There are over 100 non-City University of New York (CUNY) colleges competing for populations of students in New York City. CUNY’s Fiscal Year 2025 University Budget Request outlines the university’s plans to modernize the CUNY system, amplify their ability to exceed student outcomes and advance the academic community.
“Our plans for transformation come at a time when CUNY, like universities nationwide, is working to rebound from pandemic-era enrollment declines that have brought on significant budgetary pressures. We believe we have turned a corner this academic year,” Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez wrote in the request’s preface.
The request is split into two categories: Programmatic Requests and Mandatory Needs Requests. The Programmatic Requests include costs associated with enrollment and retention, seamless transfer, online education, and improvements for programs in health professions. Mandatory Needs include energy, building rentals, collective bargaining and fringe bargaining. The total amount spent on Mandatory Needs Requests is $321 million, with a grand total of $429 million for both Programmatic Request and Mandatory Needs.
With other institutions like Southern New Hampshire University, Western Governors University and Arizona State University finding success by spending roughly $250 million on marketing, CUNY recognizes the need to invest in their own marketing and recruitment efforts — a $6.7 million investment to be exact. This includes upgrades to systems that will give assistance to admissions processes and develop better communication to provide clear messages in a timely manner.
Students from the New York City public schools are CUNY’s largest demographic when it comes to enrollment. In 2022, over 60,000 students graduated from a NYC public school, 80% of which applied to CUNY and 75% enrolled in the Fall 2022 semester. Since many of these students are first generation in their family, many may need resources to prepare them for the admissions process. The request thus includes a $9.4 million investment to hire 75 academic and career advisors.
There are often times where transfer policies between community and senior colleges can be distrustful for students and can disrupt their academic progress. While the transfer process has improved, there is still work that needs to be implemented. Students that transfer from one CUNY college to another within the same major often don’t have their credits articulated into their degree plan. CUNY is requesting $2.5 million to fund the support faculty from colleges to provide a smooth transition between colleges.
To support online education, CUNY is proposing a $6 million expansion of their online programs, dubbed CUNY Online. 40 new online programs are being developed and the university is investing in professional development to ensure that faculty is properly trained in online education. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 61% of all undergraduate students were enrolled in online courses. A 2020 Education Advisory Board showed that 91% of those surveyed planned to take online courses, 69% plan on enrolling in a mostly or completely online program, 50% of master’s degrees were earned in online programs, and 80% of online students work full-time.
Roughly 40,00 students are in health and human services degree and certificate programs at CUNY, responsible for about half of the nurses entering the New York City workforce each year. Due to a shrinking number of enrollment, as well as doctors and nursing faculty shortages, the demand for admission into CUNY’s nursing programs has grown. In order to address these needs, CUNY plans on investing $3 million on the nursing faculty shortage and $2 million on expanding its enrollment for nursing programs.
The Fiscal Budget 2025 is created to promote the university’s growth and financial stability. This is to ensure that CUNY students will graduate and find success in their career in the near future.
