Tuition aid funding to increase
Minimum award in state program to rise from $500 to $1,000
ALBANY — A financial aid program for college students is expected to see increases in funding in the state budget that’s in the final stages of negotations, according to sources familiar with budget negotiations.
The Tuition Assistance Program, which awards financial aid to the neediest college students, is set to see minimum awards increase from $500 to $1,000 under the budget. The program is also expected to see an increase in the eligibility income cap for dependent students — from $80,000 to $125,000, Gov. Kathy Hochul said at a news conference on Monday.
A second program, known as Bundy Aid, has not fared so well. The program offers financial support for students attending independent colleges and universities. It was proposed to decrease by $19 million in Hochul’s executive budget released in January, limiting its use to institutions with endowments less than $750 million. Legislators pushed back on the cuts in one-house budgets, but as a budget deal looms Hochul’s cuts are likely to be included, sources said.
The Tuition Assistance Program, which started 50 years ago, previously covered the entire cost of tuition at State University of New York and City University of New York campuses under the maximum award. The state Senate proposed increasing the maximum from $5,665 to $6,165 — which still falls $905 short of SUNY tuition — but that request measure is not expected to be included in the final budget.
The awards for New Yorkers can be used toward tuition at both public and private colleges and universities within the state.
Assemblywoman Patricia Fahy and state Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky championed the push to amend the tuition assistance, including increasing the income caps for the first time in more than 20 years.
Fahy cheered the increase in maximum qualifying income limits for independent students — who do not have tax dependents — from $10,000 to $30,000.
Blair Horner, executive director of New York Public Interest Research Group, said that cuts to Bundy Aid are a “huge mistake,” especially when some independent and private colleges and universities are “on the ropes financially.”
The College of Saint Rose, which announced their closure in late November, would not have exceeded the $750 million endowment cap for schools receiving Bundy Aid. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, which has an estimated endowment of more than $860 million in 2022, would no longer qualify for Bundy Aid under Hochul’s proposal.
Bundy Aid is often used for scholarship money for low-income New York students attending private colleges, which Fahy fears could take a hit if the
us to start putting controls and guardrails in place for what has historically been a very unregulated program,” Hochul said. “That’s how we ensure that the people who really need it get the best quality care while eliminating the waste, fraud and abuse.”
While the proposal was floated months ago in budget amendments, rallies at the state Capitol on the issue have intensified in recent days as it became apparent some changes are likely to be included in a final deal. People with disabilities and other advocates said they are upset by the opacity of the move, and are now trying to convince lawmakers to resist the changes as they hammer out a budget.
Because the program sprang from disability advocacy, protestors said they see the rollbacks as a return to the days of “institutionalization,” referring to a 20th century model that saw the widespread warehousing of people with disabilities in institutions.
They note the state should have played a more active role in overseeing the program to ensure funding was well-spent.
There are dozens of independent living centers in New York, but 11 of them serve as fiscal intermediaries. If those were to shrink or shut down as a result of the budget changes, around 200 employees — many of them people with disabilities themselves — could stand to lose their jobs, said Lindsay Miller with the New York Association on Independent Living.
“The issues in this program now are a result of the system that the state created, and they currently today have the administrative authority to make changes that would take out some of the bad actors,” Miller said. “And rather than directing the (state) Department of Health to do that, they have decided to completely eradicate all of the providers and just wipe the slate clean and start over. And that’s incredibly frustrating for us.”
Hochul and Budget Director Blake Washington on Monday pointed to a system of long-term care and health insurance companies that have swelled out of control.
Fiscal watchdogs and state officials have said that the program has led to people using popular social media platforms like Tiktok — and more traditional advertising methods like the subway system in New York City — to encourage people to sign up in exchange for easy money.
“People are literally skimming off the top of the program, and these fiscal intermediaries just grew exponentially,” Hochul said.
Which company will presumably gain a contract with New York to operate as the state’s single fiscal intermediary has also been a source of contention. Washington said there has been no decision on which company will be chosen and indicated the vendor would be chosen through a competitive process.
Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie does not dispute the proposed changes to the program Hochul had announced, though he cautioned that the final budget is still in flux with lawmakers.
“Change is difficult,” Heastie said. “But we’re the only state in the country that has hundreds of fiscal intermediaries. We want to make sure that Medicaid dollars get to the people who really need it. And we just think this is a much more efficient and cost-saving way to deliver services to people.”