DOCUMENT RESUME ED 382 138 HE 028 339 TITLE Immigration/Migration and the CUNY Student of the Future. INSTITUTION City Univ. of New York, N.Y. Office of the Chancellor. PUB DATE 95 NOTE 185p. PUB TYPE Reports Research/Technical (143) EDRS PRICE MFOI/PC08 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS College Freshmen; Demography; *Enrollment Trends; Futures (of Society); Higher Education; Hispanic Americans; *Immigration; *Migrants; Migration Patterns; Population Trends; Puerto Ricans; *Student Characteristics; Urban Education; Urban Universities IDENTIFIERS *City University of New York; Diversity (Student) ABSTRACT This monograph analyzes the effects of recent trends in immigration from foreign countries and migration from Puerto Rico on the makeup of the City University of New York (CUNY) student body and provides preliminary assessments of related educational needs. An introduction describes the research for the study which included census data, other federal and city government statistics, surveys of CUNY administrators, and roundtable discussions with faculty, students, and community leaders. Part 1, which includes three sub-sections, examines the recent changes in the profile of CUNY students, discusses the likely changes that will take place during the current decade, and assesses the ways in which current foreign-born and Puerto Rican-born first-time freshmen students differ from current native-born freshmen. Part 2 considers how increases in the number of immigrant and migrant students will affect academic programs and support-service needs. Part 3 profiles the main country of origin of 10 groups at CUNY and describes how these groups are distributed across the city. Part 3 also includes information on the historical background of immigrant trends. Appendixes contain data, lists of panel participants, other research findings on immigrant communities, and a list of countries and territories where CUNY students have studied at the secondary level. (Contains 95 references.) (JB) *************************************v********************************* Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** Immigration Migration and The CUR MUM of thefuture I fr I U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Off, e EducaDonal Research and Improvement ED CATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as 111 received from the person or organization originating it Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy fit I "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY Jay Hershenson CONY TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)' ra The city University of NeiYork Winter 1995 BEST COPY AVAILABLE ti The City University of New York 535 East Eightieth Street New York, N.w York 10021 The Chancellor Winter, 1995 Dear Friends and Colleagues: It is my pleasure to provide you with a copy of a research study conducted by The City University of New York entitled "IMMIGRATION/MIGRATION AND THE CUNY STUDENT OF THE FUTURE." The study analyzes the effect of recent trends in immigration from foreign countries and migration from Puerto Rico on the makeup of CUNY's student body and provides preliminary assessments of educational needs. This initiative is one of numerous activities under way at CUNY to meet the educational aspirations of all of our students, native-born and immigrant, female and male, traditional-aged and older, coming from a widerange of socio- economic and ethnic backgrounds. We treasure the pluralism and diversity of CUNY students who are the primary future source of talent, energy, and leadership of our City and State. Two particularly striking observations are reported in the study: by the year 2000at least 50% of CUNY first-time freshmen will have been born abroad or in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. At the present time, at least half of CUNY's student population is bilingualor capable of becoming so with a minimum of effort. In a competitive job market, the ability to speak, read, and write a second language will give CUNY graduates an important edge thatno other university in the country can surpass. During the five-year period between 1982 and 1987, over 500,000 immigrants settled in New York City, roughly one-half from Latin America and the Caribbean and one-quarter from Asia. In addition, 130,000 undocumented aliens applied for residency statusas a result of the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1986, and, more recently, large numbers of Eastern Europeans have settled in the City. Currently, New York City's foreign-born population standsat 2 million, perhaps the most numerous of any city in the country. Many new arrivals turn to CUNY for the education that holds the keyto their success in this country. The report indicates that the coming years will challenge us, once again, to rethinkour educational offerings and reshape our support services to reflect the changing character and needs of our students. We must do this, moreover, while confronting continuing financial andresource constraints, and we must succeed. The future social and economic well-being of New York City and State depends upon the University's ability to enroll and educate recent arrivals, while also continuing to serve the thousands of resident New Yorkers who traditionally havecome to CUNY colleges. I would like to thank the many individuals who contributed to this report, including the staff of the Offices of Academic Affairs, University Relations and Student Affairs,numerous scholars and experts from the CUNY faculty, as well as the institutional and community representatives and students who participated in the panels we held to discuss the issues covered by this study. It is our intention to convene a major conference in 1995, to discuss the findings of thisreport and to formulate a plan of action to meet the needs of our recently-arrived students. Your reactions and comments are very much valued. I invite you to analyze this report and to help us realize the aspirations of our studentsas we enter the twenty-first century. I look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, cz) W. Ann Reynolds Chancellor EXECUTIVE SUMMARY IMMIGRATION/MIGRATION AND THE CUNY STUDENT OF THE FUTURE INTRODUCTION This study is in response to Chancellor W. Ann Reynolds' charge to "anticipate and evaluate the impact of immigration from foreign countries and migration from Puerto Ricoon the characteristics and educational needs of the CUNY student body in the year 2000." The historic mission of The City University of New York has been to provide access to higher education of the highest quality for students from all backgrounds, including individuals from all ethnic and racial groups and from both sexes. CUNY is of vital and special importance as a vehicle for the upward social, economic, and educational mobility of the disadvantaged. In the 1920s and the 1930s, CUNY fulfilled this mission by educating children of the immigrants who arrived in New York in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The current resurgence of immigration challenges the University once again. Migrants from Puerto Rico who are, of course, U.S. citizens are included in this study because as non-native speakers of English, they face many of the same educational issues as immigrants. PART I: THE CHANGING PROFILE OF CUNY STUDENTS A. The Changing Demography of CUNY Students The changes in first-time freshmen at CUNY over the 1980-1990 decade are striking, and, not surprisingly, parallel many changes in the New York City population. The most important of these changes, both for CUNY and for New York City, resulted from the large inflow of immigrants during the decade which greatly increased the proportion of the foreign-born New York City population. While limitations in the University's admissions records make it impossible to determine directly the change in percentage of foreign-born students at CUNY during the 1980s, it is clear that the proportion who were not US citizens rose substantially, indicating that CUNY, too, has experienced an increase in immigrant students during these years. The change in the racial/ethnic distribution of CUNY students is clearly related to this immigrant flow and reflects corresponding changes in the New York City population, with non- Hispanic white students declining as a proportion of the whole, non-Hispanic black students maintaining a roughly constant proportion of the student body, and the proportions of Hispanic and Asian students rising significantly. Most notably, recent immigration has altered the distribution of the country .of origin of both the New York City population and of our students. More students in 1990 than in 1980 5 mention the countries of Asia and Central and South America in describing their backgrounds, and fewer mention Puerto Rico and the countries of Western Europe and Africa. Further,the countries from which our current foreign-born studentscome are the same countries that account for significant proportions of New York City immigrationover the past decade. Finally, the varied settlement patterns of immigrants across the boroughs of New York City mean that the exact way in which immigration affects individual CUNY institutions differs from college to college. B. The CUNY Student of the Future CUNY students in the year 2000 will differ somewhat from our current students, justas our current students differ from those in 1980. The most important changes observed in the decade of the 1980s that an ever larger proportion of our students has been born outside of the United States and that the country of origin of these students has changed inresponse to changing patterns of immigration are likely to continue in the decade of the 1990s. Extrapolating current trends, we estimate that more than half of CUNY first-time freshmen in theyear 2000 will have been born outside of the United States or in Puerto Rico. In addition, the proportions of immigrant and migrant students from various countries will be different in 2000 from 1990.