This article retrospectively examines the controversy surrounding the City University of New York’s (CUNY’s) Board of Trustees and the New York State Board of Regents’decision to phase out remedial coursework at all of the system’s senior colleges. Pivotal to this discussion are the ways in which this decision, although similar to many such initiatives across the country, places the historical mission of CUNY at odds with its current policy. In the wake of this policy, many students find themselves systematically barred from full participation in postsecondary pursuits, diminishing their hopes of upward mobility in the name of higher standards.
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