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CUNY, Opportunity Knocks Louder Than Ever
by
Chancellor Matthew Goldstein
A
college education helps New Yorkers to achieve their dreams—yet
some wonder if now is the right time to pursue their education.
In fact, there has never been a better time to take advantage
of the outstanding educational opportunities available at The
City University of New York.
CUNY
is well known for the high quality education available at our
campuses, and for the numerous achievements of our distinguished
faculty and alumni. Applications and enrollment at CUNY are
at their highest level in nearly a decade, and employers continue
to higher our graduates in record numbers. The CUNY Honors
College, beginning its third year this fall, has drawn steadily
increasing numbers of gifted and ambitious students—with mean
SAT scores of 1351 and cumulative high school academic averages
around 93%. Governor Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg have turned
to CUNY as the lead institution in the planning of education
programs on Governors Island. Our community colleges will be
hiring over 300 full-time faculty in the next 18 months—the
most significant investment in over thirty years. CUNY’s College
Now program is available in more than 200 high schools, promoting
college readiness for over 40,000 students. According to Standard
and Poor’s survey of alumni and their alma maters, more CUNY
graduates lead businesses and companies than graduates of any
other university in the nation.
These
improvements have taken place despite the current economic
downturn and budgetary shortfalls at the state and city levels.
Last month, CUNY’s Board of Trustees approved its first tuition
increase since 1995. Rather than the $950 increase authorized
by the State in its budget, we kept the increase at $800 a
year for full-time resident students at our senior colleges
and $300 at our community colleges.
As
CUNY continues to help New Yorkers realize their educational
goals, we have implemented a five-point program to assist students
in identifying ways to pay for their college education.
Financial
Aid. CUNY colleges
offer more than 1,000 scholarships and special programs
to help defray the costs of attending college, in addition
to city; state and federal programs, including some that
are geared specifically to moderate-income families. More
than two-thirds of CUNY’s 160,000 undergraduates receive
awards, scholarships and financial aid. These opportunities,
as well as information on student loans and work-study,
are listed on cuny.edu/financialaid.
We
are particularly encouraged that the New York City Council’s
Peter F. Vallone Academic Achievement Scholarships (for high
school graduates with a “B” average or better) have been fully
restored. The City Council has also launched a $4.5 million “Safety
Net” tuition assistance program providing additional financial
aid for currently enrolled and resident community college students
who face economic hardship due to the tuition increase. We
are deeply grateful to the leadership of the City Council and
the City administration for the priority they have placed on
the need for an educated workforce in New York City.
Special
Seminars. CUNY holds seminars throughout the
year in all five boroughs that focus on financial aid. The
public seminars, which are offered in Spanish, Chinese
and Russian in addition to English, are conducted by experts
from the CUNY Office of Financial Aid and include tips
on filling out applications and monitoring the status of
the request after it has been filed. For a schedule of
seminars and more information see cuny.edu/financialaid.
Interest
Free Payment Plan. To
help students pay their tuition, CUNY has set up the TuitionPay
Monthly Payment Plan, managed by Academic Management Services
Inc., which allows students to pay their tuition interest-free
in five monthly installments. The only cost is a $30 enrollment
fee. Students can sign up by calling the toll-free number
866-AMS-CUNY.
Student
Jobs. CUNY’s comprehensive
job site, cuny.edu/studentjobs, gives students access to
hundreds of full-time and part-time listings for metro-area
positions in a variety of fields and skill levels. The
site, which consolidates job listings from CUNY’s 19 campuses
as well as from private companies also includes openings
that are available exclusively to CUNY students.
Free
On-line Career Guide. This
free service provides students with “Vault Guide” series
of materials that include valuable tips on resumes, cover
letters, industry overviews and much more. Vault Guides
also features 60 advice and guidebooks that have a retail
value of $1,000 if purchased separately. Students can access
the Vault Guide web site by obtaining a password from their
campus career counseling office, or by visiting cuny.edu/studentjobs.
In
short, there has never been a better time for interested students
to explore the opportunities CUNY has to offer, by visiting
one of the websites listed above or calling 1-800-CUNY-YES.
We look forward to continuing to serve these students and providing
future New Yorkers with a first-class education and an outstanding
value.#
Education
Update, Inc., P.O. Box 1588, New York, NY 10159.
Tel: (212) 477-5600. Fax: (212) 477-5893. Email: ednews1@aol.com.
All material is copyrighted and may not be printed without express consent of
the publisher. © 2003.
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