Oversight Hearing on CUNY Start. Testimony before the New York City Council Committee on Higher Education

This is a testimony from Michael Weiss, a senior researcher at Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation (MDRC), a nonprofit, nonpartisan social policy research organization that is dedicated to learning what works to improve policies and programs that affect the poor. Founded in 1974, MDRC evaluates existing programs and develops new solutions to some of the nation's most pressing social problems, using rigorous random assignment research designs or near-equivalents to assess their impact. This testimony presents the City University of New York (CUNY) Start program, which hopes to boost the success rates of its least prepared incoming students. In 2009 the City University of New York developed CUNY Start, an innovative developmental education program. Students who participate in CUNY Start delay college matriculation for one semester, beginning instead with a semester of noncredit, time-intensive instruction in reading, writing, and mathematics with a prescribed curriculum and instructional approach. The program also provides enhanced academic advising, tutoring, and a weekly "College Success" seminar designed to build the skills that can help students succeed in college. Students pay only $75 for CUNY Start, including the textbooks. The program's short-term goal is to substantially reduce or eliminate developmental needs after one semester, while preparing students for college courses.