Friday, March 20, 2026, 12:30 p.m. (New York City time), 250 Broadway - 8th Floor - Hearing Room 3
Committee: Committee on Higher Education
The Committee on Higher Education held its preliminary budget hearing on CUNY's fiscal 2027 budget, chaired by Council Member Rita Joseph. CUNY administration—including Executive Vice Chancellor and University Provost Alicia Alvaro, Executive Vice Chancellor and COO Hector Batista, and Senior Vice Chancellor and CFO Ken Goder—testified on enrollment gains (up 5.5% over two years), a nearly 68% reduction in structural deficits (to roughly $76 million), and capital needs, requesting $200 million for community colleges to reach a state of good repair. Council members questioned the administration on baselining one-time funding for ASAP, ACE, and CUNY Reconnect, disability services funding, food and housing insecurity, adjunct faculty ratios, advising ratios, immigration legal services, and campus maintenance problems including leaking roofs and broken elevators. No votes were taken; numerous follow-up items were promised. Public testimony, largely from the CUNY University Student Senate and advocacy organizations, urged funding for a free OMNY card pilot, disability services, and expanded support programs.
0:12 Recording stopped good morning k
0:12 City Council preliminary
0:15 budget hearing for the
0:16 committee on higher education
0:18 please science all cell phone
0:20 electronic devices there are
0:20 no food and beverages allowed
0:22 in this hearing room if you
0:23 wish to testify please file an
0:25 appearance card with one of
0:26 the sergeant at arms moving
0:28 forward and no one is t
0:29 oapproach dais chair we are
0:30 ready to begin good afternoon
0:35 everyone I am councilmember
0:36 Rita Joseph chair of the New
0:37 York City committee on higher
0:40 education welcome to today's
0:41 hearing on the city's fiscal
0:43 20 27 preliminary budget
0:44 hearing for the City
0:46 university of New York.
0:47 Before we begin I want t
0:49 oacknowledge my Council Member
0:50 the council members present
0:52 Council Member luis council
0:58 member that's it okay
1:00 . Cuny consists of 26 college
1:02 throughout all five boroughs.
1:04 And is an essential form of
1:06 economic mobility for New York.
1:07 Er's in 20 24 over 46000
1:11 cuny graduates entered the
1:14 workforce or began a more
1:14 advanced degree program cuny
1:17 alumni generate approximately
1:20 70 billion in annual earnings
1:21 and every tax dollar that has
1:23 invested in cuny yielded a
1:25 return of at least $15 for New
1:28 York state
1:28 . Cuny's fiscal 20 27
1:31 preliminary budget total which
1:34 includes in personal service
1:38 to support 6024 budgeted
1:42 positions including 4289
1:46 pedagogical positions and a
1:50 hundred 1735 non pedagogue
1:51 show
1:51 . Positions cuny budget also
1:53 include 436 million in other
1:58 personnel services.
1:59 Spending
1:59 . In this preliminary budget
2:00 op p t s budget has decreased
2:04 by nearly 61 million compared
2:05 to last year's adopted budget
2:07 . Do to one time funding for
2:10 for several programs including
2:11 cuny reconnect asap and ace
2:14 not being accounted for in the
2:17 budget
2:17 . Cuny's proposal fiscal 20 27
2:20 budget comprises mostly of 7
2:23 57% of City funding in 19.6 o
2:25 fstate funding
2:26 . The restoration and
2:27 expansion of funding are
2:29 crucial to providing adequate
2:31 service academic support and
2:33 financial resources for
2:34 students to succeed in their
2:36 education many students
2:37 struggles with housing
2:39 instability food insecurity
2:40 child care issue and and the
2:41 high cost of.
2:43 Again we must invest in
2:45 programs there are clear
2:46 pathways to increase
2:47 graduation rates at today's
2:48 hearing I look forward t
2:50 ohearing how current community
2:51 programs deliver for our
2:53 students as well as discussing
2:55 potential resources needed t
2:56 ocontinue to break barriers t
2:58 oeducation regardless of
3:00 will also examine programs
3:06 that aim to inspire New York
3:08 City public school students t
3:09 oconsider higher education
3:11 after graduation furthermore
3:13 we are interested in hearing
3:14 about cuny's fiscal 20 27
3:16 budget ask at the state and
3:17 City levels there is no doubt
3:20 that many cuny buildings are
3:21 in desperate need of
3:23 maintenance and repair for
3:24 issues such as but not limited
3:27 to leaking roofs non working
3:28 elevators we will examine how
3:31 university prioritized capital
3:32 projects funding to ensure
3:33 that provide to ensure that it
3:35 provides equity repairs and
3:37 maintenance across all
3:38 colleges we must also find
3:40 disparities that exist in
3:41 programs and between campuses
3:42 and work to address them.
3:44 Cuny has the power to bring
3:46 positive change to New York
3:47 er's lives we must continue t
3:49 ofund equitable programs to
3:51 better serve existing students
3:52 and attract the perspective
3:54 ones
3:54 . Before the light before we
3:55 begin I would like to think
3:57 finance staff ali sta for
4:00 florentine cabaret and isha
4:00 wright for their work on this
4:02 hearing as well as committee
4:04 staff julia goldsmith pinkham
4:06 and Virginia pol for their
4:08 service for their support
4:09 finally I would like to also
4:10 thank my staff giovanni
4:11 piquant my chief of staff
4:13 . And now turn over to counsel
4:15 to administer the oath to the
4:16 members of the administration
4:17 but before money no one els
4:21 eturned ah please raise your
4:22 right hand I'll address
4:24 . You each at a time do you
4:26 swear to tell the truth before
4:28 this committee members ah t
4:31 othe best your ability to d
4:34 oyou swear thank you before
4:50 thank you good afternoon chair e
4:52 City Council higher education
4:55 committee thank you for the
4:56 opportunity to be here today
4:58 my name is alicia alvaro and I
4:59 serve as the executive vice
5:01 chancellor and university
5:02 provost for cuny I am joined
5:04 today by cuny's executive vice
5:06 chancellor and chief operating
5:08 officer hector batista and
5:09 senior vice chancellor and
5:11 chief financial officer ken
5:12 god er before I begin I want
5:15 to welcome those of you who
5:15 are New to this committee we
5:17 look forward to partnering
5:18 with you to address the
5:20 challenges of higher education
5:21 and to support our students
5:23 the power of cuny as an engine
5:25 of economic mobility is widely
5:28 known and it's something I
5:29 identify with as a first
5:31 generation college student
5:32 when I first came to cuny
5:34 queens college as an assistant
5:35 professor in 2003 I was
5:38 relieved to learn the college
5:39 offered affordable child care
5:42 for and student parents this
5:43 center allowed me to pursue my
5:44 career knowing that my
5:45 daughter then three and a half
5:47 was close by and in good hands
5:50 without the support I would
5:51 not be sitting here today and
5:54 without our partners in
5:55 government we would not
5:57 continue our critical work the
6:00 city's council support is
6:00 essential to helping the
6:02 university expand access for
6:04 students and increase its role
6:05 as an engine of upward
6:07 mobility and economic
6:09 development you're investments
6:09 in our programs have fueled
6:12 three straight years of
6:13 enrollment gains at cuny and
6:15 propelled our colleges to the
6:16 top of national rankings year
6:19 after year our work is not
6:21 finished to meet workforce
6:23 demands and to strengthen
6:24 outcomes for our students we
6:25 are expanding our programs and
6:27 facilities to ensure our
6:28 students have the best chance
6:30 of success creating a pipeline
6:31 of qualified workers to the
6:33 cities workforce remains an
6:35 urgent priority at cuny we
6:38 created innovative programs
6:39 and partnerships to further
6:41 align the university t
6:42 oworkforce needs and ultimately
6:44 to get our students jobs in my
6:46 role as a chief academic
6:47 officer I oversee many of
6:48 these key initiatives that
6:50 partner with the City and the
6:52 council like cuny beyond which
6:54 was launched in cuny beyond is
6:57 a system wide initiative that
6:59 bakes career readiness into
7:00 every aspect of an
7:02 undergraduates college
7:03 experience the initiative aims
7:05 to triple the number of
7:06 students in paid internships
7:08 and increase employer
7:10 recruitment from cuny by 20%
7:13 ensuring a smooth transition
7:14 from the classroom to the
7:15 workforce through career
7:17 connected learning academic
7:19 and career advising paid
7:21 internships and
7:22 apprenticeships and employer
7:23 engagement we will enable
7:24 students to launch fulfilling
7:26 careers after they graduate we
7:27 started in with four campuses
7:29 and we are looking to the
7:31 council for support and
7:33 expanding to two more
7:34 community colleges and 70000
7:36 students in the next phase
7:38 successful implementation of
7:40 all our undergraduate campuses
7:41 is projected to drive an
7:44 estimated $3.3 billion in
7:46 future wage growth and provide
7:47 a 700 million return on public
7:51 investment through earnings
7:52 and economic mobility cuny has
7:54 worked hard to strengthen its
7:55 partnerships with n y knowing
7:58 that the key to unlocking in
8:00 demand careers for students is
8:02 to equip them with the post
8:04 secondary credentials and
8:06 connections to employees
8:08 before they graduate high
8:09 school programs like college
8:11 now and future ready see
8:15 themselves as college students
8:16 with professional career paths
8:18 and a head start on life after
8:21 college college now nearly
8:23 serves 6016000 high school
8:25 seniors from the class of 2
8:27 025 while future ready has
8:29 shown steady growth with
8:30 enrollment rising from an
8:33 estimated 7500 students in
8:35 fiscal year 20 25 to a
8:37 projected 10000 students in
8:38 fiscal year 20 26 cuny also
8:41 plays a critical role in
8:43 addressing the statewide
8:45 teacher shortage I'm proud t
8:47 osay that cuny prepares more
8:48 than one third of all New York
8:51 City public school teachers
8:52 and more than 40% of teachers
8:54 of color in New York state
8:56 this stems from innovative
8:57 programs like the teaching
9:00 fellows which placed 526 reach
9:03 a recent college graduates
9:05 into New York City classrooms
9:07 and master's degree programs
9:08 across the university in 20 25
9:10 more than tripling the numbers
9:12 enrolled in the program at
9:13 cuny the previous year cuny is
9:15 also working to expand its
9:18 already robust early childhood
9:19 education program to help
9:22 advance governor hoco and
9:23 Mayor manda mee's shared goal
9:25 of delivering free childcare
9:27 for two year olds across New
9:28 York City with 17 campus based
9:32 childcare centers 13 early
9:33 childhood degree programs and
9:34 work of the New York early
9:37 childhood professional
9:38 development institute cuny is
9:40 uniquely positioned to support
9:42 the student parents while also
9:44 recruiting training
9:45 credentialing and retaining
9:46 the educators needed to make
9:48 the governor and mayor's
9:49 efforts successful through
9:51 bilingual credit bearing
9:52 programs we are ensuring these
9:54 opportunities reach as many
9:55 students and families as
9:57 possible the same goes for
9:59 cuny's landmark accessibility
10:01 management system cuny
10:02 and helped connect more
10:08 students than ever to broader
10:09 network of resources since
10:12 launching last enrollment of
10:15 students requesting services
10:16 has shot up by approximately
10:19 25% reaching a record breaking
10:22 13800 students and the
10:24 academic year is not yet
10:25 complete cuny accommodate also
10:27 continues to be an important
10:28 lover for the incoming and
10:32 nice connect with their
10:34 respective campus disability
10:35 offices early we have revamped
10:37 our communications process and
10:39 our committed to having a more
10:40 seamless data sharing
10:42 infrastructure in place by of
10:45 this year to benefit the high
10:46 school class of 20 26 and we
10:48 are on track to meet our goal
10:51 in fall 20 22 with support
10:52 from the New York City Council t
10:57 to address a pressing
10:58 workforce need and another
11:00 underserved group re engaging
11:02 hundreds of thousands of
11:03 working age adults who earned
11:05 college credits but stopped
11:07 short of completing a degree
11:08 thanks to nearly $7.6 millio
11:12 nin direct financial support t
11:14 odate cuny reconnect has
11:15 graduated almost 600
11:18 0associate degree students and
11:19 over 7000 bachelor's degrees
11:22 students strengthening
11:23 strengthening not only
11:24 individual families but New
11:25 York city's economy as a whole
11:28 cuny's groundbreaking asap
11:29 program a financial
11:31 educational and career
11:32 advisement services for
11:34 associate degree students
11:35 continues to more than 33 year
11:38 completion rates at the
11:39 university when compared to
11:40 non asap students the program
11:43 which also provides
11:44 personalized advisement
11:45 tuition and fee gap awards
11:48 textbook assistance and
11:49 omnicom ards has supported
11:52 nearly 70 institutions across
11:54 nine states to replicate
11:55 cuny's innovative model of
11:57 student success and access
12:01 related program that supports
12:02 bachelor's degree completion
12:03 achieved a four yea
12:04 rgraduation rate 12.4% higher
12:07 than qualifying students who
12:09 did not participate however
12:11 uncertainty surrounds the
12:12 program because it is not yet
12:14 baseline another New
12:15 initiative to help support
12:17 students cuny cares started in
12:19 fall 20 23 to helps bronx
12:22 students find the campus and
12:24 essential services they need
12:26 for health care mental health
12:28 food and housing by helping
12:30 students meet these needs cuny
12:32 cares hopes to improve
12:33 academic success and overall
12:35 wellbeing of students who need
12:37 it most so far preliminary
12:39 results are encouraging by
12:40 fall 20 25 more than 100
12:44 0additional bronx students were
12:45 enrolled in snap compared t
12:47 o20 22 with an average monthly
12:49 snap benefit of $233 these
12:53 students collectively brought
12:54 an estimated $2.96 million
12:58 into their household budgets
12:59 in that year alone lastly I
13:02 want to highlight achievements
13:03 among cuny researchers and how
13:04 they've impacted New York City
13:06 by improving public health
13:09 climate resilience and
13:10 workforce readiness from the
13:12 urban heat portal at hunter
13:13 college to flood nets real
13:15 time flood monitoring t
13:17 oinforming the cities covid and
13:19 pox response cuny researchers
13:21 continue to help the City
13:23 address emergencies while
13:24 supporting workforce
13:25 development through programs
13:26 that trained students for
13:28 climate public health and
13:31 technology careers as I
13:32 conclude my remarks I want t
13:32 othank the City Council for
13:35 your unwavering commitment t
13:36 ocuny and its students faculty
13:39 and staff our success is
13:41 intertwined in the city's
13:43 economic social and cultural
13:44 vitality we look forward t
13:45 ocontinuing to partner with you
13:47 now I'd like to turn it over
13:49 to cuny cu and hector batista
13:53 to further address the
13:54 importance of our
13:54 collaboration with the City t
13:56 oreach our shared goals of
13:58 equity and access for all New
13:59 yorkers thank you thank you
14:02 alicia and thank you speaker
14:04 mannon chaired Joseph members
14:05 of the higher education
14:07 committee and all members of
14:08 the City Council for your
14:09 steadfast support of cooney we
14:11 deeply appreciate your
14:12 commitment to our students
14:14 faculty and staff and for
14:16 always recognizes the value
14:17 can improvise to our City and