ALLEGANY — Private colleges across New York state are calculating their next steps in light of the state’s new Excelsior Scholarship program, which will provide free tuition for low- and middle-income families at public colleges but private college leaders warn could have devastating effects on their institutions.
“The fundamental landscape of higher education in New York state just changed,” said St. Bonaventure University interim President Dr. Andrew Roth. “We’ll have to think about how exactly we respond to do that.”
The plan has been a talking point for leaders of the state’s 150 private colleges since Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced it in January, and is now a reality after its passage with the state budget earlier this month.
Private college presidents, including those of local institutions, say the program could hurt their enrollment by attracting more students to public schools with the promise of free tuition. They saying the narrative from broad free college tuition to a workforce development initiative.
State University of New York Chancellor Nancy Zimpher says the controversy may be overblown, noting that about 85 percent of graduates from the state university system stay in New York after graduation anyway. “It kind of tamps down the drama,” she said.
Even Sanders, who has long advocated addressing the nation’s $1.2 billion student debt problem, acknowledged there are some aspects of New York’s plan he disagrees with. But he gave Cuomo and New York lawmakers credit for being first to tackle it.
“They have paved the way for other states to go forward, for the federal government to go forward to make public colleges and universities tuition free,” the Vermont senator said in an interview with The Associated Press. “I see that as a tremendous achievement, and we look forward to other states following New York.”
Barmak Nassirian, director of federal relations and policy analysis for the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, agreed New York’s program is a strong political move but questioned an execution that “borders on gimmicky.”
He was particularly critical of New York’s “last-dollar” tuition-only setup, which would keep costs relatively low — an estimated $163 million a year — by paying the tuition only after awards from state and federal sources are applied.
Students from families making $50,000 or less wouldn’t benefit because their tuition is already covered by other programs.
“Unfortunately, the neediest are left with nothing but a feel-good message,” Nassirian said.
SUNY’s Zimpher responded that the state’s program extends possibilities to kids on the “edge” of other financial assistance programs who might have never thought college was possible. Other experts have noted that the New York program covers only tuition, with no additional money for other college fees such as room and board and books, which can be substantial. Over the course of four years at a State University of New York college, tuition would make up only about $26,000 of the total $83,000 tab.
Despite such uncertainties, Nassirian also gave credit to Cuomo, who has been mentioned as a possible 2020 presidential candidate, for giving the concept of free college new life.
“The pressure now builds,” he said, “for others in deep blue states to do something.”
The closest currently is Rhode Island, where Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo is pushing to make two years of public college free for residents, regardless of income. Tennessee and Oregon already offer free in-state tuition at community colleges.
Students at the University of Albany, part of the state university system, say that while grateful for New York’s plan, they are wary of its details.
“I hope it works,” said Nicole Pitt, a 21-year-old biology major. “But there’s going to be a lot of fine print, something hidden that’s going to come back and bite the person in the butt later.”
