NYC Community Colleges Invest in Student Support to Boost Grad Rates

|

Can New York City dramatically increase graduation rates at its community colleges? That's the goal behind a support program for full-time students, which offers financial help, convenient schedules and the encouragement of an adviser. Hari Sreenivasan reports.

HARI SREENIVASAN: The data points to success stories beyond Ayala. Only 17 percent of CUNY’s full-time community college students get a degree in three years. For ASAP students, the rate is 57 percent. In the fall, New York City leaders pledged an additional $42 million to expand the program from 7,500 students this year to 25,000 by 2018.

The goal is to raise the system wide graduation rate to 50 percent or higher for full-time students.

JAMES MILLIKEN, Chancellor, The City University of New York: At community colleges, and particularly at urban community colleges across the country, the three-year graduation rate is about 16 percent right now. And so you could call that a crisis.

SREENIVASAN: CUNY’s Chancellor James Milliken...

MILLIKEN: The issue’s not all about access. It’s a big part of it. We have to be focused on the success of our students, getting them a degree.

Comment
Show commentsHide Comments

Latest Education Videos

Video Archives