CUNY officials, students and advocates urge City Council to fund ‘Fresh Start,’ fee waivers and Reconnect expansion to clear small unpaid balances

CUNY officials, student leaders and advocates told the New York City Council’s Higher Education Committee that clearing small unpaid balances, making application fee waivers permanent and baselining CUNY Reconnect funding would remove a common barrier that keeps thousands of students from re-enrolling.

At the hearing, CUNY staff told the committee that 13,687 students in the 2025 financial‑aid year had balances that prevented them from enrolling; CUNY also reported roughly 8,200 current students with debts of $2,000 or less. Advocates and researchers described many additional students blocked by far smaller balances and urged a targeted Fresh Start that would forgive low dollar amounts that commonly derail completion.

“Having completion and forgiveness grants is vital to lifting that burden, breaking that spiral so that students can focus on their coursework,” said Peter de Chile Jr., an academic advisor at Baruch College who testified about students that Reconnect helped return to campus. “These grants aligned with Reconnect as a whole together create direct impactful solutions of academic and financial support for those at risk.”

Eli Dvorkin, editorial and policy director at the Center for an Urban Future, said Reconnect has already helped tens of thousands return to CUNY and that unpaid balances, “often less than a thousand dollars,” are a frequent reason students stop out. “To help thousands more New Yorkers take advantage of Reconnect, we recommend launching a CUNY Fresh Start initiative to clear unpaid balances of at least a thousand dollars for students who started but have not completed their degree,” Dvorkin said.

CUNY staff described administrative readiness for several proposals the committee discussed. The system told the panel it already runs automatic application fee waivers and that similar mechanisms were used during the pandemic to clear accounts, meaning scaling forgiveness programs is administratively feasible. CUNY gave cost estimates for fee‑waiver scenarios during questioning: $6.1 million to cover freshmen application waivers, about $3.4 million for transfer applicants, roughly $0.5 million for graduate applicants and a combined total of about $10 million to cover waivers across freshmen, transfer and graduate applicants (figures provided to the committee by CUNY staff during testimony).

CUNY officials also described the system’s funding request for Reconnect: $8.8 million in baseline support (a $5.9 million restoration plus a $2.9 million enhancement), and noted that part of Reconnect funding already goes directly to colleges for retention and completion work. “Over 50% of the Reconnect money goes directly to the colleges in support of retention and finishing,” CUNY staff said during the hearing.

Committee members pressed for clearer cost estimates for a Fresh Start that would forgive smaller balances (for example, $1,000 or less), and asked CUNY to return with more precise figures. The chair and members repeatedly asked staff to break down how many students owe at specific thresholds so the council could evaluate the fiscal impact of several forgiveness options.

Student leaders said the problem goes beyond students who stop out. Daniel Redden, chairperson of the University Student Senate and a student trustee, testified that unpaid balances also prevent students from registering at the right time or in required classes, forcing many to take extra semesters. “You start choosing classes midsemester for the next semester, and a lot of them haven't chosen because they need to clear balances,” said Akeem Pollock, vice chair for legislative affairs for the University Student Senate.

Advocates urged pairing any Fresh Start with continued investment in wraparound supports—advising, emergency grants, and early‑alert analytics—so students who return can persist to a credential. CUNY told the committee it is piloting predictive analytics and early‑alert technology and that reconnect teams at colleges use funds to remove holds while students are still enrolled.

What happens next: Council members said the committee will use the hearing testimony to inform the budget process. Student advocates said they will submit detailed cost estimates and petitions to council offices; the University Student Senate provided the committee with a packet of numbers during the hearing.

Ending: Witnesses asked the council to treat forgiveness and fee waivers as investments with long‑term returns—higher completion rates, fewer students on public assistance and a stronger workforce—and requested that CUNY return with the requested detailed cost breakdowns so the council can consider concrete budget language.