In the midst of a global pandemic and the extraordinary challenges it presented, the City University of New York achieved a new benchmark of academic success. CUNY conferred a record 59,295 degrees in the 2020-2021 academic year, the most in the University’s nearly 175-year history. For the students and instructors who conducted classes almost exclusively online in the solitude (or, for many, the hubbub) of kitchens, bedrooms and living rooms to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, the accomplishment affirms the vitality of CUNY’s mission as well as the perseverance of its students, faculty and staff.
“The members of CUNY’s Class of 2021 will forever be associated with the words ‘determined,’ and ‘resilient,’ and that is with good reason,” said Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “No matter the challenges or hardships, the Class of 2021 remained focused and kept their eyes on the prize. And make no mistake: This cohort of CUNY grads won’t stop with this historic achievement. They will bring that same commitment to excellence to help power New York’s economic recovery and drive the city’s workforce into a bright future.”
Over the past 10 years, CUNY has bestowed more than half a million degrees, 516,217, proving that New Yorkers are hungry for the University’s blend of quality and affordability and will stay the educational course in spite of obstacles.
The record-setting number marks an increase of 3.8% over the 2018-2019 academic year, when CUNY awarded a then-record 57,139 degrees. The number dipped only slightly to 56,527 degrees in 2019-2020, during the pandemic’s onset and severe initial surge, before this year’s increase of 5 percent.
Graduates this year were sustained by the range of support services offered by the University to help them maintain their academic momentum during the pandemic. During the transition to remote learning in Spring 2020, the University provided 30,000 laptop devices to students who needed them and expanded wifi access through the allocation of 4,000 hotspots, among a host of other efforts. More than 95 percent of the University’s 50,000 class sections were quickly adapted to digital platforms. This fall, after 17 months of mostly remote learning, CUNY opened its campuses to its students, faculty and staff.
Previous supportive actions have included the University’s timely distribution of $236 million in two rounds of federal emergency relief grants. CUNY 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 students, with grants averaging about $720 per student.
To further support students, CUNY established the Chancellor’s Emergency Relief Fund and 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 funds of the CARES Act to bolster mental health services, reaching students with face-to-face online counseling and other remote wellness services.
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