Governor Cuomo Proposes Extension of NYSUNY 2020 Program

Support for higher education is a key part of the agenda set forth by New York State Governor Andrew M. Cuomo in his 2016 State of the State and Executive Budget Address, delivered January 13.

New York State Governor Andrew M. Cuomo delivers the 2016 State of the State and Executive Budget Address.

Gov. Cuomo called for an extension of the NYSUNY 2020 and NYCUNY 2020 program to keep tuition increases low and predictable while providing additional resources to New York’s public colleges and universities.

“On behalf of Stony Brook University, I am grateful to Governor Cuomo for his leadership and vision in proposing to extend NYSUNY 2020 for five more years,” said Stony Brook University President Samuel L. Stanley Jr., MD.

“This is a solid plan that keeps tuition increases predictable and low, while it provides a sustained revenue resource so we can continue to invest in our students and faculty,” Stanley said.

President Stanley cited recent achievements accomplished at Stony Brook University with NYSUNY 2020 support.

“Thanks to the original NYSUNY 2020 legislation, Stony Brook has met key targets related to our set of goals for the first five years,” President Stanley said. “This includes raising our four-year graduation rate to better than 50 percent; hiring 246 net new faculty, moving our faculty to student ratio from 28:1 to 24:1; and increasing research funding and adding sections and faculty in key courses in an effort to clear obstacles to graduation.”

NYSUNY 2020 and NYCUNY 2020 addressed an unpredictable tuition rollercoaster that prevented students and their families from being able to plan for the full cost of their education and ended the days of drastic tuition spikes upward of 45 percent. After five years of predictable tuition, New York’s public four-year resident rates remain the lowest in the northeast and in the lowest quartile nationally. The Governor now proposes extending the 2011 legislation for an additional five years.

Under Governor Cuomo’s rational tuition proposal, SUNY and CUNY will be able to raise tuition up to $300 annually, provided they are able to demonstrate considerable efforts to reduce spending and that any increase is tied to appropriate inflationary indices.

Additional revenue generated by any tuition increase would need to be put in a “lockbox” to support faculty, improve instruction and provide tuition credits for TAP-eligible students. A $300 annual tuition increase would raise $89 million annually for SUNY and $51 million for CUNY. This program will continue to provide $110 million in new capital matching grant funding through Empire State Development for the NYSUNY 2020 and NYCUNY 2020 Challenge Grant Program and will be coupled with an additional projected increase of $400 million in state funding over the next five years.

Read more:
Governor Cuomo’s 2016 State of the State and Budget Address
President Stanley’s Statement