CUNY Schools Experiencing Drop In Enrollment Amid Nationwide Trend

Colleges across the country are seeing a steep drop in their enrollment, and CUNY is part of that growing trend; CBS2's Kevin Rincon reports.

[elevation]

They blame the pandemic but students aren't getting the support that they need. Financial aid offices and not responding advisors are not advising. I work part-time at CUNY and the stories and the struggle that students are having are ridiculous. I'm known in the neighborhood and mothers have come knocking on my door with their young adult children for help. They have to do better and hold professor's accountable. You have professors doing online class and never meet with the students all they're doing is emailing work and putting on blackboard. Education is the only thing you pay for and you can't get a refund. Smh. It's all about money. I bet anything all of these CUNY campuses are going to try to go into cannabis education to save themselves. 👀

[Mrgldeneye]

STOP FORCING students to take tedious bs classes if it’s not going to help with there major/career.

[oofingberg]

The students need some correction 😡💢💢💢

[ElvisMG]

As a nursing student in CUNY, a lot of my classmates left due to the lack of nursing classes, stupid electives and other class requirements to graduate, permission needed to sign up for nursing classes, and extremely late registration for each semester. I understand that Covid-19 has definitely impacted many things but there is a limit to where you always blame Covid. I had to become a part time student this semester due to the lack of email responses from professors and the chair department, the lack of putting classes up on time, and the lack of communication overall.

[becky]

virtual classes wasnt the problem, the problem was the vaccine/booster mandates and classes being in person again when they were online they much more accessible for students who also have to work to provide income for their families

[shinobibliss]

Paying for college just to have your geography professor put up a YouTube video instead of actually teaching the class is one of the issues. Guidance Counselors who won't respond to emails unless they are in the school is an issue. Taking the same English class lessons you've been doing since 9th grade is an issue. Taking BS classes that take a huge toll on our mental healths and wasted our time is a HUGE PROBLEM. Taking classes that have absolutely nothing to do with your major is one of the BIGGEST PROBLEMS OF ALL. Realizing that most of our college system is a SCAM is probably the biggest problem of all. I too was one of the countless number of students who dropped out of cuny colleges and are taking their chances with trade school.

[lilyouyou]

Wow! So no one wants to spend years taking classes that have absolutely nothing to do with your major all while spending money they don’t have to do it??? Go figure.

[adriennebrooklyn]

The issue of low enrollment was somewhat exacerbated by CUNY mandating 70% in person classes for the spring semester. Students showed a preference for online classes, perhaps due to the surge in Omicron this winter, but the higher ups did not increase the number of online courses. This led to the cancelling of many in person courses which also lead to the firing of many adjunct instructors.

[brooklynalmighty]

I also believe the vaccine mandates have something to do with decline in enrollment.

[angiecarrillo]

Why are they lying ? Students I including myself have not ever found online classes an issue. It’s much more accessible. Not everyone has an easy life, as students we work and study . Online classes have made it much easier for me when it comes to time management . This is a lie, you’re all trying to force people in person and that’s not right. It should be optional, for those who want in person to take it and those who want online to do so. Stop saying online classes is the problem because it really isn’t

[Slayer-]

F debt, F worthless degrees, F wasting time on this BS.

[ravisookdeo]

Hell yeah because they are not offering a lot of online courses or adopt to people who have to work! Also they make some careers where you need a bachelor's when all you need is just an associate it's crazy and alot of unnecessary courses you have to do before you get into a program

[tonishadass]

At this point...youtube is teaching us..not the professors who are being paid. I paid 728.00 dollars for an online class just to watch youtube videos and do assignments on blackboard.

[shawngibson]

Here’s the thing. i graduated with my bachelors degree at Brooklyn College last year May and honestly as much I am for college and everyone advancing their education, the pandemic has made it very difficult for everyone since 2020. The news wants to talk about the decline in college enrollment but they’re not focusing on why there’s been a steep decline. A big reason is because of financial aid office. Like many people I know, the financial aid office in a lot of institutions haven’t been understanding of our situation outside of college and because of that, the schools that we attend kept on charging the same tuition every single semester during a time where finances is tight for everybody. Many of us live with parents who unfortunately lost their jobs due to Covid and even til present, many people are still actively applying to jobs and even waiting to hear back from the jobs they’ve applied to since the pandemic started. Instead of giving students solutions so that we can still complete our degree requirements, many students have been told that if they don’t enroll that they’ll never complete their degree on time. Many of us have had to drop out of college to look after our family members who have either been sick with Covid or have lost their jobs so therefore we had to step in just so there could be food and electricity.

[apice]

Yes I dropped out as well. I’m starting my
Own business. It’s fun having your own.

[Adrianlover]

The new generation knows that they dont need a a degree to be successful. There are other ways such as getting a trade, youtube creator, selling on amazon, singing, tik tok creator, selling food on Instagram, or starting small and later working your way to the top in an office. They find new ways to make a living.

It's a new world now. Also many famous people on tv didn't go to college and kids are watching this.

[Adrianlover]

Well. Let's figure it out..

1. Kids are getting a trade. Plumber, electrician, mechanic. It's easier and faster.
2. You can make a business selling on the internet. It's easy to startup.
3. Youtube and tik to creators make lots of money.

[afunlivelylife]

Why go to college and incur debt when the pandemic has created new careers that don’t require a degree?

[almaconde]

I pay for school out of pocket, and honestly a lot of my friends who pay out of pocket as well have left because they can’t attend in person classes full time this semester because of work . They need to work and therefore decided not to take classes. During these 2 years that we were taking classes online, we kept paying the same amount for student fees, technology fees, the price didn’t change because we weren’t physically in campus so honestly I can’t see the problem of not having more classes available online this semester and in upcoming semesters if it helps students manage school, work and extracurricular activities better.

[muhammadrahman]

CUNY is not responding to applications. My daughter has been trying to enroll as a transfer student but seems like nobody is there to respond. Tons of emails are sent for zero response!