NYPIRG's Higher Education Campaign

THE STATE OF THE 2004-2005 HIGHER EDUCATION BUDGET

September 20, 2004 Assembly Fails to Override Gov's Vetoes

The Assembly returned to Albany with the intent to override the Governor’s vetoes to higher education, but they were unable to muster the votes necessary to override the vetoes. To date, the Governor’s vetoes still stand and funding cuts for opportunity programs, community colleges, SUNY, CUNY, and Independent colleges still stand. Click here to view a chart of the vetoed programs.

For NYPIRG’s comments on the Assembly override attempt, click here.

August 20, 2004 Gov Vetoes Higher Ed Funding

Governor Pataki vetoed much of the funding restored by the legislature. The Governor’s vetoes included legislative restorations and increased allocations for the following higher education programs:

Financial Aid Programs

$38,000 in restorations to College Discovery
$548,000 in restorations to SEEK
$730,000 in restorations (fiduciary appropriation) for SEEK
$1.1 million in restorations to HEOP
$820,000 in restorations to EOP
$500,000 in restorations to STEP/C-STEP
$2 million in additions to Aid for Part Time Students (APTS)

Click here to read about these opportunity programs. (pdf)

Community College Operating

$5.4 million additions to CUNY community colleges
$13.8 million in additions to SUNY community colleges

Full-Time Faculty Funding $795,000 for additional CUNY full-time faculty

$2.4 million in additions to SUNY full-time faculty
$1.06 million in additions (fiduciary appropriation) for CUNY full-time faculty

Independent Colleges

$2.2 million in restorations to Bundy Aid

The Governor’s nearly 200 vetoes did not include the legislature’s restoration of the Executive Budget cuts to the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP).

For additional information on the Governor’s vetoes and to read NYPIRG’s comments, click here:

Final budget chart with vetoes
News Release--NYPIRG: GOV VETOED "ACCESS TO COLLEGE"
Opportunity programs fact sheet

August 10, 2004 Legislature Restores, Increases Higher Ed Funding

The Senate and Assembly finally passed a two-house budget that restored funding to financial aid, college, and essential higher education programs slated for cuts by Governor Pataki. Specifically, the Senate and Assembly budget agreement:

Rejected the Governor’s Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) plan and fully funds students’ financial aid at $906.6 million, a $77 million increase from 2003-2004;
Restored full funding for the opportunity programs like HEOP, EOP, SEEK, and College Discovery at a total of $63.7 million;
Restored and increased funding for community colleges at $2,350 per full time equivalent (FTE) or student, a $50 increase per FTE;
Increased funding for SUNY ($50 million) and CUNY ($33.3 million) for operating aid and full time faculty lines;
Restored funding to Bundy Aid for the Independent colleges at $44,250,000; and
Increased Aid for Part-Time Study by $2 million to $16,630,000.

For additional information and to read NYPIRG’s comments on the Senate and Assembly budget agreement, click here.

Budget Chart
Final Budget News Release

January 2004 Gov Makes Higher Ed Recommendations for 2004-2005

In January 2004, Governor George Pataki recommended the following for higher education for the upcoming fiscal year.

No tuition hike at SUNY and CUNY. The Governor’s 2004-05 budget proposal rejects SUNY’s proposal, which called for automatic annual tuition increases, and does not include tuition increases for SUNY and CUNY. This is good news considering last year’s whopping tuition increases.
Restructuring of TAP. The Governor has proposed that the state withhold one-third of all TAP grants and only release those funds when a student graduates. The Governor’s plan will only make it harder for needy students to afford college and will force them to take out loans to fill the gap left in their TAP award under the Governor’s plan.
Cuts to opportunity programs. In his 2004-05 budget proposal, Governor Pataki recommends a five-percent cut to opportunity programs like EOP, HEOP, SEEK, and College Discovery. These highly successful programs provide financial and academic assistance to the state’s neediest students. Before the Governor’s reduction, these programs were already operating on their 1994 budgets.
Cuts to the state’s community colleges. The Governor’s Executive Budget reduces funding for the state’s public community colleges by $115 per student or five percent. The state’s community colleges are economic engines for their surrounding communities and the first step for a future of success for countless of New Yorkers. New York already neglects to pay its state mandated one-third of community college funding and the state’s public community colleges are the third most expensive in the nation. Further cuts will likely force even more of the cost onto the students.
Minimal increases to SUNY and CUNY operating budgets. Governor Pataki’s budget proposal includes small increases for the SUNY and CUNY operating budgets, by about five percent each. These increases do not come close to the state funding SUNY and CUNY need after years of neglect from the state and on top of last year’s 15- and 12-percent respective cuts.
Cuts to Bundy Aid. The Governor’s proposal reduces Bundy Aid or Direct Institutional Aid to the state’s Independent colleges by five percent.

For additional information on the Governor’s Executive Budget proposal, click here:
http://www.nypirg.org/higher_ed/factstap2004.html
Higher Education in New York: The State of the Budget (in dollars).

For more information contact Miriam Kramer

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