Graduate NYC (GNYC) is a collaborative effort of the New York City Department of Education (DOE), the City University of New York (CUNY), and community-based organizations to improve high school and college outcomes for all New York City students. Founded in 2010 with initial support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, its work is based on the premise that only coordinated, citywide efforts targeted to increase college completion will enable a significant shift in local college readiness and completion rates. During its initial planning period, GNYC worked with these institutions to develop an ambitious set of shared goals to double the number of college-ready high school graduates and the number of college graduates from CUNY by 2020.
GNYC convenes and engages the local college success community while leading projects to catalyze and support efforts within and across institutions to increase college readiness and degree completion, particularly for low-income students, first-generation college goers, and students of color. The work of GNYC is built upon the belief that a college degree can be a driver of social mobility and financial stability, particularly for low-income young people, and ensuring more young people complete them is critical to the long-term health of this city.