Students of Color at Public Colleges, by Carnegie Classification To account for reduced state spending, public colleges and universities have raised tuition and made extensive budget cuts - including reductions in faculty positions, course offerings, and student services.29 Since 2008, the average annual tuition has increased 36 percent ($2,651) at public colleges and universities nationwide, with tuitions rising more than 60 percent in seven states.30 At community colleges, tuition revenue increased by $850 per student between 2006 and 2016.31 Cost increases can deter potential students from seeking higher education, particularly students of more color and those from low-income families.32 8 ADDRESSING THE UNDERFUNDING OF CUNY, NEW YORK'S ENGINE OF MOBILITY, INNOVATION, AND ECONOMIC SUPPORT

They may also push some high-achieving students from families with low incomes to attend less-selective public institutions and effectively lower their future earnings.

The reduction in aid and increases in costs come as a growing number of students of more color begin to enroll in colleges. A 2019 report from the US Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics projects that by 2027, more than 47 percent of college students will be non-white. 33 As such, it is possible that in the 2030s a majority of college students will be students of more color.

Despite these trends, Americans are unaware of the growing problem of underfunded higher education. A fall 2018 study conducted by the APM Research Lab found that more than one-in-three adults think government funding for public institutions of higher education has remained stagnant across the decade while 27 percent think it increased.34 Thirty-eight percent of respondents in the North East (which includes New York said they thought government funding has stayed the same while 22 percent believe it has increased.

While spending cuts in New York have been lower than the national average, the Empire State has not been immune from national trends. From 2008 to 2018, state funding for all institutions of higher education fell 2 percent, and the state also saw a nearly $2,000 (32.3 percent jump in average tuition at public, four-year colleges, adjusted for inflation.35 36 As a result, tuition and fees at a public, four-year university currently comprise about 12 percent of the median household income for all New Yorkers and is even greater for New Yorkers of more color - 17.2 percent for black families and 16.5 percent for Hispanic families.

Much like colleges and universities across the rest of the nation, the CUNY system has seen a dwindling state investment in recent years that has not kept pace with the school’s financial needs and growing student body. Systemic underfunding has limited the ability of the school to alleviate the financial burden of thousands of students, many of whom come from low-income backgrounds and from families with limited educational attainment, and uphold its mission to provide a high quality education to students regardless of their background.

CUNY Funding Model CUNY has five primary sources of funding: New York State, New York City, student tuition, scholarships and waivers, and the federal government.37 38 ● New York State: State funding comprises the lion’s share of CUNY’s operating budget, totaling 53 percent in fiscal year 2019. New York State provides 60 percent of the operating budget for CUNY senior colleges (and their entire capital budget) as well as approximately 33 percent of the operating budget for CUNY’s community colleges through “Community College Base Aid.” The state’s contribution includes funding from the state tax levy as well as grant funding through the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) and through numerous academic programs aimed at helping low-income students of more color at CUNY. 9 OFFICE OF THE NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC ADVOCATE JUMAANE D. WILLIAMS

● New York City: City funding comprises a sizeable portion of CUNY’s operating budget, nearing 14 percent in fiscal year 2019. New York City’s budget for CUNY provides the system with more than one third of the operating budget for community colleges, with the remaining financed through state funding and tuition. The city also provides the capital budget for community colleges and provides some academic programs for CUNY. Notably, New York City has historically provided limited funding for CUNY’s senior colleges, totaling $53.5 million in FY2019.

● Student Tuition: Student tuition makes up the second largest portion of CUNY’s funding, totaling nearly 20 percent in FY2019. In the 2019-2020 academic year, the in-state tuition rate is $4,800 for full-time undergraduates at community colleges and $6,930 for senior colleges per year. For part-time, in-state students, each credit costs $305 at senior colleges and $210 at community colleges. (Including financial aid and tuition assistance payments, 45 percent of the system’s budget came from tuition in 2016, up from 20 percent in 1989.39)

● Scholarships & Waivers: More than five percent of CUNY’s budget comes from scholarships and tuition waivers, the majority of which finances CUNY’s senior colleges.

● Federal Government: The federal government provided nearly 8 percent of CUNY’s budget in fiscal year 2019, largely coming from research grants. The federal government also provides Pell Grants to offset the cost of tuition for many CUNY students. (Pell Grants can be used for non-tuition expenses as well, but with rising tuition, students may need to use more of their Pell Grant application to cover tuition.)

Figure 2: CUNY FY2019 Budget by Funding Source ($ in millions), Source: CUNY 2019-2020 Operating Budget Request 10 ADDRESSING THE UNDERFUNDING OF CUNY, NEW YORK'S ENGINE OF MOBILITY, INNOVATION, AND ECONOMIC SUPPORT

As previously mentioned, CUNY has seen a drop in state aid in recent years despite a massive enrollment growth. Over the past decade, per-student state funding for CUNY has dropped 18 percent, adjusted for inflation and enrollment growth.40 Despite an 11 percent increase in TAP revenue, total state aid fell 15 percent during that period. Rather than provide additional funding for CUNY, the state counts what it pays to support tuition assistance programs like TAP as part of CUNY’s budget and then limits additional funding to no more than a 2 percent increase annually. As such, the school is currently receiving less directly from the state tax levy per student than it had in previous years. Meanwhile, undergraduate enrollment increased 14.6 percent overall from fall 2008 to fall 2017 (213,293 students to 244,420 students) and nearly 20 percent for full- time students (144,997 to 173,531).41 And, since 2010, freshman enrollment at CUNY schools jumped 17 percent even though enrollment is falling across the US.42

Figure 3: CUNY Senior College State Aid and TAP Revenue 2008-09 Through 2017-18 (Per-FTE, Inflation Adjusted), Source: Professional Staff Congress One of the primary drivers of reduced state aid per full time equivalent student is the “TAP Gap.” State law effectively requires public universities and colleges to provide discounted tuition to students receiving TAP grants. These students can receive a grant of up to $5,000 and are provided a tuition waiver for charges above $5,000 if they receive the maximum award.43 For example, a CUNY senior college student would typically pay $6,930 in tuition for the 2019-2020 school year. Those who are eligible for the maximum TAP grant pay no tuition, and the state provides CUNY with just $5,000 in revenue for that student, leaving a gap of $1,930 per student for the 2019-2020 school year. (Students who receive a smaller TAP award also get a discount on their tuition.)

In FY2019, the TAP gap reached an estimated $72.7 million given the gap in tuition payments for the nearly 143,000 senior college students with TAP grants, according to data provided by CUNY.44

11 OFFICE OF THE NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC ADVOCATE JUMAANE D. WILLIAMS

The gap is expected to reach a minimum of $82 million in the current year and grows by an estimated $12 million for each $200 tuition increase.45 As a result of the financing gap, CUNY is forced to take a loss of nearly $2,000 on every TAP-assisted student it admits that is eligible for the maximum. With the recent passage of the DREAM Act, the system’s TAP gap is only likely to further increase, as more students will be eligible for state aid programs like TAP.

Figure 4: CUNY FY 2019 TAP Waiver Estimated Cost, Source: CUNY New York State also provides millions of dollars in scholarship funds to private, for-profit colleges and universities, further limiting funding for schools like CUNY. A 2018 study from the Century Foundation found that New York State “provides more scholarship funds to private colleges than does any other state.”46 The foundation found that of the more than $300 million the state provides in tuition assistance annually, more than a fifth goes to for-profit institutions, totaling $68 million in the 2015-2016 school year. Of the 27 states that gave grants to for-profit institutions in 2015, New York gave the most of any state. The total provided to private schools that year comprises 93 percent of CUNY’s nearly $73 million TAP gap for the 2018-2019 academic year. Though private, for-profit institutions charge higher tuition and spend less on instruction than nonprofit or public schools, the state gives vital resources to institutions that have other means of financing operations.

Despite CUNY’s clear financial woes, some lawmakers have fought against providing additional resources to the city’s public university system to ensure it can maintain existing operations. In 2017, Governor Cuomo vetoed a maintenance-of-effort bill that would have increased funding for CUNY and the State University of New York (SUNY) systems.47 (He vetoed a similar bill two years earlier.48) Though an MOE effort was included in the 2017-2018 budget, it only covered some mandatory annual increases.49 Governor Cuomo previously floated a proposal to shift one-third of CUNY’s budget ($485 million) to the city but ultimately decided against including the plan in his final budget.50 (The governor’s state operations director later reportedly said the proposal was intended to “get the city and CUNY to come to the table to find efficiencies,” according to the New York Daily News.) Notably, the Governor has worked to limit state agency budget increases to 2 percent annually; though CUNY is not a state agency, 51 it has effectively been held to the new budget increase cap. 12 ADDRESSING THE UNDERFUNDING OF CUNY, NEW YORK'S ENGINE OF MOBILITY, INNOVATION, AND ECONOMIC SUPPORT

To properly finance mandatory cost increases and strategic investments, CUNY has asked state and federal lawmakers for a combined 7.7 percent budget increase for fiscal year 2020, the majority of which (21.6 percent) would come from the city.52 The university projected $129.1 million in mandatory cost increases (e.g. building rentals, energy costs, and employee salaries and benefits) and $148 million for strategic investments. The system’s strategic investment plan included efforts aimed at bolstering student success (expanding early college and accelerated study programs) and supporting students from low-income backgrounds (paying for transportation, food access, child care, and mental health counseling), among other programs. Yet the university is unlikely to receive its full budget request from the state legislature for the upcoming fiscal year.

Financial Burden on Students & Their Families As CUNY has insufficient funding to pay for necessary improvements as well as its annual operating budget, students and their families are increasingly burdened with finding the means of paying for not only tuition and fees but also expenses related to living in a major metropolitan area. Since the 2009 school year, tuition for in-state, full-time undergraduates has increased by more than 50 percent at both senior and community colleges.53 54 Some of the tuition increases came from a proposal that the legislature passed and Governor Cuomo signed into law that gave the trustees the ability to increase tuition by $300 annually over a five-year period.55

While overall tuition increases have been relatively low and do not account for the financial aid many New York residents receive, any tuition increase hurts low-income students who also have to find a means to pay for the high cost of living in New York City, which could reach nearly $10,000 for students living at home or $22,000 for students living away from home (more than $12,000 for housing) for a nine month period.56

Figure 5: Full-Time CUNY Undergraduate Tuition for NY Residents, 2009-2019, Source: CUNY 13 OFFICE OF THE NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC ADVOCATE JUMAANE D. WILLIAMS

Unfortunately, many CUNY students - while they are enrolled at the university - are food insecure and homeless. According to a March 2019 survey, approximately 48 percent of the nearly 22,000 respondents at 19 campuses said they were food insecure at some point within the previous 30 days.57 More than half of respondents also said they were housing insecure, with 14 percent saying they were homeless at some point in the previous year. Needs insecurity was most pronounced for students who identified as black or African American, as 64 percent said they were housing insecure and 59 percent said they were food insecure. For comparison, 47 percent of white/Caucasian students said they were housing insecure and 39 percent said they were food insecure. A 2015 CUNY report found that approximately 5,000 students were homeless in a given year while up to 15,000 undergraduates experienced housing instability.58 A second report found that 52,550 undergraduates were food insecure in 2018, down from 82,000 in 2010.

Many of CUNY’s students come from families with limited economic means. As of 2016, 60 percent of CUNY students come from homes with household incomes under $30,000, and 42 percent come from homes with household incomes under $20,000.59 Notably, many of these students - nearly 80 percent of undergraduates as of fall 2018 - are students of color.60

As a result, tens of thousands of CUNY students work to make ends meet and finance their college education. According to a 2016 survey of CUNY students, more than half of CUNY students work a job for pay, and half of CUNY students work more than 20 hours a week.61 A majority of students (69 percent) also rely on their parents for some financial support. CUNY students report working so they can cover living expenses (79 percent), pay for tuition and fees (55 percent), finance social activities (39 percent), and explore a career path (24 percent). More than one-third of students argue their work negatively affects their academic performance, with 38 percent of senior college students and 33 percent of community college students saying they were negatively impacted.

Additionally, many CUNY students have children they must care for without guaranteed childcare from the university. Currently, 12 percent of CUNY students (16 percent of community college and 11 percent of senior college students) support children.62 As a result, approximately 15,200 of the more than 95,000 students at community colleges enrolled in fall 2018 and 19,800 of the nearly 180,000 students at senior colleges support kids.63 Yet, the school only had approximately 1,500 low-cost childcare slots as of 2015, prompting then-Public Advocate Letitia James to call for the city to nearly triple childcare funding in 2015 to $1.53 million from $500,000.64 During fiscal year 2018, CUNY’s Campus Child Care Centers were able to serve more than 1,669 children due thanks to increased city funding while also implementing measures to accommodate more families (e.g. extending operating hours).65 As a result, CUNY students are forced to either rely on family or personally pay for childcare that can cost thousands of dollars a year.66

Despite the heavy financial toll of college education, CUNY undergraduate students have largely remained insulated from the $1.6 trillion student loan crisis, thanks to relatively low tuition rates 14 ADDRESSING THE UNDERFUNDING OF CUNY, NEW YORK'S ENGINE OF MOBILITY, INNOVATION, AND ECONOMIC SUPPORT

and the availability of tuition assistance programs. A recent study found that three CUNY colleges - Queens College, York College, and Baruch College - ranked in the top 10 nationally for schools with graduates leaving with the least amount of debt while another three colleges - Brooklyn College, City College, and Lehman College - were in the top 30.67 And CUNY graduates, according to a 2011 study, are less likely to take out loans to finance their tuition than students at other universities, with only 14 percent of students taking out loans during the 2010-2011 school year compared to 57 percent of SUNY students and as high as 60 percent of students at major statewide systems.68 Many CUNY students also receive Pell Grants to help finance their education, with 53 percent of senior college students and 58 percent of community college students receiving the federal grant in the 2017-2018 school year.69

Given the limited student debt burden and comparatively low tuition rates, CUNY schools account for four of the top 100 best-value colleges in the US, according to a 2019 analysis by MONEY’s 2019-2020 Best College rankings.70 The rankings placed Baruch College as the college with the second-best value in the entire nation and Brooklyn College as the college that had the 35th best value. According to the Wall Street Journal, three of the ten best-value four-year colleges in the US are CUNY schools - City College (2nd), Baruch College (3rd), and Hunter College (4th).71

Yet some CUNY students do default on student loans. According to data from the National Center for Education Statistics, the average federal loan default rate for CUNY senior college graduates was 6.1 percent, nearly half the rate for community college students (12.1 percent).72 The default rate ranges from 3.5 percent at Baruch College to 14.8 percent at Borough of Manhattan Community College.

Figure 6: CUNY Senior & Community Colleges: Federal Loan Default Rates (2015 Cohort), Source: IES National Center for Education Statistics College Navigator 15 OFFICE OF THE NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC ADVOCATE JUMAANE D. WILLIAMS

Despite low student debt burdens, the high cost of attending an institution of higher education, among other factors like under-preparation for college, has inhibited many CUNY students from graduating with a degree. As of May 2017, 26 percent of CUNY full-time, first-time senior college students graduated within four years while 55 percent graduated within six years, four percent lower than the national 6- year average for public colleges and universities.73 For community college students, only 6 percent of students graduated with an associate’s degree within two years while 18 percent graduated within three years, 4 percent lower than the national three-year rate average for public community colleges. Notably, 74 I took seven years to earn a bachelor’s degree and four years to earn a master’s degree from CUNY.

Figure 7: CUNY Graduation Rates, Full-time, First-time Freshmen, Source: Professional Staff Congress

One primary reason students don’t graduate is because they cannot afford the costs associated with a higher education. Though federal and state aid is available, many tuition assistance programs have limitations, with TAP grants expiring after eight semesters and Excelsior Scholarships mandating that recipients stay on pace to graduate within two or four years regardless of whether that is possible for a student.75 These programs also have credit requirements, rendering most part-time students ineligible. Many tuition assistance programs also do not cover non-tuition costs of higher education, including housing - which can cost tens of thousands of dollars a year for CUNY students living in NYC.

Though student loans are, in theory, an option to finance a degree program, many families may find it economically impossible to increase their debt burden and decide against taking out loans. As such, some students may enter CUNY with the goal of obtaining a degree only to be forced to drop out a few semesters later or prolong their tenure because they cannot afford to pay for what they need to graduate.i

iAs outlined later in this report, CUNY programs aimed at providing comprehensive services for low-income students, ACE and ASAP, address this issue and greatly improve graduation outcomes.

16 ADDRESSING THE UNDERFUNDING OF CUNY, NEW YORK'S ENGINE OF MOBILITY, INNOVATION, AND ECONOMIC SUPPORT

EDUCATION QUALITY

Without secure funding to finance robust salaries for faculty, capital allocations for infrastructure upgrades, and expanded course offerings and career development opportunities, CUNY is severely hamstrung in its ability to fulfill a primary tenet of its stated mission - to “maintain and expand its commitment to academic excellence.”76 Though students may not feel underfunding in terms of their tuition, they certainly can see it in the classroom, with faculty and administrators forced to provide quality education with limited resources.

Higher education scholars and academics have long debated what constitutes a quality university or college and how institutions of higher education can go about achieving academic excellence. While subsequent sections will focus on financial outcomes (including earnings upon graduating), this section focuses on CUNY’s ability to provide quality instruction with limited resources, focusing on its inability to hire additional full-time faculty, counselors and advisors, shutter academic resources, and leave facilities in a state of disrepair.

Faculty While students pay tens of thousands of dollars for tuition, fees, and related expenses annually with the assumption they will receive a quality education that can help them advance in a given career field upon graduating, the individuals they trust to help them learn the knowledge and skills to make it are increasingly adjunct instructors who can only devote a small portion of their time to teaching in exchange for an inadequate salary.

According to CUNY data, the percentage of full-time students enrolled in undergrad courses that are taught by full-time faculty members has dwindled in recent years, to 44 percent in the 2017-2018 academic year from 47.7 percent in the 2013-2014 school year.77 At the same time, the number of adjunct faculty members has far out-paced the number of full-time faculty members, with CUNY employing nearly 11,600 adjunct faculty and more than 7,500 full-time faculty members as of fall 2017.78 The number of part-time, adjunct faculty increased five percent between 2013 and 2017 while the number of full-time faculty fell by nearly one percent.

"This semester I received a letter saying that the [department] had not approved my employment for the fall semester. Just like that, no explanations were given. Now I have no income whatsoever and to make things worse, I cannot claim unemployment...even during employment as an adjunct I wasn't qualified for any health insurance benefit." - CCNY Adjunct Professor

17 OFFICE OF THE NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC ADVOCATE JUMAANE D. WILLIAMS

Figure 8: Full-Time Equivalencies in Undergraduate Courses Taught by Full-Time Faculty Members, Source: CUNY Performance Management Process 2018-19 Data Book

Currently, CUNY adjunct professors - who are paid hourly for time working in the classroom - earn an average $3,500 per three-credit course.79 Adjunct professors, like their full-time counterparts, still need to prepare lectures, grade exams and papers, hold office hours, and remain on-call for students who may need assistance with coursework - time for which they may not receive compensation. “With no income, I went on food stamps. It was the most humiliating, To make ends meet, adjuncts may need to work multiple dehumanizing experience of my life; not jobs, ranging from teaching courses at other universities to only the idea of it as someone who grew hourly service jobs. One adjunct professor, Polina Kroik, up in the middle class, but the way I was noted that if a supervisor decided to assign her fewer treated by the Department of Social classes, she could lose her health insurance and may not Services. My case was badly having sufficient income to pay her rent.80 mishandled. The situation was only rectified once I involved my local Kroik, an immigrant who fled the Soviet Union in the 1980s, councilman's office. It took six weeks. I don’t know, but I think at least some of said the American dream of upward mobility she helps her the problem was because the people I students seek is out of reach for her, noting that she has also dealt with didn’t believe that a college postponed major life decisions like buying a house of having instructor would need food stamps. I children because of an inadequate salary. can’t believe a college instructor would need food stamps. I only told the closest people in my life.” - CUNY Adjunct Professor 18 ADDRESSING THE UNDERFUNDING OF CUNY, NEW YORK'S ENGINE OF MOBILITY, INNOVATION, AND ECONOMIC SUPPORT

Other adjunct professors have told stories about needing to go on food assistance programs, losing health insurance, having their course load reduced with limited justification, and being unable to collect unemployment even when they are not working due to complications stemming from adjunct positions.81 They also cite the physical and mental toll that the insecurity regarding whether they will have a sufficient course load to pay their bills takes on them on a semester-by-semester basis.

With low salaries, adjunct professors have limited incentive to foster nurturing relationships with students and to devote the requisite time to ensuring all students enrolled in their courses have the levels of attention they need to grasp the material. Additionally, low adjunct salaries deter top-tier talent from teaching at CUNY when they could go to nearby schools that pay more - like Rutgers University (nearly $5,200 per course).82

It is not the adjuncts who suffer from their low pay; students who take courses taught by overworked adjuncts with little to no time for personal relationships suffer as well. Instructors that devote more time to feedback to students can help improve their performance on specific tasks. A recent study from the University of California, Davis found that professors who reach out to students individual a few times each term through email messages can increase the time students spend on homework and improve exam results.83 Though the study found no correlation with overall course performance, students said they appreciated the personal interaction. One student responded, “Thanks for talking to me about my homework and test scores. Even though you have a couple hundred students, I really appreciate the effort you put into making it personal for your students. I would have gone to office hours the first time you emailed me, but I simply forgot by the end of the week.”84

Other studies show the benefits provided to students taught by full-time instructors rather than adjuncts. One study from the University of California, Irvine found that students with adjunct professors in non- introductory courses were more likely to drop courses in their field of study or receive lower grades than if they worked with a full-time faculty member (though these students were likely to receive higher grades in introductory courses taught by adjuncts rather than full-time faculty).85 Another study found that students who took an introductory class at community colleges taught by a part-time faculty member were less likely to take a subsequent course in that field, noting that part-time faculty have “less access to information about how to advise students.”86 A third analysis concluded that student graduation rates drop when the percent of faculty members who work full-time and off the tenure track increases. It also found that if an institution’s faculty largely works off the tenure track, students are more likely to change out of a STEM major, noting that STEM students in particular benefit from interaction with professors who can oversee research and counsel students.

Underpaying adjunct faculty, many of whom live in New York City, also adversely impacts local economies throughout the five boroughs. According to CUNY, 72.8 percent of full-time and part-time faculty members reside in New York City.87 With limited income, adjunct faculty have a limited means to reinvest in their community and support local businesses, and municipal, state, and federal governments are missing out on additional income tax generated from the potential higher salaries for full-time faculty members.

CUNY professors are also seeing growing class sizes, further reducing their ability to provide individualized instruction when necessary. As of fall 2018, the ratio of full-time students to full-time faculty has increased to 29:1 from 27.1:1 in fall 2014.88 19 OFFICE OF THE NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC ADVOCATE JUMAANE D. WILLIAMS

One Brooklyn College history professor said he had 40 students in his class taught in a classroom with only 36 desks.89 According to a 2016 New York Times report, the larger class sizes “have made it harder to grade papers” and “classes, overstuffed, have become more impersonal.”90

This October, CUNY and the Professional Staff Congress reached an agreement to raise adjunct starting pay by as much as 71 percent and raising the minimum to $5,500 for a three-credit course by the end of the agreement’s term in 2023.91 Under the contract, adjunct faculty will receive compensation for one office hour per course per week. Though the agreement still needs to be approved by the PSC delegates and ratified by the entire union, it represents significant progress toward achieving pay parity for adjunct officials.

Course Offerings & Career Development Another byproduct of underfunding is insufficient educational resources for CUNY students, namely in the form of reduced course offerings and limited advising and counseling services.

According to a 2016 survey of CUNY students, more than one-third of students could not register for at least one course.92 Of those students, nearly half said they could not enroll because the course had no available seats remaining. (An additional 16 percent said there were no seats when they were able to take the class, and 7 percent said there were no seats when they wanted to take the class.) Nearly one-in-six students reported being unable to register because the course they wanted to enroll in was not offered. A plurality of CUNY students who said they unsuccessfully tried to register for a course said the course was a major requirement (47 percent) while nearly one-in-four were required for a student to graduate. One student who planned to concentrate in English had to drop the course after some of the classes were cancelled, prohibiting her from being able to work as a teacher upon graduation.93

CUNY students also face cuts to academic support services. According to Barbara Bowen, president of the Professional Staff Congress, the school’s libraries “cannot afford to keep publications up to date, and some cannot afford books” while others are offering reduced hours for tutoring centers and libraries themselves.94 The writing center at John Jay College saw a 28 percent cut in hours from eight years ago and a dwindling number of tutors and one-on-one tutoring sessions. One student reported that a course he took on cardiac rehabilitation did not have the necessary materials for students to receive proper instruction.95

Additionally, CUNY is facing a shortage of both academic and health resources. Right now, CUNY’s colleges have an estimated average of 600-1,000 students per advisor.96 A majority of CUNY undergraduate students come from New York City high schools and are accustomed to more available counseling services, with the average New York City high school counselor serving 221 students. Due to the shortage, the CUNY board is considering using an algorithm to counsel students on academic issues.97 And the school’s student-to-mental health counselor ratio is 2,400:1, far above the recommendation of 1,500:1.

"I lost my Empire Blue Cross health coverage. I am teaching only 3 credits now. [...] I pay for health insurance through Medicare and AARP. Almost $600 month. So I am working to pay for my health insurance, at this point." - CUNY Adjunct Professor

20 ADDRESSING THE UNDERFUNDING OF CUNY, NEW YORK'S ENGINE OF MOBILITY, INNOVATION, AND ECONOMIC SUPPORT

Infrastructure

Adding to the insufficient academic offerings is the neglected state of many CUNY buildings. CUNY professors across the city have disclosed the state of disrepair in many facilities, ranging from broken toilets and sinks to exposed wiring to encountering “holes in the ceiling and walls [that] have started sputtering mysterious liquid.”

98 Recently, the cafeteria at York College was closed after a city inspection found 51 violations, including mice and foods stored at unsafe temperatures, during a Health Department inspection.99

One professor said students were jumping up in their classroom to avoid mice running across their feet, and a CUNY employee said some coworkers place garbage bags over their desks to ensure flooding does not damage documents.100 Another professor said “enormous water bugs were coming at me” when she was teaching one day, prompting the interruption of her class so another professor who sat in on the lecture could “[stomp] on them.”101 Some employees have also voiced concern about breathing in mold spores that grew due to frequent flooding.

Figure 9: CCNY Shepard Hall, Ceiling Collapse, Figure 10: Brooklyn College Roosevelt Hall: Elevator Out of Service; Source: CCNY Campus Newspaper (October 2018) Student Missed Class, Source: Brokelyn College (April 2018)

An Instagram feed - “Brokelyn College” - posts photographs of the dilapidated infrastructure students and faculty encounter on a daily basis at Brooklyn College.102 The photographs show a college in a state of emergency, with elevator outages causing students to miss class, major flooding in restrooms, moldy ceiling tiles, and leaks that shut down large portions of classrooms. An insufficient capital repairs budget and aging infrastructure will likely only add to the Instagram account’s litany of alarming photos.

21 ADDRESSING THE UNDERFUNDING OF CUNY, NEW YORK'S ENGINE OF MOBILITY, INNOVATION, AND ECONOMIC SUPPORT

ECONOMIC MOBILITY

Like most institutions of higher education, CUNY provides low-income students with a path toward greater financial security. Given funding insecurity and jeopardized educational quality throughout the CUNY school system, CUNY graduates are at risk of losing the nation-leading economic mobility the system provides.

As previously mentioned, a majority of CUNY students come from economically distressed households. Sixty percent of CUNY students - a vast majority of whom are students of more color - come from homes with incomes under $30,000, and 42 percent come from homes with incomes under $20,000.103 104 Thousands of students report being food and housing insecure while attending classes at CUNY.105

In an effort to bolster their financial stability, many CUNY students are the first in their families to work towards higher education. Nearly 45 percent of students are the first generation in their family to attend college, giving them the first opportunity to reap the benefits of an associate’s or bachelor’s degree.106

The financial benefits of higher education are clear. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, median usual weekly earnings jump nearly 65 percent for individuals with bachelor’s degrees ($1,173) compared to those with only a high school diploma ($712).107

CUNY colleges are uniquely positioned to aid lower-income students in moving to higher income brackets than other schools nationally. According to a landmark 2017 study on income mobility at US colleges, CUNY colleges rank among the top schools with more than 300 students for moving students from the bottom to the top quintile of income earners.108 109 Combined, the CUNY system has the sixth highest bottom-to-top quintile (bottom 20 percent to top 20 percent) mobility rate, with a rate of 7.2 percent, defined as “the fraction of students whose parents were in the bottom quintile of the parent household income distribution (when they were aged 15-19) and whose own earnings (at ages 32-34) place them in the top quintile of the children’s income distribution.”

When disaggregated by campus, CUNY fares even better. As seen in the table below, five CUNY community colleges (Manhattan, La Guardia, Bronx, Queenborough, Kingsborough) and seven CUNY senior colleges (Baruch, City, John Jay, CIT, Brooklyn, Hunter, Queens) comprise the top 10 for mobility at schools with at least 500 students in the birth cohort, according to a Chronicle of Higher Education analysis of the study’s data.

22 OFFICE OF THE NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC ADVOCATE JUMAANE D. WILLIAMS

Figure 11: Mobility Rates: CUNY Community and Senior Colleges, Source: Source: The Chronicle of Higher Education, Chetty et. al.

23 ADDRESSING THE UNDERFUNDING OF CUNY, NEW YORK'S ENGINE OF MOBILITY, INNOVATION, AND ECONOMIC SUPPORT

ACADEMIC INNOVATION

Part of the reason CUNY succeeds in propelling students to greater financial security is the system’s innovative student support programs, which it cannot expand without consistent investment. Additionally, the school – which has a history of bolstering communities of color – provides students from marginalized communities with the unique opportunity to study their community, which could be on the cutting block should CUNY need to trim its operations to accommodate inadequate funding structures.

Student Support In recent years, CUNY has garnered a reputation as an innovator of programs aimed at improving student outcomes. Given that the school attracts numerous students from low-income backgrounds who are the first in their family to attend college, these programs are vital to ensuring these students who enroll at CUNY complete a degree program and reap the benefits an associate’s or bachelor’s degree. Two programs best exemplify CUNY’s innovation and success at improving middling graduation rates and student outcomes - the Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) and Accelerate, Complete, Engage (ACE) program. These two programs, among others CUNY offers, have been proven to boost academic achievement while saving taxpayers money.

The ASAP program, which began in fall 2007, was created to help community college students seeking associate degrees to graduate within three years by providing them with a rigorous support system aimed at addressing systemic issues that prohibit students from graduating in a timely fashion.110 111 The program provides numerous financial, academic, and social benefits to students, including a free unlimited MetroCard, textbook cost assistance, tuition and mandatory fee waivers, a dedicated advisor, preferred registration options, and bolstered career development services.112 To remain in the program, students are required to enroll full-time, maintain good academic standing, complete developmental needs within the first year, meet regularly with certain faculty, and annually complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and TAP forms to acquire alternate financial assistance. The program is currently offered at nine CUNY colleges and costs an estimated $3,700 more per student each year.113

The ASAP program has already proven to improve outcomes for CUNY’s community college students. According to a January 2017 brief, ASAP students earned associate degrees at higher rates than those not enrolled in the program and transferred to baccalaureate programs at higher rates than non-ASAP students.114 The study concluded that, all other things being equal, ASAP was the reason 60.9 percent of ASAP enrollees graduated with an associate's degree compared to 37.3 percent of non-ASAP students. ASAP students also took an average of 5.1 semesters to graduate with a degree compared to 6.7 semesters for non-ASAP students. Additionally, nearly 60 percent of ASAP students later enrolled in a baccalaureate program (compared to 49.7 percent of non-ASAP students) and 26.9 percent earned a bachelor’s degree (compared to 18.1 percent of non-ASAP students). 24 OFFICE OF THE NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC ADVOCATE JUMAANE D. WILLIAMS

An earlier report from education and social policy research nonprofit MDRC found similar results, with ASAP “substantially” improving academic outcomes - including nearly doubling the graduation rate - and costing less per degree across a three-year period than non-ASAP students.115

Notably, the program’s benefits far outweigh the direct costs, according to a 2013 cost-benefit analysis conducted by researchers at Columbia University’s Teachers College.116 The report found that for every dollar invested in ASAP, taxpayers saw a return of up to four dollars, leading researchers to call the program a “very productive public and private investment.” The benefits of $205,514 per additional associate degree include $145,567 in tax revenues from income, nearly $20,000 in property and sales taxes, and additional monetary savings from a reduced use of public health, social services, and criminal justice resources. Additionally, the program’s impact on graduation rates resulted in a monetary benefit of $46 million for a cohort of 1,000 students enrolled in the program, which the study’s authors called a “substantial monetary return for this educational intervention.”

Since ASAP’s creation, other university systems have replicated the program.117 118 In 2014, three community colleges in Ohio - Cincinnati State Technical and Community College, Cuyahoga Community College, and Lorain County Community College – began offering the ASAP program. According to MDRC, the colleges saw early improvements in various metrics of success, including an increase in graduation rates from between 7.9 percent to 19.1 percent. The program has also expanded to the State University of New York system (Westchester Community College), a handful of California community colleges, and Nashville State Community College in Tennessee.

Following the success of ASAP, CUNY created the ACE program in 2015 to extend the model to its senior colleges and boost the four-year graduation rate from 24 percent to at least 50 percent for its senior colleges.119 The program started at CUNY’s John Jay College with seed funding from the Robin Hood Foundation.120 This past May, 59.2 percent of ACE students in the first cohort graduated from John Jay, illustrating the likelihood of the program’s success when expanded to a four-year college.121 ACE will expand to Lehman College in fall 2019 and help 125 freshmen and 125 full-time transfer students. ACE costs CUNY approximately $4,000 per student per year.122

Studying and Aiding Underserved Communities CUNY has a particular place in New York City’s history in aiding underserved communities. As previously mentioned, a CUNY degree provides a means by which low-income New Yorkers, many of whom are people of more color, can boost their economic status. For generations, CUNY has changed the economic status of New Yorkers of color and provided them with an institution at which they can obtain valuable knowledge and study their community. Currently, some of CUNY’s undergraduate colleges offer degree programs that permit students to study issues relating to various communities, including programs in Asian, Black, Caribbean, Italian American, Latin American/Latinx, Jewish, and 25 Puerto Rican studies.123 ADDRESSING THE UNDERFUNDING OF CUNY, NEW YORK'S ENGINE OF MOBILITY, INNOVATION, AND ECONOMIC SUPPORT

And CUNY has made strides with the creation of cultural institutes – like the Haitian Studies Institute at Brooklyn College, the Jamie Lucero Mexican Studies Institute at Lehman College, or the Dominican Studies Institute at CCNY – that utilize academic resources to conduct research, advocacy, and other services related to the communities they study.124

In 2012, CUNY created the first Bachelor of Arts program, available for completion online, in disability studies.124 The program came after the school offered a graduate certificate (2004) and a master’s degree (2009). The school’s Master of Arts in Disability Studies program is the first stand-alone program in the US for individuals who want to receive an advanced degree in disability studies.125 This fall, the program’s faculty will launch the Journal of Teaching Disability Studies, which “acknowledges the rise and evolution of disability studies courses within academia over the past two decades and serves as a new vehicle to explore pedagogy in this growing field.”126

Though ASAP and ACE certainly help students from marginalized communities, CUNY has also created programs specifically aimed at improving the lives of black and immigrant students. CUNY’s Black Male Initiative aims to boost matriculation, retention, and graduation rates for men of color and students from other marginalized groups by connecting them with more than 30 projects in six strategic areas – diversity recruitment, culturally competent peer-to-peer mentoring, academic enhancements, institutional commitment, advisory committee, and socioemotional programming.127 Additionally, CUNY’s Citizenship Now! Program provides free, on-on-one legal services to immigrants to help them on their path to citizenship and determine their eligibility for legal benefits.128 Since 1997, the program, the nation’s largest university legal assistance program, has provided assistance to more than 1,500 immigrants annually, offered courses and workshops on topics like civics and finance, and hosted nearly two dozen community-based events annually. The program also connects eligible students with the The Dream.US scholarship that provides Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) or Temporary Protected Status (TPS) eligible students with up to $29,000 for a two or four-year degree.129 The scholarship program is the largest in the nation for undocumented youth and was the largest award that the Dream.US gave to any US university.130 Other noteworthy programs include but are not limited to Youth Matter (aimed at providing support for students with a history in foster care), CUNY EDGE (helping students who receive public assistance achieve academic excellence, graduate on time, and find employment), and CUNY LEADS (aimed at facilitating successful academic and career outcomes for students with disabilities).131

26 OFFICE OF THE NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC ADVOCATE JUMAANE D. WILLIAMS

Despite these advances, some students of more color have had negative experiences with CUNY leadership when attempting to bolster academic programming tied to their communities. Currently, African Studies and African-American Studies are offered as majors at five of the senior colleges and only offered as minors at three other senior colleges.132 Students and faculty have been frustrated that their attempts to expand or support these programs have been met with resistance from CUNY leadership. One Baruch professor of Black and Latino Studies, Arthur Lewin, said his department was “dismantled” because it was difficult for faculty to get tenure and retain their positions. Moreover, people of more color comprise only a third of CUNY staff, and only 12.3 percent of CUNY’s workforce is black. Some CUNY campuses have high ratios of black students to black faculty, including ratios of 52-to-1 at Brooklyn College and 94-to-1 at the College of Staten Island.133

Additionally, CUNY has been at the forefront of academic innovation, studying issues that were previously neglected in the academic community. The CUNY Graduate Center recently launched a first-in-the-nation Master of Arts in Biography and Memoir program that will begin fall 2019.134 The program will use an interdisciplinary approach between the English and History doctoral programs as well as the Leon Levy Center for Biography to teach students who want to study biography and memoir. CUNY also established the first film school - the Barry R. Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema at Brooklyn College - that has its own classroom on a film lot.135

CUNY’s researchers are continuously investigating innovative research questions and devising unique programs and studies. Following last year’s shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, John Jay researchers announced they were creating a “first of its kind, national, open-source database” to track school shootings.136 The researchers planned on using the database to develop insights about school shootings and root causes. This year, a handful of CUNY researchers are wrapping up the completion of an online database documenting the New York accent in an effort to evaluate what makes a distinctive New York accent, which words are specific to the New York City accent, and determine how it has changed over time.137 (Interestingly, the researchers found that the word “pocketbook” is distinctive to New York City, with only Southern Appalachia using it to describe a purse or bag.)

27 ADDRESSING THE UNDERFUNDING OF CUNY, NEW YORK'S ENGINE OF MOBILITY, INNOVATION, AND ECONOMIC SUPPORT

ECONOMIC BENEFIT

As CUNY’s quality is at risk due to underfunding, New York City is in jeopardy of losing a key economic engine – comprised of CUNY universities, faculty and staff, and graduates – that bolsters the local economy. Should CUNY be required to cut back on its procurement and reduce staffing to address underfunding, the entire city will feel the effects (including small businesses that rely on the university for support) while the various tax and social benefits the city reaps from CUNY graduates will be threatened.

CUNY Investment in New York City

The City University of New York, with campuses across all five boroughs, is a major purchaser of goods and services from NYC-based companies. CUNY’s frequently purchased goods and services include those relating to five main categories: (1) Administrative/Clerical & Finance (e.g. office equipment, transportation services, record management services, and interpretation/translation services,); (2) Advertising/Marketing/Printing (e.g. commercial printing services, promotional advertising, and public relations); (3) Building/Property (e.g. electrical/lighting supplies, HVAC supplies and services, general hardware, and waste removal); (4) Educational/Clinical & Medical/ Scientific Equipment & Services (e.g. library books, medical supplies, academic journals, and lab equipment); (5) Furniture; and (6) IT, Computers & Communications (e.g. IT parts and software).138 The university’s contracts can total hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue for various small businesses.

According to data provided by CUNY, the system spent more than $252 million in fiscal year 2019 on non-personnel expenses, including more than $31 million on information resources, nearly $25.4 million on facilities maintenance, $86.6 million on professional services, and nearly $26 million on supplies and materials.139 The hundreds of millions the university spends each year help support local businesses, including minority- and women-owned business enterprises (MWBEs). CUNY preliminary data show that in the 2019 state fiscal year, 26.82 percent of eligible non-personnel contractsii by dollar value were completed through MWBEs, including 28.87 percent of senior college contracts and 23.65 percent of community college contracts. Though the university-wide percentage is the lowest in four years (down from 35.31 percent in SFY18), CUNY spends millions of dollars each year to support MWBEs, including those in local communities.

CUNY explained that it does not necessarily have MWBE options for all expenditures, such as utilites, postage, travel, or sole source items like software maintenance or licensing. As such, the total percentage reported above is based on other than personal service (OTPS) dollars available for use through MWBEs. 28 OFFICE OF THE NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC ADVOCATE JUMAANE D. WILLIAMS

Figure 12: CUNY FY2019 Expenditures by Category (Other Than Personal Service), Source: CUNY Office of Budget and Finance, via Office of Institutional and Policy Research

Figure 13: CUNY Percent of Eligible OTPS Spending with MWBEs, By Contract Dollar Value, Source: CUNY Office of Budget and Finance via Office of Institutional and Policy Research

29 ADDRESSING THE UNDERFUNDING OF CUNY, NEW YORK'S ENGINE OF MOBILITY, INNOVATION, AND ECONOMIC SUPPORT

Additionally, the university employs more than 45,000 individuals as of fall 2016, a 9.2 percent increase from five years earlier.140 These part-time and full-time employees have contributed millions of dollars in income and sales tax revenue to the city, state, and federal governments. They also purchase goods from local businesses, ranging from grocery stores to restaurants to clothing stores.

Though CUNY has yet to complete a robust economic impact report, it certainly has an impact of billions of dollars provided by its extensive research, direct tax revenue, and training and certification programs. According to CUNY’s Office of Institutional Research and Assessment, in a single year, all 1.4 million CUNY graduates from the 1966 academic year to the 2017 academic year earn a combined $65.8 billion, compared with $32.6 billion they would have earned with only a high school diploma.141 As such, CUNY provides its graduates with an added $33.2 billion in additional income in a single year that they will then use to support local businesses, ranging from restaurants to retail stores. For reference, the State University of New York system is projected to have an impact of $28.6 billion in New York State, largely from the schools direct impacts on the “higher education, scientific research and development (R&D), and hospital industries where SUNY produces output, employs workers, and generates revenues,” according to the Rockefeller Institute of Government.142

CUNY Graduate Investment in New York City

Once CUNY students graduate, a majority of them stay in New York and contribute to our local economy. According to CUNY’s most recent Performance Management Process report, 78.8 percent of baccalaureate degree graduates were employed in New York State within a year of graduating.143

A 2012 policy brief from CUNY that explored whether CUNY graduates remained in New York City after receiving their degrees found that CUNY students “tend to remain in New York City after graduating” and if they do move, “they do not move far - the vast majority of students who graduated from CUNY between 1981 and 2008 were living in New York State at the time of this study.”144 The study’s authors noted that the city and state “reap the economic, civic, and social benefits associated with a college educated workforce and citizenry” and argued the tuition assistance and operating budget investments “pay dividends for many subsequent decades in the form of increased earnings for college graduates and associated tax receipt increases for the government.”

The percentage of graduates who currently reside in New York City has remained high. According to CUNY’s Office of Institutional Research and Assessment, 81.2 percent of CUNY students who graduated in 2008, including 93.7 percent of those with associate degrees and 83.2 percent with bachelor’s degrees, currently live in New York City.145 More than 75 percent of graduates in the classes of 2002 and 2005 live in New York and more than 65 percent of graduates in the classes of 1990 and 1999, for comparison.

30 OFFICE OF THE NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC ADVOCATE JUMAANE D. WILLIAMS

Figure 16: CUNY Graduates Currently Residing in New York City, Source: CUNY Office of Institutional Research and Assessment; MOE of +/- 5%

These graduates are largely employed and tend to work in industries crucial to New York’s economy. According to a 2013 survey of 2009-2010 baccalaureate graduates, nearly 83 percent of graduates were currently employed (with 79.1 percent of those employed working full-time) and nearly 36 percent were pursuing additional education (only 13 percent of whom sought a degree out of New York State).146 For those employed, more than half were working in an industry related to their field of study. In total, 22 percent of graduates worked in architecture and engineering, 16 percent worked in business and financial operations, 15 percent worked in education, training, and library, and 8 percent worked in green technology. Approximately 30 percent worked in the public sector.

Additionally, some studies show increasing college degree completion can increase average earnings and productivity. One 2017 study found that an increase in degree completion across the US could result in a 3.1 percent increase in earnings, a 0.5 percent increase in employment, and a 2.5 percent increase in GDP over a few decades.147

As such, CUNY students who remain in New York provide millions of dollars annually in tax revenue to the state. One estimate found that members of the CUNY Class of 2005 who moved from the bottom 20 percent of income earners to the top 20 percent provided New York State with an additional $7 million in taxes in 2014 due to the system's high mobility rate, which resulted in higher earnings for these CUNY graduates and higher income tax revenue for the state. Though this estimate applied to just one graduating class, it is possible the state has received an additional $7 million in each subsequent year from each graduating class on top of the continuing increased income taxes of the prior students.148

Some of these alumni are notable individuals who have used their degrees to advance their respective fields. CUNY graduates include elected officials (Bella Abzug, Barbara Boxer, Shirley Chisolm, Helen Marshall, Robert Wagner), scientists (Jonas Salk), journalists (Daniel Schorr, Don Lemon), Supreme Court justices (Felix Frankfurter), actors (Jerry Seinfeld, Ruby Dee, Jimmy Smits), and senior government officials (Richard H. Carmona, Colin Powell).149 150 CUNY graduates include 13 Nobel Prize winners and 24 MacArthur grant winners.151 31 ADDRESSING THE UNDERFUNDING OF CUNY, NEW YORK'S ENGINE OF MOBILITY, INNOVATION, AND ECONOMIC SUPPORT

CUNY Graduates: Elected Officials Many CUNY grads, like the Public Advocate , and former students are currently using their education to help improve the lives of New Yorkers, including but not limited to:

US Congress · Yvette D. Clarke · Eliot Engel · Adriano Espaillat · José E. Serrano NYS Government · Carmen E. Arroyo (NYS Assembly) · Charles Barron (NYS Assembly) · Jamaal Bailey (NYS Senate) · Karl Brabenec (NYS Assembly) · William Colton (NYS Assembly) · Marcos Crespo (NYS Assembly) · Jeffrey Dinowitz (NYS Assembly) · Harvey Epstein (NYS Assembly) · Deborah Glick (NYS Assembly) · Andrew Gounardes (NYS Senate) · Carl Heastie (NYS Assembly Speaker) · Andrew Hevesi (NYS Assembly) · Dov Hikind (NYS Assembly) · Ellen Jaffee (NYS Assembly) · Letitia James (Attorney General) · Kimberly Jean-Pierre (NYS Assembly) · Ron Kim (NYS Assembly) · Michael G. Miller (NYS Assembly) · Michael Montesano (NYS Assembly) · Yuh-Line Niou (NYS Assembly) · Daniel O’ Donnell (NYS Assembly) · N. Nick Perry (NYS Assembly) · J. Gary Pretlow (NYS Assembly) · Michael Reilly (NYS Assembly) · Karines Reyes (NYS Assembly) · Diana Richardson (NYS Assembly) · Gustavo Rivera (NYS Senate) · James Sanders Jr (NYS Senate) · Rebecca Seawright (NYS Assembly) · Andrea Stewart-Cousins (NYS Senate) · Toby Ann Stavisky (NYS Senate) · Al Taylor (NYS Assembly) · Jaime Williams (NYS Assembly)

NYC Government · Eric Adams (Brooklyn Borough President) · Alicka Ampry-Samuel (NYC Council) · Diana Ayala (NYC Council) · Inez Barron (NYC Council) · Joe Borelli (NYC Council) · Justin Brannan (NYC Council) · Margaret Chin (NYC Council) · Costa Constantinides (NYC Council) · Rubén Díaz Jr. (Bronx Borough President) · Rubén Díaz Sr. (NYC Council) · Danny Dromm (NYC Council) · Rafael Espinal (NYC Council) · Vanessa Gibson (NYC Council) · Rory Lancman (NYC Council) · Robert Holden (NYC Council) · Francisco Moya (NYC Council) · Keith Powers (NYC Council) · Ydanis Rodríguez (NYC Council) · Mark Treyger (NYC Council) · Eric Ulrich (NYC Council)

Figure 17: CUNY Graduates Elected Officials, Source: Official Biographies, NYC Campaign Finance Board

32 ADDRESSING THE UNDERFUNDING OF CUNY, NEW YORK'S ENGINE OF MOBILITY, INNOVATION, AND ECONOMIC SUPPORT

RECOMMENDATIONS

New York City and State must bolster funding for CUNY and take proactive steps to secure the school’s educational quality and build on the gains CUNY has achieved over the past few years that have cemented the school as an economic engine that boosts thousands out of poverty, upholds local economies, and supports academic innovation. They must also work with CUNY to evaluate the state of campus infrastructure while urging Congress to strengthen Pell Grants, a crucial program low-income students use to finance their education, and expand Title I of the ESSA to provide operational funding for universities like CUNY that serve large quantities of students from low-income backgrounds.

These recommendations address two primary issues: (1) bolstering educational quality and university operations and (2) increasing student access and affordability.

Bolstering Educational Quality and Strengthening University Operations Increase Funding From New York State and New York City The funding challenges facing CUNY have two distinct elements. First, CUNY’s operating funding for instruction and related services is woefully insufficient. As previously mentioned, overall state funding – derived from the state tax levy – for CUNY senior colleges has fallen 18 percent since the 2008-2009 school year adjusted for inflation and enrollment growth. Second, low-income students attending CUNY need financial support, independent of CUNY’s already strained operating budget, above tuition assistance to aid in paying for non- tuition expenses like transportation, housing, and food. As a result of financial insecurity, many students do not graduate because they don’t have the resources they need to do so (e.g. housing or food security) or are distracted from focusing on their education because they are forced to work a job to pay for their education and related costs.

To bolster CUNY’s educational quality and ensure the financial burden of attending CUNY does not fall on students for generations to come, New York State and New York City should enact two primary reforms to how they currently fund CUNY.

• Increase Combined City and State Funding: Notably, funding for CUNY senior colleges has not kept up withrising enrollment. Additionally, the state includes what it pays for tuition assistance programs in its total state funding calculations and then limits the total in additional funding to no more than a 2 percent increase. As such, the total state contribution per full-time student to CUNY provided directly from the tax levy has dwindled, and CUNY must find a way to make up the losses, which might include postponing necessary repairs, cutting academic resources, and relying on part-time, adjunct faculty. The State and City must vastly increase their combined contribution to CUNY to ensure CUNY can restore positions for full-time faculty and counselors, reduce class sizes, and expand resources for students. For fiscal year 2020, the State should

33 OFFICE OF THE NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC ADVOCATE JUMAANE D. WILLIAMS

provide CUNY with its requested $137.7 million and the City should provide an additional $108.2 million to ensure it can cover mandatory cost increases and finance strategic investments.

● Increase City Contribution to Senior Colleges: Historically, the City has provided minimal funds for CUNY’s senior colleges, instead providing the bulk of the funding for its community colleges. However, New York City still reaps the benefits of CUNY’s senior colleges, including the tax revenue generated from graduates who remain in New York upon graduating. As such, the City should raise its contribution for CUNY’s senior colleges to account for their impact on the city and create a more equitable funding structure. Despite an increased contribution to senior colleges, the City should maintain its current role as the primary funder of the city’s six community colleges.

Any budget increases can be financed using a new tax mechanism. Options include taxing the assets of the wealthiest New Yorkers, similar to a proposal championed by Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), or raising the millionaires’ tax once again by less than one percent.152 Additionally, CUNY can create a voluntary fund where donors can contribute directly to finance student living expenses or student debt payments. Regardless, any new financing options cannot be used to supplant existing funding for CUNY’s operations and should be used to provide additional funding.

With more funding, CUNY will be able to cover both operational expenses and financial assistance programs. The university can finally fund annual cost increases, maintain or expand course offerings, create new programs to address underserved communities, improve facility quality, and expand successful programs - like ASAP and ACE – that provide low-income students with the resources they need to complete their degree. It can also expand portions of ASAP and ACE to more low-income students, including granting MetroCards to more students and providing food for food insecure students through food pantries and vouchers. CUNY can also finance pilot programs aimed at supporting vulnerable populations, including students who are housing insecure (establishing a residence hall with wrap-around services) or students with mental health problems (hire additional counselors to lower the 2,400 to 1 student to counselor ratio). It can also fund other vital services or products many students need on a daily basis, ranging from feminine hygiene products for students (which they currently receive at NYC public schools) or larger and more accessible prayer spaces for students who need a safe and adequately-sized space where they can practice their faith.

Close the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) Gap Since CUNY must provide a discount on students’ remaining tuition bill for those receiving TAP grants, it loses revenue for every student receiving the tuition assistance grant. The school’s TAP gap is estimated to be nearly $73 million and will reach at least $82 million in the current year. CUNY expects the TAP gap to increase by $12 million for each $200 tuition increase, and the number of eligible students will only increase given the recent passage of the DREAM Act. According to the school’s FY2020 budget request, filling the TAP gap could help finance nearly 57 percent of mandatory cost increases or 49 percent of strategic investment costs. As such, the state should incorporate into its annual budget a provision that provides sufficient funding to cover the gap between the maximum TAP grant and the in-state tuition for public colleges. 34 ADDRESSING THE UNDERFUNDING OF CUNY, NEW YORK'S ENGINE OF MOBILITY, INNOVATION, AND ECONOMIC SUPPORT

Increase the Percentage and Number of Full-Time Faculty Due to chronic underfunding, CUNY has increasingly relied on adjunct faculty to expand instruction for its growing student body. Part-time, adjunct faculty members now teach more than half of all undergraduate courses at CUNY senior colleges. While adjunct faculty can undoubtedly provide quality instruction for their students, numerous studies show the benefits to graduation rates, grades, and student performance that full-time faculty offer college students. At CUNY, the percent of full-time students enrolled in undergraduate courses taught by full-time faculty has continued to fall. And while CUNY has made efforts to diversify its faculty, it does not have a sufficient number of full-time positions to offer qualified instructors of more color a full-time job. To ensure more people of more color have faculty positions and to strengthen the quality of instruction, CUNY must move away from an adjunct-reliant model and create more full-time faculty positions. To do so, the State and City must provide additional funding for full-time faculty, instructors, counselors, advisors, and support staff. CUNY should make it a priority to hire from existing adjunct professors in these full-time roles and also prioritize hiring faculty from marginalized communities, specifically hiring more black, Latinx, and Asian professors to reduce the ratio of professors of more color to students of more color at CUNY campuses.

Raise Adjunct Salaries Higher salaries for adjunct professors can help raise student performance on specific tasks and ensure students receive the personalized attention they deserve. It also ensures adjunct professors, many of whom currently work secondary jobs to pay their bills, effectively receive pay for work conducted outside of the classroom, including lecture preparation, grading, offices hours, and student assistance. Though the school should work toward hiring more full-time professors, it should ensure adjunct professors can earn enough to live without working second and third jobs that amount to 18-20 hour days.

As such, CUNY should secure funding for and pay adjunct professors at double the current average of $3,500 per three-credit course, $7,000 per course or more. This total would work towards achieving parity between adjunct professors who teach eight courses a semester and full-time lecturers who currently earn an average of $74,000 for teaching full-time. Though full-time faculty may have additional responsibilities that adjunct faculty do not, the wage increase will provide adjunct faculty with the financial stability to offer additional attention to their courses and students. As mentioned above, these adjunct faculty members should also be considered for additional full-time positions at CUNY.

As previously mentioned, should the negotiated collective bargaining agreement be ratified, adjuncts will see their salaries jump by as much as 71 percent while the minimum pay for a three-credit course will increase from just over $3,000 to $5,500 by the end of the agreement’s term.

35 OFFICE OF THE NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC ADVOCATE JUMAANE D. WILLIAMS

This agreement, which also provides pay for one office hour per week per course, represents a monumental step forward for ensuring adjunct faculty receive the pay they deserve for their hard work. Yet CUNY should consider further raising adjunct faculties once this agreement expires in 2023 to further provide them with salary for work conducted outside of the classroom.

Implement Warranty Tracking System To ensure CUNY does not spend limited capital on replacing systems that could be covered under an existing warranty, the university should create a system-wide warranty tracking system that details the terms of warranties for various products, which could be fixed or replaced for free should they fall into disrepair while the warranty is active.

Increasing Student Access and Affordability

Expand Access to State Tuition Assistance Programs As the state has only granted the Excelsior Scholarship to 3.2 percent of undergraduate students statewide (20.7 percent of whom attend CUNY), the scholarship is not fulfilling its promise to expand higher education to low- and middle-income New Yorkers. A recent survey found that a majority of applications were rejected because they did not take a sufficient number of course credits, as the scholarship requires students to earn at least 30 credits a year, an obstacle that may not be possible for some students who still need to work to provide for their family or care for a loved one. The Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) also excludes most part-time students even though the program’s per- semester rate of credit accumulation needed to qualify is lower.153 As such, the state should amend each program’s credit accumulation requirements to accommodate part-time students.

One means of achieving this goal it to provide tuition assistance based on credits that a student can take over a longer or shorter term. For example, instead of requiring part-time TAP recipients to earn 12 credits or more in two consecutive semesters and full-time TAP recipients to take 12 or more credits toward their degree each semester, the state could provide tuition assistance for a set number of credits (e.g. 130 credits to account for changing majors or degrees with high credit courses). This could encourage some students to graduate more quickly, as they have funding for additional courses, while providing flexibility needed for students who cannot devote their full time to their studies.

Additionally, the New York State Legislature should also extend tuition assistance eligibility for programs like TAP to currently incarcerated students who are currently ineligible for the needs-based program.154 155 Higher education can help reduce recidivism and will provide currently incarcerated individuals with a means of social mobility upon their release.

The state must also work to create a truly tuition-free program for all New Yorkers at public universities, as Governor Cuomo’s failed promise of free tuition only applies to a select few under the current program. (More importantly, the program is not “free college” as many may have been led to believe.) The state needs to work to provide funding to low-income students, including Excelsior and TAP recipients, for non-tuition related expenses that may prohibit these students from succeeding at CUNY once they enroll. 36 ADDRESSING THE UNDERFUNDING OF CUNY, NEW YORK'S ENGINE OF MOBILITY, INNOVATION, AND ECONOMIC SUPPORT

Strengthen and Expand the Pell Grant Program Pell Grants are a primary means by which CUNY students finance their education. Unlike other government grants or forms of tuition assistance, Pell Grants can be applied to non-tuition related costs of attending college, including food, housing, books, and laboratory fees. Should the federal government choose to cut Pell Grant funding or raise eligibility requirements, both students and the university will lose a key funding source. To improve the program, Congress should hold hearings on a handful of bills relating to strengthening Pell Grants and determine the best means to expand and improve the program. Regardless of which proposal Congress considers, it must increase Pell Grants for students and provide additional funding for the program to ensure students can finance their own education.

Some proposals include the Pell Grant Preservation and Expansion Act (HR2451/S1136 in the 115th Congress), which would increase the maximum award annually to adjust for inflation and make the grant’s funding mandatory, and the Achieving Independence through Degrees Act (HR3101 in the 116th Congress), which raises the maximum Pell Grant award, ties the maximum to inflation, and increases semester eligibility limit, among other provisions.156 157

Congress should also consider repealing the portion of the 1994 crime bill that prohibits previously incarcerated individuals from receiving Pell Grants. A bipartisan group of legislators, including Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai’i), Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah), Representative Danny Davis (D-Ill.), and Representative French Hill (R-Ark.), introduced the REAL Act to restore eligibility for incarcerated individuals, which is projected to reduce costs recidivism and costs associated with incarceration by providing formerly incarcerated individuals — a majority of whom are people of more color — with a pathway to economic mobility and financial stability.158

Expand Title I of the ESSA to Provide Direct Aid to Postsecondary Institutions Serving Low-Income Students Currently, the federal government, through Title I of the Every Student Succeeds Act, provides funding to public K-12 schools that service large quantities of students from low-income backgrounds.159 However, these funds do not apply to postsecondary institutions like CUNY even though colleges and universities that service low-income communities may be strapped for resources.

As such, the federal government should consider creating either expanding Title I to include postsecondary institutions or creating an entirely new grant program to provide additional funding for public institutions of higher education that have large numbers of low-income students, which can be measured as the number of Pell Grant eligible students. The program would ensure postsecondary institutions have greater resources to finance their operating expenses and bolster their ability to provide a quality education for students. Using this funding, CUNY could further expand successful programs like ASAP/ACE and provide more low-income New Yorkers with the services and resources they may need to ensure they earn a degree.

37 OFFICE OF THE NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC ADVOCATE JUMAANE D. WILLIAMS

CONCLUSION

Over more than a century, the City University of New York has produced thousands of graduates who have gone on to dominate their career field and prove the utility of a CUNY education. The university is now at a critical juncture and can either protect the state and city’s investment, build upon its successes, and provide a world-class education for thousands of more students each year or fall into a state of disrepute, marked by underfunded facilities and programming, dwindling graduation rates, rising student financial burdens, limited economic mobility successes, and anemic academic innovation. Yet the decision as to which path to take is not CUNY’s alone, as the crucial variable to determine the university’s success is improved funding systems and provided by our state and municipal governments and related operational improvements.

The City and State must act quickly to ensure CUNY students can achieve the economic mobility that the school provided previous generations, that underserved communities receive the attention they deserve, and that the city reaps the economic benefits of housing a massive public university system that employs thousands of New Yorkers and purchases tens of millions of dollars of goods and services from local businesses. Now is the time to ensure New York City’s engine of mobility, innovation, and economic support has enough fuel for generations to come so we don’t have to face the consequences of living in a city without a fully-operational CUNY.

38 ADDRESSING THE UNDERFUNDING OF CUNY, NEW YORK'S ENGINE OF MOBILITY, INNOVATION, AND ECONOMIC SUPPORT

ACKNOWLEGMENTS

The Office of the Public Advocate thanks the Professional Staff Congress, CUNY’s Office of Institutional Research and Assessment, and the CUNY University Student Senate, without whom this report would not have been possible.

Writing and research for this report was led by Andrew Wright, Policy Associate. Additional support was provided by Nick E. Smith, First Deputy Public Advocate for Policy, and Veronica Aveis, Deputy Public Advocate for Strategic Initiatives.

39 OFFICE OF THE NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC ADVOCATE JUMAANE D. WILLIAMS

ENDNOTES

1 “A Profile of Undergraduates at CUNY Senior and Community Colleges: Fall 2017,” The City University of New York, accessed August 14, 2019, https://www2.cuny.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/page-assets/about/administration/offices/oira/institutional/data/current- student-data-book-by-subject/ug_student_profile_f17.pdf 2 “Fulfill the Promise of CUNY: Invest in Student Success,” Professional Staff Congress, Spring 2018, https://psc-cuny.org/sites/default/ files/Budget%20Book%20Final_web.pdf 3 Sara Goldrick-Rab et. al., “City University of New York #RealCollege Survey,” The Hope Center, March 2019, https://hope4college.com/ wp-content/uploads/2019/03/HOPE_realcollege_CUNY_report_final_webversion.pdf 4 2016 Student Experience Survey, The City University of New York Office of Institutional Research, accessed August 14, 2019, https:// www2.cuny.edu/about/administration/offices/oira/institutional/surveys/ 5 “Fulfill the Promise of CUNY.” 6 “The Facts About CUNY Adjuncts,” Professional Staff Congress, April 20, 2018, https://www.psc-cuny.org/sites/default/files/ PSC_FactSheet_7K_Update.pdf 7 2016 Student Experience Survey. 8 “Testimony of the Professional Staff Congress/CUNY,” Executive Budget: The City University of New York, FY 2020, Joint Hearing of the NY State Senate Finance Committee and the Assembly Ways and Means Committee, January 28, 2019, https://www.nysenate.gov/sites/ default/files/testimony_given_by_the_professional_staff_congress-cuny.pdf 9 Raj Chetty et. al., “Mobility Report Cards: The Role of Colleges in Intergenerational Mobility,” NBER Working Paper No. 23618, July 2017, https://opportunityinsights.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/coll_mrc_paper.pdf 10 Andrew Kreighbaum, “Democratic Divisions on Higher Ed,” Inside Higher Ed, June 28, 2019, https://www.insidehighered.com/ news/2019/06/28/democratic-contenders-draw-contrasts-free-college-student-debt 11 Anya Kamenetz, “Democratic Presidential Contenders Propose Free College and Student Loan Forgiveness,” NPR, June 27, 2019, https:// www.npr.org/2019/06/27/736342686/democratic-presidential-contenders-propose-free-college-and-student-loan-forgive 12 Jesse McKinley, “Cuomo Proposes Free Tuition at New York State Colleges for Eligible Students,” The New York Times, January 3, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/03/nyregion/free-tuition-new-york-colleges-plan.html 13 Madina Toure, “De Blasio Rolls Out ‘Complementary’ College Program After Cuomo Free Tuition Announcement,” New York Observer, January 5, 2017, https://observer.com/2017/01/city-college-savings-andrew-cuomo-free-tuition/ 14 Press Release, “SFY 2019-20 Budget Includes $27 Million For the Jose Peralta New York State DREAM Act,” Office of Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie, March 31, 2019, https://nyassembly.gov/Press/files/20190331a.php 15 Tom Hillard, “Excelsior Scholarship Serving Very Few New York Students,” Center for an Urban Future, August 2018, https:// nycfuture.org/research/excelsior-scholarship 16 Michelle Breidenbach, “Excelsior college scholarship use increased in second year, Cuomo says,” Syracuse Post-Standard, September 10, 2019, https://www.syracuse.com/news/2019/09/excelsior-college-scholarship-use-increased-in-second-year-cuomo- says.html 17 “Student Loan Debt in New York State,” Office of the New York State Comptroller, September 2016, https://www.osc.state.ny.us/ reports/highered/student_loan_debt.pdf 18 “Public’s 2019 Priorities: Economy, Health Care, Education and Security All Near Top of List,” Pew Research Center, January 24, 2019, https://www.people-press.org/2019/01/24/publics-2019-priorities-economy-health-care-education-and-security-all-near-top-of-list/ 19 “Report of the Finance Division on the Fiscal 2020 Preliminary Plan and the Fiscal 2019 Preliminary Mayor’s Management Report for the City of New York,” The Council of the City of New York, March 7, 2019, https://council.nyc.gov/budget/wp-content/uploads/ sites/54/2019/03/042-CUNY1.pdf 20 “About,” The City University of New York, accessed August 14, 2019, https://www2.cuny.edu/about/ 21 2016 Student Experience Survey 22 Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity, Current Student Data Book by Subject, The City University of New York, accessed August 14, 2019, http:// www2.cuny.edu/about/administration/offices/oira/institutional/data/current-student-data-book-by-subject/#Race 23 “A Profile of Undergraduates at CUNY Senior and Community Colleges: Fall 2017.” 24 Ibid. 25 “School Life,” New York City Department of Education, accessed August 14, 2019, https://www.schools.nyc.gov/school-life

40 http://Management Report for the City of New York,” The Council 23“A Profile of Undergraduates at CUNY Senior and Community Colleges: Fall 2017.” 24Ibid. of the City of New York, March 7, 2019, https:// council.nyc.gov/budget/wp-content/uploads/ sites/54/2019/03/042-CUNY1.pdf “About,” The City University of New York, accessed August 14, 2019, https://www2.cuny.edu/about/ ADDRESSING THE UNDERFUNDING OF CUNY, NEW YORK'S ENGINE OF MOBILITY, INNOVATION, AND ECONOMIC SUPPORT

26 Press Release, “Chancellor Carranza Announces Record Number of New York City Students Applied to CUNY for Free,” New York City Department of Education, December 19, 2018, https://www.schools.nyc.gov/about-us/news/announcements/contentdetails/2018/12/19/chancellor-carranza- announces-record-number-of-new-york-city-students-applied-to-cuny-for-free 27 Michael Mitchell et. al., “Unkept Promises: State Cuts to Higher Education Threaten Access and Equity,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, October 4, 2018, https://www.cbpp.org/research/state-budget-and-tax/unkept-promises-state-cuts-to-higher-education-threaten-access-and 28 “Dire Disparities: Patterns of Racially Inequitable Funding and Student Success in Public Postsecondary Education,” The Institute for College Access & Success, August 2019, https://ticas.org/affordability-2/dire-disparities-patterns-of-racially-inequitable-funding-and-student-success-in- public-postsecondary-education/ 29 Mitchell et. al., “Unkept Promises” 30 Ibid. 31 “Dire Disparities” 32 Mitchell et. al., “Unkept Promises” 33 Table 19: Fall enrollment of U.S. residents in degree-granting postsecondary institutions, by race/ethnicity: Selected years, 1976 through 2027, “Projections of Education Statistics to 2027: Forty-sixth Edition,” National Center for Education Statistics, February 2019, Page 66, https:// nces.ed.gov/pubs2019/2019001.pdf 34 “APM Survey: What do Americans think about government funding and aid for public colleges and universities?” APM Research Lab, February 25, 2019, https://www.apmresearchlab.org/stories/2019/02/25/colleges-funding-university-loans-students-free-tuition-government-aid-research- survey 35 Mitchell et. al., “Unkept Promises” 36 “Fulfill the Promise of CUNY.” 37 “2019-2020 Operating Budget Request and Four-Year Financial Plan,” The City University of New York, January 14, 2019, http://www2.cuny.edu/ wp-content/uploads/sites/4/page-assets/about/administration/offices/budget-and-finance/FY2020-Budget-Request_for-OBF-Site-1.pdf 38 “CUNY’s Funding Sources,” Professional Staff Congress of the City University of New York, accessed August 14, 2019, https://www.psc-cuny.org/ cunys-funding-sources

39 David W. Chen, “Dreams Stall as CUNY, New York City’s Engine of Mobility, Sputters,” The New York Times, May 28, 2016, https:// www.nytimes.com/2016/05/29/nyregion/dreams-stall-as-cuny-citys-engine-of-mobility-sputters.html 40 “Fulfill the Promise of CUNY” 41 “Historical Student Data Book Tables – All Semesters,” The City University of New York, accessed August 14, 2019, https://www2.cuny.edu/ about/administration/offices/oira/institutional/data/historical-student-data-book-tables-all-semesters/ 42 Madeline St. Amour, “CUNY Freshman Enrollment Increasing,” Inside Higher Ed, October 14, 2019, https://www.insidehighered.com/ news/2019/10/14/location-affordability-could-be-drivers-cuny-enrollment 43 “Testimony of the Professional Staff Congress/CUNY” 44 FY2019 Estimated TAP Waivers, Received from PSC , analyzed on August 14, 2019. 45 FY2020 Estimated TAP Waivers, Received from PSC, October 18, 2019. 46 Yan Cao, “Grading New York’s Colleges,” The Century Foundation, March 23, 2018, https://tcf.org/content/report/grading-new-yorks-colleges/ 47 Nick Reisman, “Cuomo Vetoes MOE For SUNY And CUNY,” NY State of Politics, December 19, 2017, https://www.nystateofpolitics.com/2017/12/ cuomo-vetoes-moe-for-suny-and-cuny/ 48 Kellie Woodhouse, “New York Governor Vetoes Maintenance of Effort Bill,” Inside Higher Ed, December 15, 2015, https:// www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2015/12/15/new-york-governor-vetoes-maintenance-effort-bill 49 Keshia Clukey and Eliza Shapiro, “SUNY, CUNY students call on Cuomo to sign maintenance of effort,” Politico New York, July 13, 2017, https:// www.politico.com/states/new-york/tipsheets/politico-new-york-education/2017/07/13/suny-cuny-students-call-on-cuomo-to-sign-maintenan ce-of-effort-008014 50 Kenneth Lovett, “Gov. Cuomo says state will pony up $1.6B to fully fund CUNY next year, taking the city off the hook for $485M payment,” New York Daily News, March 25, 2016, https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/gov-cuomo-agrees-pay-1-6b-fully-fund-cuny-article-1.2577003 51 “CUNY: Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Austerity Policy Background Information,” Professional Staff Congress, December 2015, https://psc- cuny.org/sites/default/files/Background%20Information%20on%20Cuomo%20and%20CUNY,%20Dec.%202015.pdf 52 “2019-2020 Operating Budget Request” 53 “Report of the Finance Division”

41 OFFICE OF THE NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC ADVOCATE JUMAANE D. WILLIAMS

54 Tuition & Fees,” The City University of New York, accessed August 15, 2019, https://www2.cuny.edu/financial-aid/tuition-and-college- costs/tuition-fees/ 55 Amanda Sherwin, “Could CUNY Be Tuition Free Again?” Gotham Gazette, July 22, 2016, https://www.gothamgazette.com/topics- newestopinions/6444-could-cuny-be-tuition-free-again 56 “Tuition & Fees” 57 Goldrick-Rab et. al., “City University of New York #RealCollege Survey.” 58 Ben Chapman, “Thousands of CUNY students experience homelessness and food insecurity, report says,” New York Daily News, March 27, 2019, https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/ny-cuny-students-experience-homelessness-food-insecurity-20190327- qkilgsntmvbcvgqysz2lni4y7m-story.html 59 2016 Student Experience Survey 60 Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity 61 2016 Student Experience Survey 62 Ibid. 63 “Total Enrollment by Undergraduate and Graduate Level, Full-time/Part-time Attendance, and College Fall 2018,” CUNY Office of Institutional Research and Assessment, April 24, 2019, http://www.cuny.edu/irdatabook/rpts2_AY_current/ENRL_0001_UGGR_FTPT.rpt.pdf 64 “Policy Brief: Child Care In New York City; Part 1: Relieving the ‘Third Shift’ The Case for Expanding Child Care at CUNY Community Colleges,” Office of New York City Public Advocate Letitia James, June 2015, accessed via Internet Archive Wayback Machine, https:// web.archive.org/web/20150909205429/https://pubadvocate.nyc.gov/sites/advocate.nyc.gov/files/publicadvocate- childcarereport_final_060315.pdf 65 Data obtained from CUNY Child Care and Leadership Programs, October 18, 2019

66 Erin Durkin, “Average cost of daycare in NYC tops $16G, leaves many families struggling to provide care for kids,” New York Daily News, November 9, 2015, https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/average-cost-daycare-nyc-tops-16k-article-1.2428709 67 Press Release, “CUNY Ranked Among Best In Country For Debt-Free Graduates,” The City University of New York, December 1, 2016, https:// www1.cuny.edu/mu/forum/2016/12/01/cuny-ranked-among-best-in-country-for-debt-free-graduates/ 68 “Policy Research Brief: Educational Debt at CUNY,” The City University of New York Office of Policy Research, July 17, 2012, https:// www2.cuny.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/page-assets/about/administration/offices/oira/policy/research-briefs/policy_brief_v2.pdf 69 Office of the Public Advocate analysis of data obtained from the IES National Center for Education Statistics, accessed August 15, 2019, https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=CUNY&s=all&pg=1 70 Julia Clum, “How New York City Created Four of the Top 100 Colleges in the U.S.” MONEY, August 14, 2019, http://money.com/ money/5650286/how-new-york-city-created-four-of-the-top-100-colleges-in-the-u-s/ 71 Alexa St. John, “The Biggest Bargains Among U.S. Colleges,” The Wall Street Journal, September 4, 2019, https://www.wsj.com/articles/the- biggest-bargains-among-u-s-colleges-11567640248 72 Office of the Public Advocate analysis 73 “Fulfill the Promise of CUNY” 74 Jennifer Gonnerman, “Jumaane Williams’s Breakthrough Victory Speech,” The New Yorker, March 12, 2019, https://www.newyorker.com/ news/news-desk/jumaane-williamss-breakthrough-victory-speech 75 “Fulfill the Promise of CUNY” 76 “Mission & History,” The City University of New York, accessed August 16, 2019, https://www2.cuny.edu/about/history/ 77 “The City University of New York Performance Management Process 2018-19 Data Book,” The City University of New York Office of Institutional Research and Assessment, Page 91, May 31, 2019, https://www2.cuny.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/page-assets/about/ administration/offices/oira/institutional/data/current-student-data-book-by-subject/PMP_University_Data_Book_2019-05-31.pdf 78 “Staff Facts: Fall 2017,” The City University of New York Office of Human Resources Management, November 2017, http://www2.cuny.edu/ wp-content/uploads/sites/4/page-assets/about/administration/offices/hr/hris/Fall-2017-Staff-Facts.pdf 79 “The Facts About CUNY Adjuncts.” 80 Polina Kroik, “For adjunct profs, the dream is a farce: How do I inspire my students when I’m barely hanging on?” New York Daily News, May 19, 2019, https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-oped-for-adjunct-profs-the-dream-is-a-farce-20190519- ttvgjz5mf5dsnovmutv6e22afa-story.html

42 ADDRESSING THE UNDERFUNDING OF CUNY, NEW YORK'S ENGINE OF MOBILITY, INNOVATION, AND ECONOMIC SUPPORT

81 “Adjuncts’ Stories of Job Insecurity,” Professional Staff Congress, accessed August 16, 2019, https://psc-cuny.org/adjuncts-stories-job-insecurity 82 Catherine Carrera, “Rutgers University adjuncts reach ‘revolutionary’ contract deal,” North Jersey Record, May 15, 2019, https:// www.northjersey.com/story/news/education/2019/05/15/rutgers-adjuncts-win-multiple-pay-raises-new-contract/3681733002/ 83 Colleen Flaherty, “My Professor Cares,” Inside Higher Ed, January 14, 2019, https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/01/14/can-light-touch- targeted-feedback-students-improve-their-perceptions-and-performance 84 Scott Carrell and Michal Kurlaender, “My Professor Cares: Experimental Evidence on the Role of Faculty Engagement,” University of California- Davis, October 2017, https://www2.cuny.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/page-assets/about/administration/offices/oira/policy/seminars/Prof- Engagement-Exp-Oct-2017.pdf 85 Di Xu, “Academic Performance in Community Colleges: The Influences of Part-Time and Full-Time Instructors,” American Educational Research Journal, Vol. 56, Issue 2, April 1, 2019, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/0002831218796131 86 Beckie Supiano, “It Matters a Lot Who Teaches Introductory Courses. Here’s Why,” The Chronicle of Higher Education, April 15, 2018, https:// www.chronicle.com/article/It-Matters-a-Lot-Who-Teaches/243125 87 Data obtained from the CUNY Office of Human Resource Management, October 18, 2019. 88 “The City University of New York Performance Management Process 2018-19 Data Book” 89 “BC members push CUNY for funding,” Professional Staff Congress, March 2018, https://www.psc-cuny.org/clarion/march-2018/bc-members- push-cuny-funding 90 Chen, “Dreams Stall as CUNY, New York City’s Engine of Mobility, Sputters” 91 Press Release, “CUNY and PSC Reach tentative Agreement On Five-Year Contract That Increases Salaries For Full-Time Faculty, Adjuncts And Professional Staff And Supports Students’ Success,” The City University of New York, October 23, 2019, https://www1.cuny.edu/mu/ forum/2019/10/23/cuny-and-psc-reach-tentative-agreement-on-five-year-contract-that-increases-salaries-for-full-time-faculty-adjuncts-and- professional-staff-and-supports-students-success/ 92 2016 Student Experience Survey 93 Chen, “Dreams Stall as CUNY, New York City’s Engine of Mobility, Sputters” 94 “Testimony of the Professional Staff Congress/CUNY” 95 Chen, “Dreams Stall as CUNY, New York City’s Engine of Mobility, Sputters” 96 Tom Hillard, “Degrees of Difficulty: Boosting College Success in New York City,” Center for an Urban Future, December 2017, https://nycfuture.org/ research/degrees-of-difficulty 97 “Testimony of the Professional Staff Congress/CUNY” 98 “BC members push CUNY for funding” 99 Kathleen Culliton, “Queens CUNY Cafeteria Flunks Health Exam, Records Show,” Patch, September 12, 2019, https://patch.com/new-york/jamaica/ queens-cuny-cafeteria-flunks-health-exam-records-show 100 “PSC members reflect on underfunding,” Professional Staff Congress, March 2017, https://www.psc-cuny.org/clarion/march-2017/psc-members- reflect-underfunding 101 Chen, “Dreams Stall as CUNY, New York City’s Engine of Mobility, Sputters” 102 Brokelyn College, cuny_brokelyn_college, Instagram, accessed August 19, 2019, https://www.instagram.com/cuny_brokelyn_college/?hl=en 103 2016 Student Experience Survey 104 Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity 105 Goldrick-Rab et. al., “City University of New York #RealCollege Survey” 106 “A Profile of Undergraduates” 107 Elka Torpey, “Measuring the value of education,” United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 2018, https://www.bls.gov/ careeroutlook/2018/data-on-display/education-pays.htm 108 Chetty et. al., “Mobility Report Cards.” 109 “Colleges With the Highest Student-Mobility Rates, 2014,” The Chronicle of Higher Education, October 15, 2017, https://www.chronicle.com/ article/Colleges-With-the-Highest/241450 110 “ASAP,” The City University of New York, accessed August 23, 2019, http://www1.cuny.edu/sites/asap/ 111 “About ASAP,” The City University of New York, accessed August 23, 2019, http://www1.cuny.edu/sites/asap/about/ 112 “Join ASAP,” The City University of New York, accessed August 23, 2019, http://www1.cuny.edu/sites/asap/join-asap/#asap-benefits 113 Ashley A. Smith, “Expanding Beyond NYC’s 5 Boroughs,” Inside Higher Ed, June 26, 2019, https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/06/26/ cuny-expands-student-success-programs-and-helps-export-them 114 Diana Strumbos and Zineta Kolenovic, “Six-Year Outcomes of ASAP Students: Transfer and Degree Attainment,” The City University of New York, January 2017, http://www1.cuny.edu/sites/asap/wp-content/uploads/ sites/8/2017/01/201701_ASAP_Eval_Brief_Six_Year_Outcomes_FINAL.pdf 115 Susan Scrivener et. al., “Doubling Graduation Rates: Three-Year Effects of CUNY’s Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) for Developmental Education Students,” MDRC, February 2015, https://www.mdrc.org/publication/doubling-graduation-rates

43 OFFICE OF THE NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC ADVOCATE JUMAANE D. WILLIAMS

116 Henry M. Levin and Emma Garcia, “Benefit-Cost Analysis of Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) of the City University of New York (CUNY),” Center for Benefit-Cost Studies in Education, Teachers College, Columbia University, May 2013, http:// www1.cuny.edu/sites/asap/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2014/06/Levin_ASAP_Benefit_Cost_Report_FINAL_05222013.pdf 117 Smith, “Expanding Beyond NYC’s 5 Boroughs” 118 Ashley A. Smith, “ASAP Expands North and West,” Inside Higher Ed, April 24, 2017, https://www.insidehighered.com/ news/2017/04/24/more-colleges-look-replicate-cunys-accelerated-two-year-program 119 Smith, “Expanding Beyond NYC’s 5 Boroughs” 120 Press Release, “CUNY Expands Its Promising ‘ACE’ Program To Lehman College In Partnership with Robin Hood Foundation, December 10, 2018, https://www1.cuny.edu/mu/forum/2018/12/10/lehman-college-ace-program/ 121 Smith, “Expanding Beyond NYC’s 5 Boroughs” 122 Ibid. 123 “Academic Programs,” The City University of New York, accessed August 14, 2019, http://www2.cuny.edu/admissions/undergraduate/ explore/programs/ 124 Centers & Institutes,” The City University of New York, accessed November 20, 2019, https://www.cuny.edu/about/centers-and- institutes/ 125 Cecilia Capuzzi Simon, “Disability Studies: A New Normal,” The New York Times, November 1, 2013, https:// www.nytimes.com/2013/11/03/education/edlife/disability-studies-a-new-normal.html 126 “Master of Arts in Disability Studies,” CUNY School of Professional Studies, accessed August 23, 2019, https://sps.cuny.edu/academics/ graduate/master-arts-disability-studies-ma 127 Press Release, “Journal of Teaching Disability Studies to Launch in Fall 2019, The City University of New York, March 11, 2019, https:// sps.cuny.edu/about/news/journal-teaching-disability-studies-launch-spring-2019 128 “Black Male Initiative,” The City University of New York, accessed October 9, 2019, http://www1.cuny.edu/sites/bmi/ 129 “About,” CUNY Citizenship Now!, accessed October 9, 2019, https://www1.cuny.edu/sites/citizenship-now/about/ 130 “The Dream.US,” The CUNY University of New York, accessed October 9, 2019, https://www.cuny.edu/financial-aid/scholarships/the- dream-us/ 131 Gaby Pacheco, “Over 200 CUNY Students Awarded Scholarships Valued At More Than $5M,” TheDream.US, May 13, 2015, https:// www.thedream.us/news/over-200-cuny-students-awarded-scholarships-valued-at-more-than-5m/ 132 Examples obtained from the CUNY Office of Student Affairs, October 18, 2019. 133 Crystal Lewis, “Low Percentage of Black Faculty at CUNY Decried at City Council Hearing,” The Chief Leader, October 1, 2018, https:// thechiefleader.com/news/news_of_the_week/low-percentage-of-black-faculty-at-cuny-decried-at-city/article_efc3ddaa-c325-11e8-a7b8- c39f2b183d2b.html 134 Ari Paul, “Profs: CUNY needs more black faculty,” PSC Clarion, October/November 2018, https://www.psc-cuny.org/clarion/ octobernovember-2018/profs-cuny-needs-more-black-faculty 135 Press Release, “The Graduate Center Introduces First Master’s in Biography and Memoir in the US,” Graduate Center of the City University of New York, January 7, 2019, https://www.gc.cuny.edu/News/Press-Room/Detail?id=47408 136 Rob Abruzzese, “Brooklyn College film school inside Steiner Studios,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, October 7, 2015, https:// brooklyneagle.com/articles/2015/10/07/brooklyn-college-opens-film-school-inside-steiner-studios/ 137 Press Release, “John Jay College Researchers Develop First Of Its Kind School Shootings Database,” The City University of New York, March 20, 2018, http://www1.cuny.edu/mu/forum/2018/03/20/john-jay-college-researchers-develop-first-of-its-kind-school-shootings- database/ 138 Michael Elsen-Rooney, “CUNY researchers seek to create first database of New York City English,” New York Daily News, August 18, 2019, https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-cuny-linguist-research-new-york-accent-20190818-xbdacrgq4zfvri6yes6oscdhty- story.html 139 “Frequently Purchased Goods & Services,” The City University of New York, April 2018, http://www1.cuny.edu/sites/selltocuny/wp- content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/CUNY-Freq-Purchased-Good-Svcs-04.2018.pdf 140 Data obtained from CUNY Office of Budget and Finance, October 22, 2019. 141 “Fall 2016 Staff Facts,” The City University of New York, accessed August 26, 2019, http://www2.cuny.edu/wp-content/uploads/ sites/4/page-assets/about/administration/offices/hr/hris/Fall-2016-Staff-Facts.pdf 142 Data analysis obtained from the CUNY Office of Budget and Finance, October 18, 2019. 143 Laura Schultz, “The Economic Impact of the State University of New York,” Rockefeller Institute of Government, November 1, 2018, https://rockinst.org/issue-area/the-economic-impact-of-the-state-university-of-new-york/ 144 “The City University of New York Performance Management Process 2018-19 Data Book” 145 “Policy Research Brief: Do CUNY Graduates Stay in New York?” CUNY Office of Policy Research, October 22, 2012, https:// www2.cuny.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/page-assets/about/administration/offices/oira/policy/research-briefs/ NY_Residency_Research_brief_v_11_rev20121022.pdf

44 ADDRESSING THE UNDERFUNDING OF CUNY, NEW YORK'S ENGINE OF MOBILITY, INNOVATION, AND ECONOMIC SUPPORT

146 “CUNY Graduates Currently Residing in New York City, by Graduation Year and Degree Level,” CUNY Office of Institutional Research and Assessment, February 14, 2014, https://www2.cuny.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/page-assets/about/administration/offices/oira/policy/research-briefs/NYC_res_table_rev.pdf 147 Survey of 2009-10 CUNY Baccalaureate Graduates, CUNY Office of Institutional Research and Assessment, February 18, 2014, https://www2.cuny.edu/wp- content/uploads/sites/4/page-assets/about/administration/offices/oira/institutional/surveys/grd_survey_2013_report_draft_rev.pdf 148 Sophia Koropeckyj et. al., “The Economic Impact of Increasing College Completion,” American Academy of Arts & Sciences, 2017, https://www.amacad.org/ sites/default/files/publication/downloads/CFUE_Economic-Impact.pdf 149 Raymond Hoobler, “An Investment That Pays for Itself,” Working Paper, based on data obtained by opportunityinsights.org, September 2019. 150 “Notable People: Alumni,” The City University of New York, accessed via Internet Archive Wayback Machine, June 5, 2013, https://web.archive.org/ web/20130605195121/http://www.cuny.edu/about/people/alumni.html 151 “Examples of Distinguished CUNY Alumni,” Let Freedom Ring - The City University of New York, accessed via Internet Archive Wayback Machine, March 4, 2016, https://web.archive.org/web/20160304001532/http://www1.cuny.edu/portal_ur/content/letfreedomring/alumni.php 152 Press Release, “Seven CUNY Colleges Ranked In Top Fifth Of Money Magazine’s ‘Best Colleges For Your Money,’” The City University of New York, August 12, 2019, https://www1.cuny.edu/mu/forum/2019/08/12/seven-cuny-colleges-ranked-in-top-fifth-of-money-magazines-best-colleges-for-your-money/ 153 Thomas Kaplan, “Bernie Sanders Proposes a Wealth Tax: ‘I Don’t Think That Billionaires Should Exist,’” The New York Times, September 24, 2019, https:// www.nytimes.com/2019/09/24/us/politics/bernie-sanders-wealth-tax.html 154 “Part-time TAP,” Higher Education Services Corporation, accessed October 10, 2019, https://www.hesc.ny.gov/pay-for-college/apply-for-financial-aid/nys- tap/part-time-tap.html 155 “Chapter 3: Student Information,” Higher Education Services Corporation, accessed October 10, 2019, https://www.hesc.ny.gov/partner-access/financial-aid- professionals/programs-policies-and-procedures-guide-to-grants-and-scholarship-programs/chapter-3-student-information.html 156 “Mapping the Landscape of Higher Education in New York State Prisons,” John Jay College of Criminal Justice Prisoner Reentry Institute, February 2019, http:// johnjaypri.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Mapping-the-Landscape-of-Higher-Ed-in-NYS-Prisons-6.10.19.pdf 157 Press Release, “Davis, Scott, Hirono, Murray Introduce Major Legislation to Secure Pell Grant Program and Make College More Affordable for Low-Income Students,” US House Committee on Education and Labor, May 16, 2017, https://edlabor.house.gov/media/press-releases/davis-scott-hirono-murray-introduce- major-legislation-to-secure-pell-grant-program-and-make-college-more-affordable-for-low-income-students 158 Press Release, “Rep. Peter DeFazio Introduces HIGHER ED + AID Acts To Improve Student Loan Assistance And Expand College Access,” Office of US Representative Peter DeFazio, June 5, 2019, https://defazio.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-peter-defazio-introduces-higher-ed-aid-acts-to-improve- student-loan 159 Press Release, “Schatz, Lee, Durbin Introduce Bipartisan Legislation To Restore Educational Opportunities For Those Incarcerated And Improve Public Safety,” Office of US Senator Brian Schatz, April 9, 2019, https://www.schatz.senate.gov/press-releases/schatz-lee-durbin-introduce-bipartisan-legislation-to-restore- educational-opportunities-for-those-incarcerated-and-improve-public-safety 160 “Improving Basic Programs Operated by Local Educational Agencies (ESEA, Title I, Part A),” US Department of Education, Office of Elementary & Secondary Education, accessed October 4, 2019, https://oese.ed.gov/offices/office-of-formula-grants/school-support-and-accountability/title-i-part-a-program/

**Images, unless otherwise specified, were provided courtesy of CUNY

45 THE PUBLIC ADVOCATE FOR THE CITY OF NEW YORK Jumaane D. Williams

CONTACT US: DAVID DINKINS MUNICIPAL BUILDING 1 CENTRE STREET 15TH FLOOR NEW YORK, NY 10007

ADVOCATE.NYC.GOV (212) 669 - 7250

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Dec 2019