Res 0653-2015

By Council Members Rodriguez, Barron, Chin, Cumbo, Eugene, Johnson, King, Palma, Cohen, Rosenthal, Mendez and Cabrera Whereas, President Barack Obama has spoken often on the perils of the student loan debt crisis for future generations of college graduates, which can burden young people for years after they graduate, stagnating the economic growth of the county; and Whereas, In June of 2014, President Barack Obama took executive action to cap student loan payments at 10% of the income of graduates working to pay their debt; and Whereas, While the cost of an education at the colleges of the City University of New York (CUNY) is greatly reduced, compared to other colleges across the city and country, costing just $6,330 per year for New York resident students seeking their bachelor's degree and $4,800 per year for New York resident students seeking their associate's degree, these costs are a burden to many students; and Whereas, These costs rise to $16,800 and $9,600 for students seeking their bachelor's degree and associate's degree respectively, for students living outside of the State of New York; and Whereas, According to CUNY's pricing estimates for students who choose to or must live in school provided housing, the cost of such housing is $20,295 for 1 year in addition to the aforementioned cost of tuition; and Whereas, According to CUNY data analyzed in the 2011 report by the Center for an Urban Future, 46% of all CUNY Community College students have an annual family income of $20,000 or less and 30% of all CUNY Community College students work over twenty hours per week; and Whereas, According to CUNY, the cost of a MetroCard for the nine months of the year a student is generally attending classes is $1,020; and Whereas, According to City University of New York (CUNY) data analyzed in a 2011 report by the Center for an Urban Future, the percentage of students earning an associate's or bachelor's degree within six years of first-time enrollment is just 28%; and Whereas, According to this 2011 report by the Center for an Urban Future, a 10% increase in CUNY Community College graduation rates would generate an estimated $689 million in economic activity over a decade; and Whereas, CUNY offers MetroCards free of charge to students in their Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP)-a three year program designed to support students seeking an associate's degree at CUNY Community Colleges-incentivizing students to remain enrolled; and Whereas, According to a February 2015 analysis from the Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation (MDRC)-an organization that periodically assesses the ASAP program-ASAP has nearly doubled graduation rates compared to students not enrolled in this program; and Whereas, New Jersey Transit offers significant discounts to college students in the tri-state region including many in New York City, thereby demonstrating the demand for such a program as well as the operational capacity to employ it; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon CUNY to include in its FY16 budget and beyond, funding to provide MetroCards to all students enrolled in CUNY Colleges free of charge. RM LS#4062 3/10/15