Guttman Community College

Guttman College, named for Stella and Charles Guttman, was founded in September 2012. This was the first such college opened within City University of New York (CUNY), New York City's large public university system, in over 40 years. It was developed due to a challenge initiated by CUNY's Chancellor. The initiative was to innovate a new college underpinned by research and that helped students graduate quickly. The 15% three-year average graduation rate at CUNY’s urban public community colleges saw the Chancellor challenge a planning committee. This committee had to be bold and imaginative. It was time to drop the status quo in favor of bold change. You may wonder, why Guttman? A dedication came. The change in the program and the establishment of a $25 million endowment fund were made possible by the generosity of the Guttman Foundation. This was in June 2013, and the new college was christened Stella and Charles Guttman Community College. The Guttman Foundation requested $15 million out of the $25 million to endow the College, which was then able to launch education programs. This has offered students transformational learning experiences. This generosity did not go unnoticed. High graduation rates (43% for 2015’s entering...

Many reviewers offered glowing praise for Guttman Community College, with many of them highly rating the faculty and staff. Numerous reviewers praised the instructors and administrators for their support and assistance, emphasizing their willingness to go above and beyond to ensure student success, which select out to me. In addition to providing academic assistance, the school supports students by creating a sense of belonging and offering numerous extracurricular activities that many appreciated and felt added to their overall enjoyment and help with the stress. This campus culture and support showed that treating students holistically and providing resources like advocacy centers, events and activities available to all versus some were highly valued by the reviewers. The cultural formal and informal activities were nice to have and expect and was a common theme among this feedback type. Satisfaction and happiness were common among reviewers, as many described their overall experience as positive and would recommend this community college. While there were a staggering number of positive comments on the students’ feedback, there were a few neutral ones as well. Some reviews mentioned that the institution was small, while others noted that it was good, nothing to write home abour. As a result, based on the vast number of several other reviewers who had a favorable experience at the school, a few negative comments did not detract from the general positive impression. CUNY Guttman Community College may have to be among the best community colleges, based on the consistent positive feedback across all formats.