CUNY Open Admissions Collection

In 1970, amidst a national atmosphere of civil action, the City University of New York implemented a policy of open admissions. Aiming at broadening educational opportunities, the policy stated that all first-year applicants with a high school diploma, valid New York City residency, and a clean bill of health would be eligible for enrollment to any of its two- and four-year schools. At the same time, the University reevaluated and expanded its efforts at remedial education on the basis that lack of prior achievement is a “shortcoming of the system and not an indication of (the student’s) inability.” While other institutions had already committed to open admissions, none were as large or served as heterogeneous of a community as CUNY.

Two financial crises eventually led to the reversal of these policies. The first, in 1976, caused the university to begin charging tuition. Two decades later, the second compelled a restructuring of the entire CUNY system, which included a push for higher standards. In 1999, the open admissions policy and remedial education programs at four-year colleges, including Queens, were suspended. They are still in place at the system’s two-year schools.