About

Launched in 2007 with support from the New York City Center for Economic Opportunity (CEO), The City University of New York’s (CUNY) Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) is a comprehensive program for associate-degree students at Borough of Manhattan, Bronx, Hostos, Kingsborough, LaGuardia, and Queensborough Community Colleges; Medgar Evers College; College of Staten Island; and New York City College of Technology.

The extensive support provided by CUNY ASAP includes financial resources (tuition waivers for students in receipt of financial aid with a gap need, textbook assistance, and New York City Transit MetroCards) and structured pathways to support academic momentum (full-time enrollment, block scheduled first-year courses, immediate and continuous enrollment in developmental education, and opportunities for winter and summer course-taking). ASAP also provides comprehensive direct support services (personalized advisement, tutoring, career development services, and early engagement opportunities to build a connected community).

Despite the strengths and assets that students bring to their college experience, various systemic barriers and personal responsibilities preclude many students from timely degree completion. ASAP helps eliminate barriers and is committed to graduating at least 50% of students within three years by providing structured and wide-ranging services. Currently, less than 25% of CUNY community college students and only 16% of urban community college students nationally graduate within three years. CUNY ASAP has served 100,000 students since its inception, with the first cohort entering in the fall of 2007. Since the 2018-2019 academic year, ASAP has committed to serving approximately 25,000 students annually.

CUNY ASAP’s primary funding sources are the City of New York, facilitated through the Mayor’s Office of Economic Opportunity (NYC Opportunity), and the State of New York. Historically, ASAP has also received grants from organizations such as Robin Hood, the Stella and Charles Guttman Foundation, and the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust. Additionally, ASAP benefits from financial support provided by the Sidney and Laura Gilbert Scholarship Fund and BNY Mellon, specifically assisting eligible ASAP alums enrolled at a CUNY senior college.

ASAP began with a cohort of 1,132 students deemed fully skills proficient in reading, writing, and math by program start at Borough of Manhattan, Bronx, Hostos, Kingsborough, LaGuardia, and Queensborough Community Colleges. Approximately one-third of students required developmental coursework before beginning the program. Fast forward to September 2010, ASAP surpassed its graduation target and helped 621 students, or 55% of the fall 2007 cohort, earn their associate degrees within three years versus 25% of a comparison group of similar students.

Based on early success with the first cohort, ASAP began targeting students with developmental needs at program entry. Cohorts admitted since 2009 have primarily comprised students with one to two developmental course needs. Analysis of the fall 2009 cohort (N=429) revealed that ASAP students were retained at higher rates, moved through their developmental requirements significantly faster, and graduated at considerably higher rates than comparison group students. The three-year graduation rate for the fall 2009 ASAP cohort, of which 76% entered with developmental needs, was 56% versus 22% for comparison group students.

ASAP stands out as one of CUNY’s most successful initiatives, with program students graduating at a rate more than double that of similar students. The program’s effectiveness has been extensively evaluated, receiving national recognition, including the prestigious Innovations in American Government Award from the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

The thorough evaluation of ASAP encompasses various dimensions, including an internal analysis conducted by CUNY across eight cohorts, utilizing a quasi-experimental constructed comparison group design. Furthermore, a five-year experimental design random assignment study led by MDRC contributed to the comprehensive assessment. In addition, a cost-benefit analysis, spearheaded by Dr. Henry Levin and the Center for Benefit-Cost Studies in Education (CBCSE) at Teachers College, Columbia University, has further enriched the understanding of ASAP’s impact and value.

Key findings from CUNY’s evaluation of ASAP reveal:

• ASAP students graduated within three years at more than double the rates of non-ASAP students. Across the eight cohorts (2007 – 2014) in the evaluation, ASAP had an average three-year graduation rate of 53.4% vs. 24.6% for the historically matched comparison group. Notably, during a critical program expansion period, from fall 2010 to fall 2020, the three-year average graduation rate is 48%.
• Students who started ASAP with developmental needs graduated at high rates, just like students who entered fully skills proficient: After three years, 47.8% of ASAP students with developmental needs and 60.6% of fully skills proficient ASAP students graduated vs. 20.9% of non-ASAP students with developmental needs and 29.9% of fully skills proficient non-ASAP students.
• There are significant differences between ASAP and comparison group students regarding retention rates, movement through developmental coursework, credit accumulation, and graduation rates. These differences are seen as early as the first semester and continue to occur at all junctures over three years.
• Students from underrepresented groups appear to benefit more from ASAP than other students.
• When considering longer-term outcomes across CUNY, ASAP students are more likely to earn a degree. Six years after beginning, 63.6% of ASAP first-time freshmen had earned either an associate or baccalaureate degree (or both) vs. 43.3% of comparison group students.

For more, visit the CUNY ASAP|ACE Research and Evaluation Page.

MDRC conducted a random assignment study of ASAP’s third and fourth cohorts, comprising a sample of 900 students. These participants included ASAP students from three community colleges who entered with developmental education needs. To ensure comparability, students were randomly assigned to either the program or control groups, accounting for similarities in background and motivation. Differences in outcomes were a direct result of participating in ASAP.

MDRC’s three-year report revealed that ASAP students surpassed their counterparts in the control group across various metrics, including persistence, credit accumulation, full-time enrollment, three-year graduation, and transfer to four-year colleges. Notably, the three-year graduation rate for ASAP students was nearly double that of control group students. MDRC emphasized the significance of ASAP’s impact, stating, “ASAP’s effects are the largest MDRC has found in any of its evaluations of community college reforms. The model offers a highly promising strategy to markedly accelerate credit accumulation and increase graduation rates among educationally and economically disadvantaged populations” (Scrivener et al., 2015).

ASAP was also the subject of a comprehensive cost-benefit study led by Dr. Henry Levin of the Center for Benefit-Cost Studies in Education (CBCSE) at Teachers College Columbia University. Part one of Dr. Levin’s study, a cost-effectiveness analysis of ASAP, revealed that despite higher up-front costs, the average cost per three-year ASAP graduate was lower than for comparison group graduates. The study found an average savings of $6,500 per graduate. Part two of Dr. Levin’s analysis looked at the benefits of timely graduation, both for the individual and the public sector, by examining increased earnings and tax revenues and reduced costs for social services such as public health, public assistance, and criminal justice. The study found that an investment in ASAP has significant financial returns for both the taxpayer and the student. For every dollar invested in ASAP by the taxpayer, $3.50 are returned per associate degree conferred in the form of increased tax revenues and social service savings. For each dollar invested by the ASAP student, $12.20 are returned through increased earnings. Dr. Levin and his team concluded that the total net benefits for 1,000 ASAP students are $46.5 million higher than for 1,000 comparison group students who did not enroll in ASAP.

Thanks to generous support from the City of New York, ASAP has experienced significant growth, expanding from 4,300 students in 2014-15 to an impressive 25,000 in 2018-19.  During this period of growth, ASAP has prioritized the enhancement of enrollment in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) majors. As of the latest available data, 29.5% of ASAP students are engaged in STEM studies.

One notable aspect of ASAP’s expansion is the comprehensive initiative at Bronx Community College, where most eligible first-time and full-time freshmen receive support through ASAP. As of fall 2022, almost 60% of the matriculated first-time, full-time student population at Bronx Community College benefit from ASAP services.

ASAP students constitute approximately 42% of the total associate student full-time enrollment and 28% of the total associate student enrollment, encompassing both full-time and part-time students. CUNY projects that the expansion of ASAP, given the number of graduates it is projected to yield, will serve as a critical lever to CUNY, increasing the overall system three-year associate degree graduation rate from 18% for the fall 2013 cohort to 25% for the fall 2018 cohort, underscoring the significant impact of ASAP on academic success within the CUNY system.

In addition to serving more students seeking associate degrees, CUNY has adapted the ASAP model to support students pursuing bachelor’s degrees.  The Accelerate, Complete, Engage (ACE) program aims to achieve a four-year graduation rate of at least 50% among first-time freshmen and a two-year graduation rate of at least 50% among transfer students with an associate degree.  From inception in 2015 through 2021, ACE was available at two senior colleges—John Jay College of Criminal Justice and Lehman College—thanks to funding from private sources and the New York City Office for Economic Opportunity (NYC Opportunity).

In a significant development, the NYC Juneteenth Economic Justice Plan, unveiled in June 2021, facilitated the expansion of ACE to four additional CUNY colleges in the spring and fall of 2022: College of Staten Island, New York City College of Technology, York College, and Queens College. Moreover, ACE launched at The City College of New York in fall 2023, thanks to the generous support of Robin Hood. Since its launch, ACE has provided support to over 2,800 students, reflecting its impact and continued growth.

CUNY has partnered with colleges across the country to expand ASAP’s reach beyond New York City to support the model’s replication. ASAP’s first replication partnership began in 2014, collaborating with MDRC and the Ohio Department of Higher Education, with anchor funding provided by Ascendium Education Group. As part of this project, ASAP supported three Ohio community colleges (Cincinnati State Technical and Community College, Cuyahoga Community College, and Lorain County Community College) to implement programs based on the ASAP model. MDRC released three-year findings from this Ohio demonstration, which showed that the ASAP-like programs nearly doubled graduation rates after three years and increased the number of students who transferred to four-year colleges. The CUNY ASAP Replication team has partnered with colleges in seven states. These partnerships, detailed below, have formed the growing network of the CUNY ASAP National Replication Collaborative.

• Ohio – As part of the ASAP Ohio demonstration beginning in 2014, through a collaboration with MDRC and with anchor funding provided by Ascendium Education Group, CUNY ASAP worked with Cincinnati State Technical and Community College, Cuyahoga Community College, and Lorain County Community College for two years to support the formation and operation of their ASAP-like programs.
• New York – Westchester Community College launched its pilot replication program, Viking ROADS, in fall 2018, with support from Arnold Ventures’ “Move the Needle” initiative.
• California – The San Mateo County Community College District (SMCCCD), which includes Skyline College, Cañada College, and the College of San Mateo (CA), has worked with CUNY over several years to replicate ASAP. Skyline College launched its pilot replication program, the Promise Scholars Program, in fall 2018 with support from Arnold Ventures’ “Move the Needle” initiative. Cañada College and the College of San Mateo followed in fall 2019 with support from the Chancellor’s Innovation Awards in Higher Education awarded by the California Community Colleges Board of Governors.
• California – Cuesta College, Lake Tahoe Community College, and Pasadena City College are exploring replication in partnership with the CUNY ASAP and SMCCCD teams, also with support from the Chancellor’s Innovation Awards in Higher Education grant awarded to SMCCCD.
• Tennessee – Nashville State Community College launched Nashville GRAD, its pilot program based on the ASAP model, in fall 2019 with the support of former Nashville Mayor Briley’s Getting Results by Advancing Degrees initiative.
• West Virginia – Blue Ridge Community and Technical College & West Virginia University at Parkersburg launched its pilot replication program, Ascend, in fall 2020 with support from Arnold Ventures’ “Move the Needle” initiative.
• North Carolina – In Spring 2022, CUNY ASAP|ACE began a partnership with the University of North Carolina System Office (UNC). Through the support of Arnold Ventures and the Governors’ Emergency Education Relief (GEER) fund, UNC will pilot and evaluate TrACE (Transfer Accelerate, Complete, Engage), a program based on the CUNY ACE model that serves baccalaureate degree-seeking transfer students.
• Pennsylvania – Beginning May 2022, with support from the City of Philadelphia, CUNY ASAP|ACE is supporting an expansion of the Octavius Catto Scholarship at the Community College of Philadelphia with a customized technical assistance schedule to enhance their data collection for Scholarship management.

For more, visit the CUNY ASAP replication page.