Higher education in New York has never been more accessible, thanks to CUNY and SUNY Reconnect.
Launched in fall 2025, Reconnect offers New Yorkers ages 25–55 without a college degree the opportunity to earn an associate degree in high demand fields, with the cost of tuition, books, supplies, and fees covered by the state. Thanks in part to NYSUT advocacy, the programs are set to expand in January 2027 to include adults who already have a college degree.
Reconnect arrived at a good time for New York’s public higher education system, said Dante Morelli, president of the Faculty Association of Suffolk Community College.
“K-12 enrollment is down, and it has been for years. We’re competing for a smaller pool of students who are going to college,” said Morelli. Being able to offer tuition- and fee-free degrees for in-demand careers that are close to “AI proof” has helped SUNY and CUNY community colleges grow in an otherwise challenging environment for higher education.
As colleges and universities across the country face long, slow declines in enrollment, SUNY and CUNY are bringing thousands of new students to campuses and communities around New York.
Andy Sako, president of Faculty Federation of Erie Community College, said SUNY Reconnect is vital in training the workforce for a shifting economy. “It’s an excellent opportunity for people to go out and be retrained, and for people who need to retool because the economy changes.”
In just two years, nearly 2,500 students at Suffolk CC have taken advantage of the program. The school’s healthcare studies program — which is one of dozens of Reconnect-eligible programs, and whose graduates move on to further study and careers in nursing, occupational therapy, and public health, among others — is now the most popular major across Suffolk’s three campuses, said Morelli.
Close to 20,000 CUNY students are enrolled in Reconnect-eligible degree programs across 26 campuses. “That helps stabilize the schedules and program offerings of those campuses, and the administration can see that students are coming back,” after pandemic-era enrollment declines, said James Davis, president of CUNY’s Professional Staff Congress. It brings new energy to higher education in New York and solidifies CUNY and SUNY as engines of opportunity.
Reconnect supports learning and skill enhancement in a wide range of subjects while building the workforce New York needs for the future, and it’s easy for people to understand why that matters. Technology has its value, but “we all want a nurse taking care of us if we’re sick,” said Morelli.
Suffolk’s faculty members have noted that the program has helped diversify their classrooms, especially in terms of age.
Sako has seen a similar dynamic at Erie. “The younger students seem to bond with the older students, especially in some of the trade areas because they’re working hands-on.” Younger students recognize that their older classmates, who have years or even decades of work experience, have useful information to share, whether it’s specific skills, or how to “act like a human being.”
Reconnect is helping New Yorkers who previously might have felt college was out of reach to graduate without overwhelming debt. It also breathes new life into campuses and the cities and towns where they’re located.
Older students, Morelli noted, are more likely to graduate and put their degrees to use locally, where they are already established. That’s beneficial to the local economy because they fill in-demand jobs and are then able to patronize local businesses.
The results from Reconnect are clear: public higher education is powering our communities. The system is strong, but it needs greater investment. For Sako, it’s simple math. “There’s just not enough faculty for the amount of people coming into the institution,” he said.
“Our public colleges are the training spaces for engineers, nurses, healthcare workers, tech workers, and the next generation,” said Davis. “We need to see investment in the workforce.”
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