History Of New York City's Open Admissions Policy

In New York City, the City University of New York (CUNY) implemented an open admissions policy in 1970, which dramatically increased the number of students attending CUNY colleges. This policy was a response to the need to provide educational opportunities to students who had been historically excluded from higher education due to socioeconomic and racial factors. Open admission is a policy that allows anyone with a high school diploma or equivalent to be admitted to a college or university, regardless of their academic background or qualifications. The policy was initially implemented in the United States during the 1960s as a way to increase access to higher education for underprivileged and minority students.

The open admissions policy at

Critics argued that it indicated a lowering of academic standards and a devaluation of college degrees. Others, however, saw it as an important step towards creating a more equitable society by providing access to higher education for a wider range of students.

Rudolph Giuliani, who served as the Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001, was a vocal critic of the open admissions policy at the City University of New York (CUNY).

“The community colleges in New York are the end result of a disaster that we weren’t doing anything about,” Mr. Giuliani said late last month. “There comes a point, after 15 years of tragically plummeting graduation rates and a total evisceration of standards, that somebody has to say, ‘This isn’t working.”

Open admissions was a policy that allowed anyone with a high school diploma or equivalent to attend CUNY, regardless of their academic background. The policy was implemented in the late 1960s as a way to increase access to higher education for underprivileged and minority

Students can earn credits right away, decreasing the chance they’ll lose motivation and drop out. Colleges can also ensure that needed academic remediation directly relates to the classes students are taking, since it’s embedded in those courses.

Remedial courses are not typically considered a profit-generating aspect of the City University of New York (CUNY) or any other university. Remedial courses are designed to help students gain the necessary academic skills to succeed in college-level courses and ultimately earn their degrees, rather than to generate revenue for the university.

In fact, providing remedial courses can actually be a significant cost for universities, as these courses require additional resources, such as faculty, staff, and materials. While CUNY charges tuition for its courses, including remedial courses, the revenue generated from these courses is likely to be minimal compared to the overall budget of the university.

Furthermore, students who require remedial courses may need to take additional semesters of classes to meet their degree requirements, which can result in higher tuition costs and delay their entry into the workforce. This can have a negative impact on the student's financial standing and may result in decreased revenue for the university in the long