Help Put New York to Work
Message From the Dean
CUNY School of Professional Studies (CUNY SPS) was founded in 2003 to address the educational needs of working adults, organizations, and employers, and since 2006, it has launched 10 bachelor’s degrees and six master’s degrees. Enrollments have grown to over 2,200 students in its credit-bearing programs, and the School also serves over 15,000 non-credit students through its portfolio of over $9 million in grant-funded professional development programs. As we know, this is not an easy time for most New Yorkers. Costs for education continue to climb. Jobs are hard to find and pay too little. We are still in the midst of economic uncertainty, and the level of inequality is unacceptable. CUNY SPS students are intelligent, thoughtful, and diverse learners
who are striving to increase their knowledge and advance their careers. They are passionate, enthusiastic, and caring people who work across many industries that are integral to our City: they care for the sick and disabled; they manage our daily transportation; they maintain our technological infrastructures; they teach. CUNY SPS students are the heart and soul of New York. A CUNY SPS education can help the workers of New York City to advance both personally and professionally, but completing a degree as an adult takes perseverance and determination. To help our students achieve their goals, CUNY SPS is launching Help Put New York to Work, our inaugural campaign to dramatically increase the support we are able to provide for our students.
Introducing Help Put New York to Work Campaign
The value of a college education is greater than ever: experts estimate that by 2020, two-thirds of all U.S. jobs will require a postsecondary education. A key to workers’ upward mobility in the highly competitive, knowledge-driven, and global workplace, increasing the number of professionals who earn college degrees adds to the prosperity of our City and our nation. The CUNY School of Professional Studies’ Help Put New York to Work campaign provides crucial financial resources that will enable more students to gain the skills and knowledge necessary to prepare for the rapidly changing workforce. Approximately half of CUNY SPS students are in their 30s and 40s. Nearly 90 percent live in New York City or New York State, and two out of three are members of under-represented cultural groups. Many are the first in their families to attend college, and most have families of their own.
CUNY SPS offers a range of online and in-person bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees, and certificate programs. Taught by prominent CUNY faculty and leading practitioners in business, labor, government, and the nonprofit sector, our students are prepared for fast-growing careers such as health information management, business, communications, data analytics, nursing, and disability studies. How will the Help Put New York to Work campaign strengthen CUNY SPS and the City? First and foremost, by investing in our students. $2.25 million of the campaign’s $2.5 million goal is earmarked for student scholarships. With your help, we can offer over 60 new scholarship opportunities to CUNY SPS students by 2019.
Fulfilling Our Promise to Students
The City University of New York traces its roots back to 1847, when a small group of political and educational leaders believed in the power of education to transform lives and expand economic opportunity. In the 21st century, CUNY SPS echoes this spirit. The first University institution to offer fully online degree programs, CUNY SPS fulfills the University’s mission of providing access to outstanding education through this new and flexible means of instruction, and through its innovative in-person programs. However, CUNY SPS students need access to scholarships. Many CUNY SPS students support families while pursuing their studies, and often they return to complete their degrees having exhausted other financial aid resources. Currently, CUNY SPS is able to offer scholarship assistance to less than one percent of its students. We must to do better. The Help Put New York to Work campaign will dramatically increase scholarship support for CUNY SPS students, and will also provide funds for academic enrichment opportunities and emergent learning technologies that will further prepare students for the evolving workforce.
CUNY SPS Students CUNY SPS students are intelligent adult students who are committed to advancing their careers, improving their communities, and influencing their chosen industries.
Jaime Alvarado is enrolled in the Master of Arts degree in labor studies program. He is a graduate of LaGuardia Community College and Queens College, where he was on the Dean’s List for four years. He has worked as an organizer for the largest union of property workers in the country, and interned for three New York State and City legislators. His work and educational experiences have fostered a commitment to helping the underserved.
Jenny Osiris is a part-time student pursuing an online Bachelor of Science degree in business. A graduate of the Borough of Manhattan Community College, she works as a part-time teller at a large financial institution. She is pursuing this bachelor’s degree to secure a full-time position and advance her career.
Jennifer Pagaduan is a full-time student and single mother pursuing an online Bachelor of Science degree in health information management. She works full time, and upon graduating, she will pursue certification as a registered health information administrator, bringing her a step closer to her ultimate goal of working as a chief compliance officer.
Stephanie Perez is pursuing an online Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology. With an associate’s degree in paralegal studies, she interned at a nonprofit organization that assists victims of domestic violence and human trafficking. Working with faculty, she aims to conduct research that builds visibility and leads to social change.
Will You Help Put New York to Work?
The first dedicated campaign in the history of CUNY SPS, Help Put New York to Work is an ambitious, five-year effort to raise $2.5 million to help support the School’s students. The campaign will raise spend-down funds to provide immediate support to current students, and endowed funds to support CUNY SPS students in perpetuity. The targeted campaign will focus on three specific areas for support: Scholarship Aid, Academic Enrichment, and Emergent Technologies.
Scholarship Aid Spend-down $1,500 provides a one-year, 25% tuition scholarship $3,000 provides a one-year, 50% tuition scholarship $6,500 provides a one-year scholarship covering full
tuition and fees
$15,000 provides ten one-year, 25% tuition scholarships $30,000 provides ten one-year, 50% tuition scholarships
Ways To Give!
Endowed $25,000 permanently endows a Named Partial Scholarship $150,000 permanently endows a Named Full Tuition
and Fees Scholarship
$1,000,000 permanently endows a Named Scholarship Program
Academic Enrichment Spend-down $2,500 underwrites one career panel $10,000 underwrites a career panel series
Endowed $25,000 underwrites an annual career panel $50,000 underwrites a biannual career panel series in perpetuity $500,000 permanently underwrites a Named Visiting Scholar $750,000 permanently underwrites a Named Professorship
Emergent Technologies $25,000 Named media:scape lounge $50,000 Named classroom
“There is a famous proverb:
Thank You for Supporting CUNY SPS Students
when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. That’s how I felt about CUNY SPS. For many years, I had been trying desperately to finish my degree. Then life got in the way. CUNY SPS enabled me to complete my degree without leaving my job, my children, or my home. CUNY SPS created a path so I could complete my journey.” Lindsey Roth-Rosen (B.A. in Communication and Culture, 2011)
CUNY School of Professional Studies 119 West 31st Street, 10th Floor New York, NY 10001 sps.cuny.edu email: Jill.Reinhardt@cuny.edu