A recent report by the Center for an Urban Future on improving outcomes for transfer students at the City University of New York directly inspired a City Council hearing held in June by the Committee on Higher Education. CUF Editorial and Policy Director Eli Dvorkin provided lead testimony at the hearing, arguing that helping far more of CUNY’s transfer students to beat the odds and complete a bachelor’s degree is among the most effective steps that policymakers can take to boost economic mobility. 

Our March 2024 report, Boosting Transfer Student Success at CUNY, showed that most CUNY students who intend to transfer and complete a bachelor’s won’t reach that finish line. Roughly eight of every nine new community college students at CUNY intend to transfer and complete at least a bachelor’s degree, while only about one in nine does so within six years.

This hearing builds on CUF’s extensive work on helping CUNY students graduate with a college credential, including Boosting Tech Career Success for CUNY Students, Opportunity Costs: Affording the True Costs of College in NYC, and Supporting CUNY’s 79,000 Part-Time Students.