Governor Hochul Celebrates CUNY and SUNY Community Colleges on the Heels of National Community College Month

On the heels of National Community College Month, Governor Kathy Hochul today celebrated enrollment gains across the City University of New York's and State University of New York's community colleges - rebounding from the COVID-19 pandemic and together welcoming 24,100 additional students in the past three years. The increase in enrollment shows the early success of the Governor's CUNY and SUNY Reconnect program which offers free community college for students between the ages of 25 and 55 pursuing degrees in high-demand fields and the landmark expansion of New York State's Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) for part-time students. In its first year, CUNY and SUNY Reconnect enrolled over 12,000 eligible students.

"Keeping community colleges affordable removes barriers for hardworking New Yorkers and creates a path to upward mobility and economic opportunity," Governor Hochul said. "CUNY and SUNY community colleges are giving students throughout the state the opportunity to pursue a high-quality and affordable education that sets them up for a bright future. Education opens the doors to careers in key industries, and I am committed to ensuring that every eligible New Yorker is aware of the opportunities they have to earn a degree at one of our top-tier community colleges."

CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez said, "CUNY's community colleges embody the University's founding commitment to provide affordable, high-quality education to all New Yorkers. The enrollment and retention increases at our community colleges signal our effectiveness in pairing access with the deep support students need to persist and succeed. Thanks to Governor Hochul's TAP expansion and Reconnect program, our community colleges continue to provide New Yorkers with an affordable, high-quality education."

SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. said, "SUNY's community colleges serve as drivers of upward mobility, allowing New Yorkers to access an excellent, affordable education within their communities. Through Governor Hochul's leadership, and innovative initiatives like her SUNY Reconnect program, more New Yorkers than ever have been able to transform their lives by pursuing a degree at one of our community colleges. Thank you to Governor Hochul for her continued support and investment into SUNY's community colleges."

CUNY's seven community colleges have rebounded strongly from the pandemic, welcoming an additional 9,471 students over the last three years, with enrollment increasing from 53,049 degree-seeking students in fall 2022 to 62,520 in fall 2025, an 18 percent jump. During the same period, part-time enrollment at CUNY's community colleges grew by 37 percent, from 17,441 to 23,890 students. Part-time gains were particularly strong at CUNY's LaGuardia Community College and Borough of Manhattan Community College, which saw increases of 47 percentand 43 percent, respectively.

CUNY community colleges are also seeing greater retention success among the students they enroll. In recent years, they achieved a substantial increase in the rate of retention among associate degree-seeking freshmen. Year-over-year retention for the fall 2024 cohort increased 7 percentage points over the prior year's cohort, resulting in a retention rate of 68.7 percent, the highest for first-year associate degree students since tracking began 35 years ago.

SUNY community colleges are also rebounding from the pandemic, welcoming an additional 14,700 students over the last three years, with enrollment increasing from 159,333 in fall 2022 to 173,998 in fall 2025, a 9 percent increase. Since 2022, 25 of those campuses have seen enrollment gains within their part-time associate programs, increasing from 33,308 to 37,847 students, a 14 percent increase. SUNY community colleges are also seeing greater success among the students they enroll-retention for the fall 2024 cohort as of fall 2025 increased 1.8 percentage points over the prior year's cohort, resulting in a retention rate of over 61 percent, the highest in the past 9 years.

The SUNY Board of Trustees said, "Through Governor Hochul's steadfast support, students throughout New York State have been able to access the education of their dreams at one of SUNY's community colleges. Our community colleges help open the door to life-changing opportunities for New Yorkers at all stages of their academic journeys. We thank Governor Hochul for her continued leadership, support, and investment into SUNY, and our community colleges."

State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky said, "Every student in these programs has walked a unique path, and these community colleges guide them down those pathways. TAP expansion and the Reconnect programs are working because they were designed for those students. I commend my colleagues in the Legislature, Governor Hochul, SUNY & CUNY, the students and faculty for their investments, and we will all continue fighting to sustain it."

The increase in community college enrollment at CUNY and SUNY is due in part to the thousands of adult learners utilizing Governor Hochul's CUNY Reconnect and SUNY Reconnect programs.

CUNY and SUNY Reconnect supports degrees in high-demand fields including:

• Advanced Manufacturing
• Artificial Intelligence
• Cybersecurity
• Engineering
• Technology
• Nursing and Allied Health Fields
• Green and Renewable Energy
• Pathways to Teaching in Shortage Areas

Governor Hochul's FY2026-27 Executive Budget expands CUNY and SUNY Reconnect to include careers in logistics, air traffic control and transportation, and emergency management. In addition, the expansion creates a new pathway for adult learners with prior degrees to return to college for nursing.

About the City University of New York

The City University of New York is the nation's largest urban public university, a transformative engine of social mobility that is a critical component of the lifeblood of New York City. Founded in 1847 as the nation's first free public institution of higher education, CUNY today has seven community colleges, 11 senior colleges and seven graduate or professional institutions spread across New York City's five boroughs, serving nearly 240,000 undergraduate and graduate students and awarding 50,000 degrees each year. CUNY's mix of quality and affordability propels almost six times as many low-income students into the middle class and beyond as all the Ivy League colleges combined. More than 80 percent of the University's graduates stay in New York, contributing to all aspects of the city's economic, civic and cultural life and diversifying the city's workforce in every sector. CUNY's graduates and faculty have received many prestigious honors, including 13 Nobel Prizes and 26 MacArthur "genius" grants. The University's historic mission continues to this day: provide a first-rate public education to all students, regardless of means or background. To learn more about CUNY, visit https://www.cuny.edu.

About the State University of New York

The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY's 64 colleges and universities. Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers, five hospitals, four medical schools, two dental schools, a law school, the country's oldest school of maritime, the state's only college of optometry, 12 Educational Opportunity Centers, over 30 ATTAIN digital literacy labs, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.7 million students across its portfolio of credit- and non-credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures system-wide are nearly $1.5 billion in fiscal year 2025, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and annually one in three New Yorkers who earn a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunities, visit www.suny.edu.