Teachers and emergency responders in the tri-state area are getting a treat from the New York Institute of Technology: a discount.
The university announced a new scholarship last week that knocks off up to half of the tuition tab for the children of K-12 teachers, police officers, firefighters and EMT personnel.
The first round of scholarships will be offered this fall for full-time undergraduate students. Qualifying students may also apply to the university for free.
“I commend you on this big initiative,” state Sen. Anna Kaplan (D-Great Neck) said last Thursday morning as the university unveiled the scholarship. “It is a great way to take care of those who take care of us every day.”
The annual mean wage for police and sheriff patrol officers in New York state as of May 2018 was $74,860, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The average for elementary school classroom teachers was $83,010.
“Living on Long Island is very, very tough,” said state Sen. James Gaughran (D-Huntington). “The salary of teachers, police, and first responders often makes it more difficult for them to be able to send their kids to these great colleges, and so that’s why I think this is such a vital new program.”
NYIT, located in Old Westbury, already has tuition discounts for active corrections officers, police officers and sheriffs.
Other scholarships include the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship for low-income students of color and a resident hall grant that provides subsidized room and board for students with financial need.
Almost 98 percent of full-time students attending NYIT for the first time receive financial aid in some form, according to the university.
Tuition for full-time undergraduates is $18,300 per semester.
“We are committed to being one of the most affordable private not-for-profit universities in New York, and to ensuring that the children of those serving our communities are able to become the makers, doers, and innovators of the next generation,” said NYIT President Henry Foley.
