CUF’s research on supporting CUNY’s low-income adult learners prompted a City Council hearing held in April 2025 focused on eliminating small financial barriers for CUNY students. 

CUF’s editorial and policy director Eli Dvorkin testified, urging the Council to establish programs such as CUNY Flex, a program that would offer wraparound supports to part-time students. CUF also recommended launching CUNY Fresh Start—a program which would clear unpaid balances up to $1,000 for students who want to re-enroll in CUNY and complete their degree—in addition to a free MetroCard pilot for CUNY students.

CUF has published multiple reports that have shined a light on nontuition financial barriers that too often derail CUNY students from completing their degrees, including our 2024 report on adult learners which identified nontuition financial barriers as a persistent challenge facing adult learners at CUNY.

Adult learners make up nearly one quarter (23 percent) of all degree-seeking undergraduate students at CUNY schools yet have lower bachelor’s degree success rates than younger students. The report makes the case for establishing new city and state supports for adult learners, including reducing or eliminating unpaid balances up to $1,000 for CUNY students who started but have not completed their degree so that they can re-enroll and finish their credential.

This hearing builds on numerous other CUF reports that highlight similar barriers, such as, Boosting Transfer Student Success at CUNY, Supporting CUNY’s 79,000 Part-Time Students, and Reengaging Adult Learners to Complete Degrees: Learning from Tennessee.