Since Fall 2022, enrollment at the City University of New York has increased by 9% while enrollment at Queens College continues to decline.
“What has happened over the past 5-6 years is that every year, there has been a little bit of an enrollment decrease,” QC President Frank Wu said during the admin luncheon with The Knight News on Mar. 4th. “It is a major issue. It is not limited to us. There are other CUNY institutions facing similar issues.”
According to CUNY’s data on Fall Enrollment Trends, all CUNY institutions faced a decrease in enrollment between Fall 2020 and Fall 2022, which for some colleges continued into Fall 2023. However, since then most CUNY institutions have seen an increase in enrollment such as York College, where enrollment went from 6,161 students in fall 2023 to 6,490 students in fall 2025.
“We have strengthened our partnerships with New York City Public Schools,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez during a joint New York State Senate and Assembly Legislative Public Hearing on the Fiscal Year 2027 New York State Executive Budget Proposal. “And we have seen the payoff of targeted recruitment initiatives like CUNY Reconnect, Governor Hochul’s free community college program for adults who pursue degrees in high-demand fields. Nearly 6,000 New Yorkers have enrolled in the program since it began last summer.”
Despite these initiatives, enrollment at QC has continued to decline from 16,481 students in Fall 2023 to 14,914 students in Fall 2025.
This coincides with QC’s dwindling number of staff, with the number of full time instructional staff going from 971 in Fall 2023 to 895 in Fall 2025. QC has also implemented hiring pauses during the pandemic, in 2023, and currently as of Fall 2025. According to the 2026 QC Self-Study Report, QC is “relying primarily on attrition of faculty and staff to balance our budget.”
As a result of a decrease in staff, the number of courses offered has been shrinking as well. The 2026 QC Self-Study Report also states that “the total number of sections taught has fallen by 23% from Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 to FY2025.” Fewer sections being taught means less options for students, which could make it difficult for students to take classes they need to complete their degrees. This is especially true for QC students because a Student Experience Survey from 2022 found that 49% of QC students have a job, and therefore would need to find classes that fit their work schedules.
Furthermore, these decisions do not seem to align with the QC 2021-2026 Strategic Plan, which outlines the retention and hiring of diverse faculty and staff to foster an inclusive culture at QC. The strategic plan states: “Students thrive when they can identify with people they interact with on campus.” It will be difficult for students to thrive if the number of faculty and staff continues to decrease, and if they can’t attend class due to the limited sections offered.
Even though the pandemic caused the initial decline in enrollment, it has become apparent that declining numbers at Queens persist. Because enrollment is tied to the college budget, this results in a decline of services and support for QC students – from understaffing to a lack of available food on campus.
