Photo Courtesy of apply2CUNY.blogspot.com
An estimated 37,500 students will qualify for CUNY application fee waivers.
By Forum Staff
The fee that is part of the application for City University of New York schools will be eliminated for all low-income public high school seniors starting this fall, Mayor Bill de Blasio, Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña, and CUNY Chancellor James Milliken announced on Monday.
Under the expansion, an estimated 37,500 students will qualify for fee waivers, up from approximately 6,500 waivers issued annually in previous years, according to the administration. Currently, over half of college-bound graduates of NYC public high schools enroll in CUNY colleges.
The elimination of the fee is part of the College Access for All initiative, one of de Blasio’s Equity and Excellence reforms.
“As the first person in my family to attend college, I understand the barriers that stand between students and college, and we must break down those barriers to deliver equity and excellence for all students,” Fariña said. “Today’s announcement will make a real difference for thousands of students and families across all five boroughs, and we are going to keep breaking down barriers through College Access for All and our Equity and Excellence initiatives.”
The initiative costs $2.4 million total annually, with the de Blasio administration adding $2 million for the expansion, and CUNY continuing to fund around 6,500 waivers for approximately $400,000.
Application fee waiver codes are being made available to Department of Education school administrators and counselors, who will provide them to eligible students. School administrators and counselors are already responsible for disbursing a number of application and test fee waivers to students; they will also receive additional specific guidance to ensure students and families are aware of the expanded CUNY fee waiver and able to utilize it.
“Every year, young people across the city who are inspired and prepared to go to college don’t enroll or even apply. One reason is financially burdensome college application fees,” said Richard Buery, deputy mayor of Strategic Policy Initiatives. “No student with the talent and capability to go to college should be shut out at the very step of that process due to their family’s income. The CUNY fee waiver policy is about going an extra step to ensure all students have access to high-quality, affordable education right here in New York City.”
In addition to the fee-waiver expansion, College Access for All includes the SAT School Day, through which all 68,000 City high school juniors will be able to take the SAT free of charge during the school day on April 5, 2017. The initiative is also supporting new training and funding at 100 high schools this year to build a school-wide college and career culture, according to the administration.
