• BORN TO BE

    A GRADUATE

    The Deutsche Bank youth
    engagement program

Boosting college success to ensure mobility

Although New York City’s high school graduation rate has increased, too few of these students are obtaining the postsecondary credentials they need for today’s jobs.

Each year, 18,000 low-income students enroll in New York City’s public community colleges hoping to earn an Associate’s Degree and the lifetime earnings boost it confers, but only 29% complete the two-year program after six years. Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation recognizes that supporting student success at these schools is one of the most effective ways to close the city’s opportunity gap and strengthen its future workforce.

Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation is partnering with the nonprofit think tank Center for an Urban Future to illuminate a leading cause of drop-out: the non-tuition expenses that financial aid does not cover.

Most CUNY community college students are from families with income below $30,000 and more than half face housing and food insecurity. In a city where costs of living have increased far faster than wages, the burden of daily expenses like transportation can derail students, thus undermining existing investments in their success.

Through research, the Foundation aims to illuminate these challenges and call on stakeholders to advance interventions.

Understanding non-tuition financial barriers for CUNY community college students

29%

 Only 29% of students enrolled in Associate's Degree programs at CUNY earn a degree in six years.

71%

 71% of students live in households earning less than $30,000 per year.

85%

 85% are students of color.

52%

 More than half of students are the first generation in their family to attend college.

63%

 63% of students report housing insecurity in the past year.

The results are in!

Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation commissioned new research on non-tuition financial barriers to community college completion in New York City.

Click here to read the report.