Earlier this month, Governor Cuomo held a news conference with the U.S. Senator from Vermont Bernie Sanders to announce a new initiative: to make public college tuition free for families whose incomes were up to $125,000.

At that time, the governor remarked: “A college education is not a luxury – it is an absolute necessity for any chance at economic mobility.”  He went on to say that “(College) is incredibly expensive.”  Senator Sanders was there, since it was his Presidential campaign that focused national attention on the cost of a college degree and the mounting debt that many students incurred to pay for a college education.

For many New Yorkers, the governor’s proposal was a welcome change.  After all, it was Governor Cuomo’s Administration that had changed New York law to automatically allow annual increases in public college tuition.  During his time as governor, the cost of attending the State University of New York has shot up by 30 percent over five years.

Making public college more affordable is a great idea, not only for educating the next generation of workers, but the next generation of citizens as well.

Last week, the details of the governor’s plan took shape.  The governor proposed a state budget that included funding for his “Excelsior scholarship” – the plan to eliminate tuition costs.  His plan tracks the one unveiled with Senator Sanders.  There appears to be one hitch: the Excelsior scholarship is a “deferred payment” program.  That means that the student receives the benefit of the scholarship after successfully completing 15 credits and earning at least a passing C grade.

The plan proposes that the public college defer billing the student for the tuition, and the college does not receive the scholarship money until after the semester.  If the student fails, the public college receives no income from the scholarship and must charge the student for the cost.

As a result, it is possible that the college’s and the student’s financial exposure may make the program less attractive.  Failing to perform puts the student squarely on the financial hook.  Of course, it is not unreasonable for the public to ask that students perform academically, but in life, stuff happens – parents divorce, deaths and illnesses occur; how will life’s unexpected problems and their impacts on students be addressed?

In addition to the Administration’s scholarship program, the governor’s overall higher education budget was not nearly as generous, and in some ways worse, for students than the status quo.

The governor proposed that operational funding for SUNY be kept at this year’s level.  Since the inflation rate is a bit over 2 percent, the governor is effectively proposing a cut of 2 percent in state funding for SUNY.

The governor also proposed cuts to programs that provide support to college students that come from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds.

And he proposed a tuition increase to those families making over $125,000.  You heard that correctly, the governor’s no tuition plan hikes SUNY tuition – for those whose incomes are greater than $125,000 annually.

Where will the additional revenues generated by the tuition hike go?  There is language in the governor’s budget that directs SUNY to spend new tuition revenue on hiring new faculty and student services.  But there are additional costs, such as the increases in cost due to inflation for example, that are not mandated.  As those costs increase and state supports stagnates, the increases in tuition will be used to fill those budget holes.

In his speech with Senator Sanders, the governor correctly identified a big problem, the skyrocketing cost of attending public college.  But a tuition-free plan is only one part of the necessary responses: the state needs to provide additional resources and it needs to strengthen programs to help the poor and educationally disadvantaged – students who already go to college tuition-free but often cannot afford the life expenses needed to attend college and complete their degree.

Making a big policy splash helps, but the policy details matter more.  The governor’s proposal is only the first step in New York’s several month budgetary dance.  Here’s hoping that the final budget not only lowers tuition, but provides the resources necessary for SUNY to fulfill its educational mission to all students.