CM Dinowitz on personalized CUNY recruitment letters
Dinowitz asks about the personalized recruitment letters sent to graduating seniors. The Chancellor explains letters now include College Now credits earned and projected savings, with plans to add major recommendations based on coursework data.
Secondly, I'd like to follow up on your personalized letters.
There was a hearing on this a few years ago.
I just want to clarify what personalized letters mean.
My understanding is personalized letters means every DOE student gets a letter with their name on it.
But do these letters also include things like course recommendations, specific colleges based on the coursework the student is taking?
Is it based on the student's GPA?
Is there any targeted letter other than the individual student's name?
So don't minimize what it took to get an individualized letter the first time that didn't have some of those things, right?
But with every iteration of the letter, we are better at being able to personalize it more.
For example, this year, the letter, and it goes electronically to be able to do that, included, for example,
Congratulations, Eric.
We look forward to seeing you at CUNY.
You heard it here.
I just got an admission to CUNY.
Thank you.
Since you participated in College Now, you already have, if you come to CUNY, you have already 15 credits, which will mean that you'll be saving X amount of money, right?
So we've been able to tailor the letters each time more to be able to provide the students the most.
accurate information that they need.
We want to continue that level of individualization, but the letters are to that level of detail, and we want to continue to do more to be able to provide them.
For example, for some of the students that might be part of Future Ready,
Right?
We might be able to, based on that data, make some suggestions about majors that they can take.
So the more that we know, the more we'll be able to make that letter to them and to their caregivers.
Yeah, that would be the ultimate goal, I think, is to make actual recommendations.
The addition of college now, it seems, is very good.
Making recommendations for particular colleges or particular majors based on their coursework seems like the ultimate goal and the actual personalization of the letters.
Thank you.
Thank you, chairs.
Thank you.
Thank you, Chancellor.
Thank you, Councilmember.