History
The College Discovery (CD) Program has been a part of the City University since 1964 when it was established by a resolution of the Board of Higher Education. The program began as a five year experiment which sought to demonstrate that, with the proper supportive services, students who were being excluded from the University because of existing admissions criteria could attain a college degree. In 1969 the Program was extended beyond its experimental phase and became a permanent University vehicle in the community colleges for developing college potential among disadvantaged students. The success of College Discovery is reflected in the performance of its students. Retention and graduation rates consistently exceed those of regularly admitted students.
The SEEK (Search for Education, Elevation, and Knowledge) Program began as a pre-baccalaureate program at The City College of New York in 1965. It was signed into law by the New York State legislature in 1966 as the City University’s higher education opportunity program in the senior colleges. The legislation was a result of the efforts of social activists and progressive politicians whose vision was to provide access to CUNY for poor students, then largely African-American and Puerto Rican, who graduated from high schools that had not prepared them for the rigors of college. Today there are eleven SEEK Programs across the University: one Program in each of the seven senior and four comprehensive colleges.
In over forty years of existence at the City University, the SEEK and CD Programs have enrolled approximately 230,000 low-income students. Without University access through these Programs, many would not have been able earn a college degree which provided entry into the professions and the middle class. Program students have been recipients of the Gates Millennium Scholarship Award, the Woodrow Wilson Fellowship, the Mellon Minority Fellowship, and other national, State-wide, and local awards.
