Stella and Charles Guttman Community College

In 2012, CUNY enrolled the inaugural class of 300 students in the University’s first new community college in over 40 years. Originally called the New Community College, it was renamed the Stella and Charles Guttman Community College in 2013 in honor of the $15 million endowment created by the Foundation for the college.

This new college represents more than simply the addition of a community college to the other six CUNY community colleges. It was founded on a new educational model that enhances students’ academic achievement and the timely attainment of degrees. It is the realization of former Chancellor Matthew Goldstein’s charge in 2007 to a visionary group at CUNY to develop an innovative approach to community college education. The goal was to design a college that would increase the graduation rate after three years to 35 percent. The curriculum is designed to provide students with a solid foundation for transfer to four-year colleges or to enter the job market on a path to a meaningful career. Since the Fall 2012 semester, over 1,800 students have graduated from Guttman Community College.

The $15 million endowment established the Guttman Student Success and Engagement Fund. Income generated from the fund helps to support Guttman Community College students and contributes to the continued development and refinement of the Guttman Community College. The uses of the funds may include paid internships, community service, other experiential learning experiences intended to build civic engagement and academic success, scholarships to encourage retention in the second year, as well as emergency financial aid.

At Guttman Community College, there is a highly supportive environment committed to student success. Guttman Community College is designed to link field experiences with classroom learning. Each year, the Summer Bridge Program brings together student peers and an instructional team to form a learning community that will remain together throughout each semester.

All students must attend full time the first year, an approach that has been shown to increase graduation rates. The curriculum during the first-year merges developmental and disciplinary coursework and focuses on building college level reading, writing, and math skills.

At Guttman Community College students receive guidance from all members of the instructional team: faculty, student success advocates, librarians, peer mentors and graduate coordinators. Students benefit from programs and services to support their academic work and personal well-being. Additionally, students can join student government and participate in valuable volunteer community service and career-directed opportunities.

In 2018, Guttman was ranked the #1 community college in New York State by Best Colleges, a nationally recognized publisher of college resources and rankings.  The College was also recognized as the #2 community college in the United States by Wallet Hub, a personal finance website, based on cost and financing (for which Guttman took the #1 spot overall) and education and career outcomes.  In 2019, Guttman was ranked as the best community college in the nation by Niche, which ranks community colleges based on rigorous analysis of academic, financial and student life data from the U.S. Department of Education along with reviews from students and alumni.  With a overall A grade, Guttman outranked 870 national educational institutions, which also made it the top community college in New York State.

Learn more about the Stella and Charles Guttman Community College.