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Council Discourse

NYC Council meetings, chaptered and linked by time.

Created by Uzair Qadir

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Q&A

Chair Joseph on College Discovery and SEEK programs

New York City Council · Jun 8, 2026 · starts 0:54:18 · 2 min 14 sec

Joseph asks about College Discovery and SEEK budgets and enrollment. The Chancellor reports 1,537 students in College Discovery and 6,141 in SEEK for fall 2025, with SEEK receiving additional state funding.

Rita C. Joseph

Discovery and SEEK.

Rita C. Joseph

CUNY's opportunity program include College Discovery and the Percy Ellis Sutton Search for Education Elevation Knowledge.

Rita C. Joseph

These programs support students in their academic and professional goals by providing additional academic, financial, and advising support at the two- and four-year colleges.

Rita C. Joseph

What are the budgets for FY26 and FY27 for College Discovery and SEEK, and how many students are currently enrolled in each of those programs?

Félix Matos Rodríguez

So the number of students enrolled in this program is 1,537 for the fall 2025 headcount for the college discovery,

Félix Matos Rodríguez

6,141 for the fall 2025 headcount for SEEK.

Félix Matos Rodríguez

I know, and I'll defer to Ken, that there was an additional increment in the SEEK budget, right, in the state budget.

Félix Matos Rodríguez

But that is the only additional support that we have received for either SEEK or CD.

Ken Gardner

28,000 for CD, for college discovery, right?

Ken Gardner

And the budget for college discovery in 26 was about $6 million.

Rita C. Joseph

Any of these programs that I mentioned earlier are going to be baselined?

Rita C. Joseph

The chancellor said it helps with planning.

Ken Gardner

You're asking if the city's going to baseline the funding?

Rita C. Joseph

Right.

Rita C. Joseph

For these programs that works.

Rita C. Joseph

They're evidence-based.

Félix Matos Rodríguez

Well, the SIC funding is mostly coming from the state.

Félix Matos Rodríguez

Yes.

Félix Matos Rodríguez

And so, I mean, again, from our perspective, any funding for student success program that has regularity and is baseline is better for us in terms of planning and delivering the services to the students.

Rita C. Joseph

In any form of education, if you know your funding is there, you're better to plan.

Rita C. Joseph

You know how to hire educators and how many seats you have and all of that.

Rita C. Joseph

So that's across the board.

Félix Matos Rodríguez

Agreed.