{"id":2314,"date":"2019-10-28T08:17:56","date_gmt":"2019-10-28T12:17:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nypirg.org\/capitolperspective\/?p=2314"},"modified":"2019-10-28T08:17:56","modified_gmt":"2019-10-28T12:17:56","slug":"public-college-students-paying-billions-more-due-to-tuition-hikes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nypirg.org\/capitolperspective\/public-college-students-paying-billions-more-due-to-tuition-hikes\/","title":{"rendered":"Public College Students Paying Billions More Due to Tuition Hikes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In 2011, Governor Cuomo and the State Legislature passed \u201cSUNY2020,\u201d\na multi-part higher education bill which, among other things, increased tuition\nannually at the State University of New York and the City University of New York.   At the time of first passage, Governor Cuomo\nand state lawmakers promised to use the additional tuition dollars to enhance\nstudent services, including but not limited to; academic mentoring, counseling\nand advising. The tuition dollars were not<\/em>\nintended to backfill budget holes, but rather enhance students\u2019 education. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

An important provision of SUNY2020 was a \u201cmaintenance of\neffort\u201d provision which stipulated that the government would not reduce SUNY\u2019s\nor CUNY\u2019s general operating funds in following budgets. This was to ensure that\nincreased tuition would not be offset by decreased state support.  However, the \u201cmaintenance of effort\u201d\nprovision excluded certain mandatory, predictable cost increases.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result of that loophole, there has been mounting\nlegislative \u2013 and anecdotal evidence \u2013 that the state support for public\ncolleges has been eroding<\/em> and that,\nin fact, tuition increases have been used\nto backfill budget holes<\/em> in college budgets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent years, New York lawmakers have approved\nlegislation \u2013 subsequently vetoed by the governor \u2013 that would have enhanced\nthe pledge to maintain the state\u2019s efforts to provide adequate funding for the\nState University and City University systems. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Had the legislation been approved by the governor,\ninflationary and collective bargaining costs would be covered by the state and\nwould have reduced the need for siphoning away tuition dollars to make up the\ndifference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, the SUNY2020 law mandated that public colleges\npick up the cost of tuition for the poorest students, if state aid did not\ncover that cost.  And that is exactly\nwhat has happened.  The Tuition\nAssistance Program\u2019s (TAP, the state\u2019s biggest financial aid program) maximum\naward is set at $5,165, while tuition at SUNY has increased to more than $7,000\nfor the combined Fall and Spring academic semesters.  That \u201cgap\u201d between maximum TAP award and\ncurrent tuition (roughly $2,000) must be covered by the college, thus\nincreasing its financial stress and also making it more likely that tuition dollars\nare used to cover the difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, there is growing anecdotal evidence that\ncolleges are struggling to cover these additional costs.  From hiring freezes to department reductions,\ncolleges across the state are publicly reporting that they must cutback\ninstructional and student services to balance their budgets.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The erosion of state support and the creation of growing\nfunding gaps is translating into an erosion of student services. Students have\nexperienced firsthand difficulty in getting into the classes they need to\ngraduate, limited services such as library hours, and advisement gaps across\nthe CUNY and SUNY systems. The consequences have been especially troubling for\nstudents interested in graduating on time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, according to a CUNY survey, over one-third<\/em> of CUNY students reported not\nbeing able to register for a course they needed for their major. Of those\nstudents, half<\/em> couldn\u2019t register\nbecause there were not enough seats available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to attending colleges that are increasingly\nstrapped for resources, what is that cost to college students and their\nfamilies?  According to the new analysis,\npublic college students are paying over $2.5 billion more in tuition thanks to\nSUNY2020.  That\u2019s right; students have\nforked over billions to cover rising tuition costs while colleges are\nstruggling to pay their bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what should be done? \nThe responses should come in two ways: Freeze the increases in tuition\ncosts and increase state support.  Governor\nCuomo and the Legislature should make sure that next year\u2019s higher education\nbudget: <\/p>\n\n\n\n