Severe cuts to TAP: Started in 1974, the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) provides financial aid to eligible New York State residents, based on a sliding income scale. According to the Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC), in 1999-2000, TAP provided $587 million in grants to more than 257,000 students. The Governor's 2002-2003 Executive Budget slashes TAP funding by $155 million and recommends a 66% cap on the awards. This requires the poorest students to pay at least an additional $1,000, further barring them from accessing an affordable higher education. Moreover, Governor Pataki's proposal, neither increases funding for graduate TAP, a program with abysmally low awards at $75 minimum and $500 maximum, nor does it remove the "upper-cut" reduction in the award for third- and fourth-year students.

Cuts to opportunity programs: Opportunity programs such as EOP, HEOP, SEEK, and CD provide academic and economic support to educationally and economically disadvantaged students. Governor Pataki's 2002-03 budget proposal does not restore last year's "bare-bones" budget cuts of $13.8 million to these programs. Cuts to these programs hurt the poorest students, and decrease access for many populations to New York State's public and independent institutions.

Cuts to childcare: The overwhelming majority of college students with children are women, most of them from minority and socio-economically disadvantaged communities. The Governor's 2002-03 Executive Budget does not restore least year's cuts to childcare at SUNY and CUNY, leaving these programs years behind in funding. Childcare services on college campuses are essential for students who are parents. Lack of or insufficient childcare services only hurt these students, and may cause them to drop out of school.

Insufficient funding for SUNY and CUNY: Governor Pataki's budget does not provide sufficient funds for SUNY and CUNY. This lack of funding to SUNY and CUNY could require cuts to academic programs, full-time faculty lines, and other college essentials, denying CUNY and SUNY students' access to the quality higher education they deserve.

Insufficient funding for community colleges: Governor Pataki's budget keeps state funding for New York's community colleges at $2,250 per FTE or full-time equivalent. This number allows for no increase for the past two years, not even taking into account annual inflation. Moreover, the $2,250 per FTE does not meet the legally mandated one-third of funding, requiring students to pay more than their mandated one-third. In addition, there is no mention in the budget to require local municipalities and governments, such as New York City, to pay their one-third of the operating costs. New York State's community colleges are already the fifth most expensive in the nation. Governor Pataki and the legislature must decrease the burden on community college students by increasing funding for community colleges to meet inflation, and urge local municipalities to pay their share.

Cuts to Direct Institutional Aid (Bundy Aid): Bundy Aid is the name for New York State's Direct Institutional Aid program that was established in 1968 and provides unrestricted payments to New York State's 108 independent colleges and universities each year, based on degrees conferred on students. The 2002-03 Executive Budget does not restore the $3 million cut from last year's budget for Bundy Aid, decreasing monies to scholarships, academic programming, and other services that benefit students at private colleges.

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