Ualbany tuition hikes aren’t necessary

I am a University at Albany faculty member active in my union, and let me tell you, if you are over 35 and went to college at SUNY, the economics of your higher education experience is dramatically different compared to that of today’s students.

Endless tuition hikes have meant that the average SUNY student who graduates with debt leaves with a debt of more than $26,000. Students come to class tired, having spent hours at work with only barely enough time for the education they are paying so dearly for.

Despite the struggles that students face, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s recent budget proposal included the option to increase tuition 30 percent over five years at SUNY university centers (including Ualbany). SUNY is supposed to be that ladder that reaches everybody, but tuition hikes take that ladder away from those who need it the most.

None of which is to say SUNY doesn’t need money. We need a distressed campus fund that will get the 19 SUNY campuses facing significant deficits, Ualbany among them, out of the red. We also need to keep building on Hochul’s increases in direct state support for the SUNY system. This will help our campuses recover from 10 years of former Gov. Andrew Cuomoimposed austerity.

But tuition hikes aren’t necessary to fund any of this — the state has an $8.7 billion budget surplus this year. If Hochul won’t use our generous surplus to fund SUNY, then Assemblymembers Pat Fahy and John Mcdonald and Sen. Neil Breslin must make it happen through the state budget.

David A. Banks

Troy The writer is a United University Professions officer for contingent

faculty.