CUNY Reconnect’s free tuition for adults 25 to 55 now serves 9,786 students

Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, chancellor of the City University of New York, visited Queensborough Community College in Bayside on Wednesday, Sept. 23. He met adults who are earning degrees at no cost through Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Reconnect program, which now counts 9,786 students across CUNY schools.

Who qualifies for CUNY Reconnect free tuition

Reconnect began in 2025. It pays community college tuition for students ages 25 to 55 who train for jobs in vital, high-demand industries. Students also get advising, and the program helps pay for books and supplies.

More than $3 million in financial aid has gone out since fall 2025. Enrollment has climbed nearly 50% compared with last fall, and over 1,200 of today’s students attend Queensborough.

“Whether you’re an aspiring nurse or software engineer, you can come back to CUNY for free through Reconnect,” Matos Rodríguez said.

What Reconnect students showed at Queensborough

The students the chancellor met study health, computer science, cybersecurity and other fields. In the college’s engineering technology lab, they ran the equipment themselves. One setup beamed wireless messages onto a computer screen, and the 3D printers turned out objects built to set measurements.

Many adult students in the engineering technology department are also holding down jobs and caring for families, according to Marvin Gayle, an associate professor there. Gayle said Reconnect and its scholarships ease the money problems that kept them away, so they can come back to college and complete their degrees.

Queensborough President Christine Mangino said the college took in one of the largest groups of eligible students during the program’s first year. The visit ended with a roundtable discussion in the campus library building.