Fall freshman enrollment at CUNY’s 11 senior colleges jumped by 7.7 per cent, the largest increase in more than two decades, according to preliminary data released early in September.The record growth helped to boost overall University enrollment to more than 198,000, marking the second year of gains since the University adopted rigorous new testing standards and raised admission requirements at its four-year institutions.

“Our newest freshmen have voted with their feet. Students are turning to the City University’s senior colleges in record numbers,” said Chancellor Matthew Goldstein.

Gains were posted at virtually all levels. Community colleges recorded an enrollment of 63,856, up 1.6 per cent. First-time graduate students increased by 6.6 per cent at the ten University institutions offering graduate degrees. Enrollment at the CUNY Law School—which last year achieved its highest first-time pass rates among graduates taking the New York State Bar examination—climbed 15.4% to 442, a record increase for the School, founded in 1982.

The University is also the choice of more transfer students seeking to complete their undergraduate academic careers. The preliminary tally shows the number of students transferring to CUNY this fall increased 4.5 per cent to nearly 15,000 students.

It also indicates that incoming first-year students at the senior colleges are scoring higher on the University-administered skills assessment test, as well as on the Scholastic Aptitude Test. This year, average SAT scores at the top five senior colleges ranged from 1085 to 1136. In 1996, the range was 996 to 1074.

The Honors College, with its inaugural class of 214 academically talented students drawn from a pool of almost 1,700 applicants, played a role in the increased enrollment. Many of those who unsuccessfully sought admission to the Honors College have enrolled in traditional programs at the colleges, having discovered the hundreds of academic offerings, first-class facilities, affordable tuition, and numerous scholarship programs at the University.

Clearly attractive to prospective students this fall was the recently occupied 17- story “vertical campus” at Baruch College. At York College in Queens, student internships with the federal Food and Drug Administration, which maintains its Northeastern Laboratory and regional headquarters at the college’s Jamaica campus, are being expanded.

Also drawing the notice of prospective students has been the development of several University initiatives degree programs in areas with expanding employment opportunities. The University has introduced two programs in Biomedical Engineering that promise to be among the finest in the country. The Graduate Center now offers a Ph.D., and City College offers a Master of Science in the field. CUNY has an exceptionally strong faculty with expertise in Biomedical Engineering and is home to the New York Center for Biomedical Engineering at City College.

Medgar Evers College has established a program in Applied Management, leading to a bachelor’s in Professional Studies. This unique program will enable experienced workers in technical, health and human services fields to gain the advanced conceptual skills in management and administration they need to advance their careers at management levels.

The Graduate Center has two new programs that respond to contemporary challenges in the field of education, where huge shortfalls of new teachers already exist and promise to worsen. The first is a Ph.D. in Urban Education, which will educate scholars who focus on the curricular and policy issues that affect contemporary education. The second is a Certificate in Interactive Technology and Pedagogy, which enables Graduate Center doctoral students to integrate new media technology in the college classroom.

In response to new State requirements for licensure, Hunter College now offers a graduate program in Physical Therapy through its Schools of Health Professions. Students will be able to earn a Master of Physical Therapy, enabling them to become licensed Physical Therapists.

New York City Technical College is introducing three innovative certificate programs associated with its unique bachelor’s in Entertainment Technology. Behind-the-scenes professionals in the entertainment industry will now be able to acquire the most advanced training in Lighting Systems Technology, Sound Systems Technology, and Scenic Construction.