Free tuition plan in place
Students can now apply for funds
Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s free SUNY tuition Internet portal went live Wednesday, with 3,200 students applying for a new scholarship program described as both a bold move and one that may be flawed from the start.
“We’re very excited about the launch of our Excelsior Scholarship application at our public colleges ... we expect it to be a game changer for tens of thousands of students across the state,” said state Budget Director Robert Mujica.
“We actually got it done,” he said. “New York is now the first state in the nation to offer tuition-free college at both two year and four year public colleges. So this year families earning up to $100,000 will qualify for the program. When fully phased in families making up to $125,000 per year will not have to worry about going into debt simply to send their children to college.”
He estimated that 80 percent of families in New York will be eligible for the new program. SUNY officials say they don’t expect the program to cause enrollment problems at colleges, saying that admission standards will remain high at most four-year campuses while community colleges right now have excess capacity to educate more full-time students.
The website promising “the nation’s first tuition-free degree public college plan” features Cuomo’s picture with Catholic Cardinal Timothy Dolan. The photo was taken at a 2015 rally when Cuomo proposed $150 million in tax credits for families paying tuition at parochial and private schools.
The new scholarship program is expected to cost taxpayers $163 million a year, and will cover tuition expenses beyond any TAP tuition aid.
In conference call with reporters, Cuomo aides said they expected interest to grow in the program, since 90,000 students contacted the state Higher Education Services Corp. in advance of the rollout. It is open to fulltime SUNY and CUNY student residents of New York State who meet academic qualifications.
In all, an estimated 160,000 high school seniors are eligible to apply if they choose to attend SUNY or CUNY. The program does not apply to private colleges, prompting some of them to complain that it will end up hurting their financial condition by drawing away applicants.
The plan has also been criticized by some for limiting the scholarships to full-time students with full course loads who graduate on time. Critics say that does not describe the majority of SUNY and CUNY students. Also drawing criticism is a provision to require the scholarship money to be paid back if a student relocates out of state for a period of time after attending college here.
Anyone receiving an Excelsior Scholarship will still be facing costs for campus residential life and books, which at SUNY costs far more than the average $6,470 tuition. SUNY says the typical total cost this year was $20,700 for a student living on campus, and $11,970 for a commuter.
Applications must be submitted online at www.hesc.ny.gov/excelsior through July 21. Income tax return information from 2015 is required along with academic records. For more information, applicants can call 888697-4372 or email questions to scholarships@hesc.ny.gov
Mujica said most students will be notified of their eligibility within a week of applying.
Cuomo proposed the plan after Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders campaigned promising free college tuition in the 2016 presidential primaries campaign. He lost to Hillary Clinton, but she picked up the idea.
Cuomo is preparing to run for a third term in 2018 and is mentioned as a possible candidate for president in 2020.