Testifying (left to right) Matthew Ahrens, student, City Tech. Berkis Cruz-Eusebio, Hostos Community College, Penny Lewis, PSC Secretary
At a 4/20/23 hearing of the City Council’s Committee on Higher Education, PSC members testified about the value and success of ASAP–Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP).
Penny Lewis, PSC Secretary, explained “ASAP is a nationally recognized program that provides comprehensive student support and advising, career services, tuition assistance, free MetroCards, and free textbooks. It has been widely touted as a model that community colleges seek to emulate across the country. Because it is successful! ASAP’s three-year graduation rate is more than double that of non-ASAP associate degree students at CUNY’s community colleges.”
Lewis praised ASAP and acknowledged the Council for seeking ASAP-type investments throughout CUNY:
The high retention and completion rates of the ASAP programs are due, in large part, to the resources they devote to advisement. The $35.5 million in the council’s budget response will help ASAP and programs like it expand, by hiring 264 full-time advisors. Because so many CUNY students are in the first generation of their families to attend college, advisors are essential in helping students navigate the labyrinth of a large university system
Read the testimony of:
Berkis Cruz Eusebio (Hostos)
Penny Lewis (PSC Secretary)
Victoria O’Shea (QCC)
Salvatore Piscotta (QCC)
You can view the testimony at: https://councilnyc.viebit.com/player.php?hash=620auEaIXIwV
Published: April 20, 2023
