Actions are Companions to the ‘CUNY Comeback Program,’ a Sweeping $125 Million Debt Relief Program for at Least 50,000 Students
Measures Would Allow Students to Get their Transcript to Pursue Employment and Other Educational Opportunities and be Able to Enroll for Fall 2021
The City University of New York today announced the suspension of two policies that will free tens of thousands of students with debt to the University to pursue employment and educational opportunities and continue their education in CUNY schools for the Fall 2021 semester.
Effective immediately, Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez has suspended a long-held policy that bans CUNY schools from releasing the official transcripts of students and graduates who owe the University unpaid tuition and fees. Separately, he has directed CUNY colleges to lift financial holds on approximately 74,000 students who were enrolled during the semesters of the COVID-19 pandemic, clearing the way for them to register for the Fall 2021 semester even if they owe outstanding tuition and fee balances to CUNY.
The Chancellor is instituting both measures in connection with the CUNY Comeback Program, an initiative announced by Governor Cuomo on July 28 to forgive some $125 million in unpaid institutional debt for at least 50,000 students and recent graduates, one of the country’s largest student debt forgiveness initiatives of its kind. Students who are eligible to have outstanding balances automatically cleared under the CUNY Comeback Program, as well as those who may apply for a waiver because of financial hardship, will immediately see their financial holds lifted, while all CUNY graduates will be able to access their official transcripts, a document that is critical to applying for jobs and pursuing additional higher education.
“Together with the CUNY Comeback Program, these policy changes reaffirm our commitment to CUNY’s mission by making it significantly easier for tens of thousands of students to continue their educational goals or enter the workplace and assist in the City’s ongoing economic recovery,” said Chancellor Matos Rodríguez. “Now, more than ever, it’s crucial that CUNY adapt its policies to meet the evolving needs of post-pandemic New Yorkers. Releasing student transcripts and eliminating financial holds, regardless of a person’s financial status, is the most pragmatic and compassionate way forward in this challenging climate. These actions continue the push to keep all CUNY students moving ahead on a path toward success.”
Colleges and Universities across the country have recently begun rethinking the longstanding practice of withholding transcripts as a means to recoup unpaid student balances. California enacted a law in 2019 prohibiting public and private postsecondary institutions in the state from withholding transcripts, and other schools followed suit.
The suspension of financial holds in time for students to register for the Fall 2021 semester is a one-time action to support students who were adversely impacted during the public health crisis. It applies to students who were enrolled in the University from March 13, 2020, the date the coronavirus was declared a national emergency, through the Spring 2021 semester, the same period of time as the CUNY Comeback Program.
Latest Action in a Series
Today’s announcement marks the latest action that CUNY has taken since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic to support its students, many of whom come from the communities that were most adversely impacted. Previous actions have included the University’s timely distribution of $236 million in two rounds of federal emergency relief grants. CUNY promptly distributed $118 million in CARES Act funds to nearly 161,000 students in the early months of the pandemic, with an average award last year of $736. Beginning this May, an additional $116.2 million was distributed to about 161,600 community college and senior college students, with grants averaging about $720 per student.
To further support students, CUNY established the Chancellor’s Emergency Relief Fundand has raised more than $10 million to date from philanthropic organizations and individual donors. The Fund helped more than 12,000 students weather the economic impact of the pandemic, including undocumented and international students who were initially excluded from receiving federal aid, and CUNY colleges raised more than $8.6 million to further aid their students.
CUNY also used a portion of the institutional funds that were allocated through the CARES Act to purchase thousands of laptops and mobile hotspots for students who were otherwise unable to participate in distance learning, and to bolster mental health services, reaching students with face-to-face online counseling and other remote wellness services.
The University expects to distribute a third round of Student Emergency Relief Grants this fall through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which was signed into law by President Biden in March and will provide universities across the country with an additional $35 billion in aid.
Students who paid all or some of their tuition and fee charges out of pocket between the Spring 2020 and Spring 2021 semesters and do not owe any amount to CUNY for that period may receive an additional $200, on top of any other Student Emergency Grant allocation that the student will be entitled to in Fall 2021. Those students may also be eligible for aid from the Chancellor’s Emergency Relief Fund.
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 500,000 students of all ages and awarding 55,000 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.
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