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Q&A
Discussion on ASAP program goals and potential expansion
0:49:51
·
150 sec
Council Member Eric Dinowitz emphasizes the success of the ASAP program and encourages CUNY to set more ambitious goals for enrollment and graduation rates. CUNY representatives discuss current efforts and challenges in expanding the program.
- ASAP enrollment is currently 3.6% higher than last year
- CUNY is setting strategic targets for each community college based on budget information
- Baselining ASAP funding would allow for better long-term planning and goal-setting
- The council supports efforts to expand and improve the ASAP program
Eric Dinowitz
0:49:51
Yeah.
0:49:51
We know, I mean, we know in this committee, ASAP is one of the most
0:49:56
Successful programs for our students.
0:49:58
I think it was thirteen months ago that we had a hearing on this before before the executive budget.
0:50:03
There's significant amount of data.
0:50:05
The one area one of the main areas I think of growth was that ASAP, the program is not changing its target goals.
0:50:15
It's had the same target of I think fifty percent to graduate in three years.
0:50:20
And even though you're meeting or exceeding that goal that goal, the ASAP program is not pushing itself forward, and I think this appears to me to be in the same category where we know it's a successful program, we know it in the city council, we have fought for funding, we know now you're getting the PEG restoration, and it seems like an opportune time to set a goal and commit to reaching that goal to embrace more students in this wildly successful program.
0:50:45
And while you're at it, move the goalpost for yourself and make it more have more students achieve that success and have you guys, you know, set those goals a little further because because CUNY can meet those goals.
0:52:20
Thank you.
Félix Matos Rodríguez
0:49:55
Yep.
0:51:33
So this is yin and yang because the comment that I was gonna make is that, and I know that this is something that the council has been entirely supportive, so I'm just preaching to the converted, that baselining programs like ASAP allows us to do the planning to be able to make because when we bring somebody on, we're making a promise of having you on the program for two or three years.
0:51:57
Right?
0:51:58
So it's challenging to do that when a component of that continues to change every year.
0:52:05
And so know that I'm saying something that they have full support here.
0:52:10
But the more that things like ASAP will be baseline, it'd be a lot easier for us to work on targets because you would know exactly what the funding is gonna be year to year.
Alicia Alvero
0:51:01
Go I was gonna say hard off the press that as of today, enrollment is 3.6% higher in ASAP than it was last year.
0:51:09
But to your point about setting the goals, we are very strategic in setting the goals and we set targets for each of the community colleges for ASAP, but it's always dependent on finding out news about the budget.
0:51:22
So we are very actively, now that we have more sense of the restoration of the PEGs and the budget, Setting those targets and working with the individual colleges.