Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposal for free tuition at New York’s state, city and community colleges for families earning $125,000 or less per year prompted applause and apprehension from administration and faculty representatives at two local colleges: SUNY-Old Westbury and Nassau Community College.
“We’re happy [Cuomo] is talking about higher education and how he wants to make it better for students,” said Michael Kinane, assistant to the president for advancement at SUNY-Old Westbury. “But we need to see details about funding before we can make further comment.”
Cuomo has said the free-tuition program, called the Excelsior Scholarship, will cost the state $163 million but has not specified whether the spending will come from a shift in current funds or additional tax revenue.
Dr. W. Hubert Keen, president of Nassau Community College, said the proposal, announced on Jan. 3, is “very favorable to the college but of course most importantly to its students. So many of them would graduate with less debt.”
“Funding is an important point with respect to the governor’s proposal,” he added. “It would ultimately be quite a cost to the state.”
The state currently distributes nearly $1 billion in grants each year through its Tuition Assistance Program, or TAP, Cuomo said in a statement. Under the program, eligible students would still receive TAP and any applicable federal grants. Additional state funds would cover the remaining tuition costs for incoming or existing eligible students, he said.
“We applaud this historic step,” said Frederick E. Kowal, president of United University Professions, the union that represents teachers at SUNY and CUNY colleges. “The governor’s proposal recognizes public higher education as the gateway to the American dream, that a college education is a necessity, and that student debt is a problem that we all must solve. We look forward to working with the governor to ensure that quality public education is available to and affordable for all New Yorkers.”
Michael Lisi, the communications director at United University Professions, qualified the president’s enthusiasm.
“While we applaud the idea, it might take away from money already earmarked for SUNY,” Lisi said. “This could especially have an effect because of increased enrollments due to free tuition.”
The appeal of a tuition-free system could increase the student population by 10 percent by 2019, when the program is completely phased in, Cuomo said. Over the next three years, the program’s family income-cap for eligible students will start at $100,000 in the fall of 2017, increase to $110,000 in 2018, and reach $125,000 in 2019.
SUNY-Old Westbury enrolls 4,125 undergraduate students with an average class size of 22, according to the school’s website. The current in-state tuition is $3,235.
Nassau Community College, in Garden City, enrolls almost 30,000 full- and part-time students. The in-county tuition is $2,434 and the in-state tuition is $4,868, according to the school’s website.
Keen said he will advocate both publicly and privately for the proposal, which Cuomo is seeking to pass as part of a 2017-18 budget due no later than April 1.
“The challenge that the governor faces right now is getting the support of the Legislature,” Keen said.
