Issues

RATIONAL TUITION

SUNY needs a 5-year tuition plan that is fair, predictable, and responsible

• Fair because it protects access and affordability.
• Predictable because it allows students and families to plan over a 5-year period.
• Responsible because all of it is invested in completion.

Assemblymember Crystal Peoples-Stokes (A.6915-A) and Senator Seward (S. 4709) have introduced legislation which provides for a five year tuition plan

• It allows the SUNY Board of Trustees to set annual tuition provided that it does not rise more than 5.5% a year for each of the next five years.
• The bill also provides for a maintenance of effort provision and a fiduciary account or some other form of “lock box” whereby tuition and fees would be disaggregated from other general funds, and thus, not subject to future sweeps into the general fund.

This bill has strong support

• Governor Cuomo has expressed his steadfast support in press conferences.
• The Student Assembly and the Faculty Senate passed resolutions supporting a rational tuition plan. 
• Many legislators, business leaders, and all major New York State newspapers have lent their support.
• UUP has lent their support.
• New Yorkers agree, with a majority supporting tuition control by the Board of Trustees, according to the latest Siena Poll.

FINANCIAL AID

SUNY is committed to student financial aid

• Recognizing that even modest annual increases will have a financial impact on resident undergraduate students and their families, the SUNY Board of Trustees has asked each State-operated campus to develop a plan that outlines how they will use resources on campus to make available additional financial aid to their lower income students.

Campus plans may include:

• Increasing the availability and opportunities for work-study on campus.
• Increasing co-op opportunities by partnering with local businesses.
• Increasing scholarships from campus foundations, alumni associations and other sources.
• Setting aside a portion of the revenues derived from tuition increases to provide increased financial aid.

The facts about TAP and SUNY

• TAP is an important component of the financial aid package – but its just one piece of a much larger pie.
• More than 60% of all SUNY state-operated undergrads receive no TAP assistance, while only 8% receive the maximum TAP allowance.
• TAP varies between campuses, ranging from 11% to 19% of total financial aid. 
• Scholarships and student campus payroll opportunities, above and beyond work study, at SUNY state-op campuses can be as high as 70% of the total TAP dollars awarded

NYSUNY 2020

SUNY has the potential to be a leading catalyst for economic revitalization in New York State. The NYSUNY 2020 Challenge Grant Program—a joint program between the Governor and SUNY—will be driven by the Regional Economic Development Councils and Empire State Development Corporation to incentivize bottom-up, individualized long-term economic development plans on campuses and surrounding communities. 

Mission of the NYSUNY Challenge Grant

• The NYSUNY 2020 Challenge Grant Program will enhance the academic mission of the qualifying campuses and make these campuses regional economic development generators.

Funding

• There will be $140 million in total capital funding. The Governor will commit $20 million for each qualifying campus, while SUNY will set aside an additional $15 million for each qualifying campus.

Eligibility

• The University Centers—Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo & Stony Brook—will be eligible at first.

Criteria

• University Centers will submit separate comprehensive long-term economic development plans with an academic mission.
• Plans must be approved by the Chancellor of SUNY and the ESDC Board and integrated into relevant Regional Council plans.