Good afternoon. My name is Jared Martino and I am a graduate student in Higher Education Administration at SUNY Stony Brook University and the Coordinator for Activities and Engagement at Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology. I want to thank the New York City Council, especially the Committee on Higher Education, for the opportunity to testify at today’s hearing. I am here today to share my thoughts and experiences on the CUNY Transfer process on behalf of myself and as a NY Youth Advisory Board member at Young Invincibles.
I began my collegiate journey in 2016 as a SUNY student, and by the fall semester of 2018, I had begun my transfer process into the CUNY system. From the beginning of my collegiate career in the SUNY system, I felt comforted and capable due to the wealth of resources available and a clear understanding of what my degree progression would look like. While I recognize that the transfer process itself comes with challenges to that clarity, there are considerable opportunities for CUNY to improve this process and increase transfer student retention and persistence.
Upon beginning my experience at CUNY, I struggled with the lack of outreach to transfer students, and a number of fellow transfer students I met confirmed they shared this experience. Anecdotally, the most successful transfer students I noticed in my time were CUNY Associate to CUNY Bachelor transfer students who had already networked with current CUNY students and were able to learn more about the upcoming challenges they were to face from peers.
My own transfer acclimation process was based on applying the new student experience I had recently had at SUNY and challenging the limits of a Google search. Then, I faced the largest challenge, the academic credit approval process. The time it took to have my credits evaluated by CUNY City College was significant, and it took weeks before I had concrete knowledge of what I had received credit for. Ultimately, a majority of the courses I had taken from SUNY were only accepted as elective credit, despite being for the same major and nonsensically covering a diverse range of course levels. Much of my time was spent retaking intro-level courses that were identical in content to intro-level courses that I took at SUNY, leaving me without the opportunity to apply my knowledge and expand my studies in higher-level courses and electives.
Since graduating from CUNY, I have spent a year supporting first-generation college students toward their degree aspirations. I supported many students who elected to transfer into the CUNY system, all facing considerable challenges in a lack of communication, understanding of the entry process, and a lack of collegiate cultural capital. First-generation college students, in particular, are at risk of this pitfall, as the considerable amount of red tape and formal policy required to maintain matriculation at universities can be dizzying. The CUNY transfer process has struggled to bridge the gap between where aspiring college students are and where they need to be to succeed. We often consider the transfer process a leftover, treating these students as an afterthought whose educational aspirations motivate them to succeed regardless of any challenge. Yet many transfer students struggle with the same challenges new college students face, yet are given minimal support and resources to overcome said barriers.
I recommend the New York City Council and the Committee on Higher Education expand transfer resources on campus and funding to better serve students entering the CUNY transfer system. I also recommend that the CUNY system model transfer resources more heavily through programs like HCAP Transfer Pipeline Program at Hunter College, which supports Asian American first-semester transfer students with direct peer mentorship, and community development events to ease the collegiate transition process.
Jared Martino is a current Activities and Engagement Coordinator at Vaughn College of Aeronautics where his passion to help others learn has fueled all of his work. In his professional career, he has taught a wide variety of ages, abilities, and backgrounds that have taught him how important learning is at all stages in our lives.
A recent CUNY graduate with honors, Jared is now a SUNY student pursuing a Master’s Degree in Higher Education Administration. He is based in Queens, New York, and has been an active part of the New York community his entire life.