City University of New York

Agency Web Site: http://www2.cuny.edu/

Mission

The City University of New York (CUNY) has its origins in the Free Academy, established in 1847 under the auspices of the New York City Board of Education, and today is the nation’s largest urban public university system. The University’s mission is to provide affordable higher education with a focus on the urban community of New York City.

Organization and Staffing

CUNY is governed by a 17-member Board of Trustees consisting of 10 members appointed by the Governor, five members appointed by the Mayor, the chair of the Student Senate, and the chair of the Faculty Senate, who both act as ex-officio members. Aside from the Board, CUNY’s leadership structure also consists of a Chancellor, individual college presidents, and centralized staff. The City University includes 11 senior colleges, seven community colleges, and seven honors and professional schools; all of which are located throughout the city’s five boroughs, employing thousands of academic, administrative, and facility personnel.

Budget Highlights

The FY 2020 Executive Budget recommends $4.7 billion for CUNY and projects a workforce of 13,632 FTEs consistent with FY 2019 levels.

The FY 2020 funding level represents a $117 million increase from the prior year, which reflects additional support for employee fringe benefits and capital projects funding.

In 2017, Governor Cuomo created the historic Excelsior Scholarship, a first-in-the-nation program that provides free tuition at New York’s public colleges and universities for middle class families. In FY 2020, the Excelsior Scholarship will enter the third and final year of a three-year phase-in. For the 2019-20 academic year, the Excelsior Scholarship income eligibility threshold will increase, allowing New Yorkers with household incomes up to $125,000 to be eligible. To continue this landmark program, the Budget includes $119 million to support free tuition for an estimated 30,000 students. Along with other sources of tuition assistance, the Excelsior Scholarship and State tuition assistance programs will allow approximately 55 percent of full-time SUNY and CUNY in-state students, or more than 210,000 New York residents, to attend college tuition-free.  

The Executive Budget includes legislation to implement the DREAM Act, opening the doors of higher education to thousands of New Yorkers. Since 2002, undocumented students qualify for in-state tuition at SUNY and CUNY if they graduated from a New York high school or received a GED in the state. Yet, each year, many talented students who graduate from New York high schools remain unable to fulfill their potential simply because they cannot afford the tuition and lack access to tuition assistance to help pay for school. The DREAM Act will give undocumented students access to the Excelsior Scholarship, the Tuition Assistance Program, as well as other state-administered scholarships. 

The Executive Budget also continues New York’s predictable tuition plan which has kept public college tuition affordable. Average tuition and fees at New York’s public four-year colleges are among the lowest in the nation -- $2,040, or 20 percent, less than the national average and lower than 40 other states. 

The FY 2020 Executive Budget maintains base operating aid for CUNY community colleges at $2,847 per full time equivalent student. 

For more information on this agency's budget recommendations located in the Executive Budget Briefing Book, click on the following link:

Briefing Book – Higher Education (PDF)

Program Highlights

The City University of New York is the largest urban university system in the nation and offers a wide variety of educational avenues ranging from vocational courses to doctoral degree programs. Approximately 274,000 full- and part-time students are pursuing studies ranging from one-year certificate programs to doctorates.

To help students obtain an affordable education and graduate on-time, CUNY is expanding high impact programs across the system. In addition to launching the third phase of the Excelsior Scholarship Program, providing undocumented immigrant students with financial aid resources, and continuing a predictable tuition plan, the FY 2020 Executive Budget is also making other strategic investments to ensure all of New York’s aspiring students can go to college and achieve their dreams. A sampling of these investments includes the following:

Family Empowerment Community College Program

To support the educational attainment of single parents, the FY 2020 Executive Budget will launch a pilot program providing customized supports for single parents attending SUNY and CUNY community college campuses. This innovative program will support 400 parents a year for three years. Participants will receive on-campus childcare, intensive personalized advisement, educational supports including tutoring, career counseling and assistance in transitioning to a 4-year school. These comprehensive systems of support will ensure that single parents are able to access higher education opportunities and help to move themselves and their children out of poverty.

Open Educational Resources

The FY 2020 Executive Budget invests $8 million to expand an open educational resource initiative that helps to reduce, and in some instances, eliminate the costs of textbooks for students. The cost of textbooks and related course material have increased at a rate far greater than most families' ability to pay. Unchecked cost increases on student textbooks have also led to a higher debt burden among college students. This funding will enable SUNY and CUNY to continue to advance the expansion of existing OER resources, making college more affordable for students and their families.

Note: Most recent estimates as of 1/15/2019