CUNY Community Colleges Post Biggest Gains As Fall Enrollment Climbs 3.8%
New York, N.Y. Enrollment at the City University of New York is up for a third consecutive year, with the biggest gains concentrated at the system’s community colleges—a trend state officials say is helping more New Yorkers afford degrees and career training.
Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office said CUNY’s Fall 2025 enrollment rose 3.8% compared with the prior year, driven by a 7% increase across CUNY community colleges. The university system welcomed about 9,000 more students this year, bringing total enrollment to roughly 247,000, according to the announcement.
State leaders pointed to early participation in CUNY Reconnect, a new initiative that covers tuition, fees, books and supplies for adult learners ages 25 to 55 pursuing their first degree in a high-demand program. Since the program began this summer, 5,877 New Yorkers have enrolled, the governor’s office said. Borough of Manhattan Community College, Bronx Community College and Queensborough Community College each served more than 1,000 participating students.
The enrollment growth also follows expanded recruitment and application support. CUNY joined the state’s College Application Month campaign, waiving application fees for high school students for a limited window in November. Separately, CUNY sent “Welcome to CUNY” outreach to New York City public high school seniors and, for the first time, emailed letters directly to nearly 70,000 seniors and their families.
In the FY 2026 enacted budget, the state said it provided $169 million in new operational support and $537 million in capital support for CUNY, along with targeted funding for student success programs such as ASAP and ACE.
What parents should know: The CUNY application is open for Fall 2026. Families and adult learners can start the application and find details on eligibility for programs like CUNY Reconnect at CUNY’s admissions site.
This article was produced by an education parenting today journalist with the assistance of AI. This is not legal advice. All content is reviewed for accuracy and fairness.
