State University of New York Announces Tuition Guarantee

Guarantee to Freeze Freshman Tuition

 

Albany – State University of New York Chancellor Robert L. King today announced a proposal for the first tuition policy in the history of the State University of New York. The tuition policy titled the "SUNY Tuition Guarantee," would, if adopted:

 

• Freeze tuition for all resident undergraduates at the fall 2005 level. This would enable resident undergraduate students and their families to more effectively plan for financing the costs of higher education, and to be insulated from unanticipated tuition increases;

 

• Beginning in fall 2006 and continuing for freshman thereafter, the resident undergraduate tuition rate for incoming freshmen would be the tuition level of the previous year multiplied by the Higher Education Price Index (HEPI), which would then be frozen at that level for the duration of the defined term of their degree program (typically four years, with some exceptions for five-year programs, military call up, other hardships);

 

• Over time, reinvest the new resources generated by incremental annual tuition increases in the recruitment and retention of full time tenure track faculty and other priority needs that enhance academic quality for students;

 

• Help encourage students to graduate in four years, while providing the flexibility to deal with individual circumstances and, importantly;

 

• Provide the University with a predictable source of incremental tuition revenue, while ensuring that State funding is provided for mandatory cost increases (i.e. labor contractual obligations, energy costs, etc.).

 

"In the past, tuition increases, which were brought on by financial crisis beyond the control of the state, have been large and unpredictable," said King. "This tuition policy would help to protect students and families from large, unpredictable increases and would provide sufficient resources for the university to invest in additional full-time faculty and other areas, which will further improve the quality of the education we provide our students and enhance academic excellence across the university."

 

State University of New York at Buffalo President John Barclay Simpson said, "The tuition plan signals a new kind of understanding about the critical place and promise of the future of higher education in New York State. It is both forward-looking and comprehensive; it will benefit our students and their families by providing a measure of cost predictability, and it will better support our universities in providing broad access to an excellent educational experience.

 

"This tuition plan is perhaps most significant, however, in its recognition that strong universities do the cutting-edge research, attract the brilliant human capital, and enact the tech transfer that enables and encourages new economic development and growth. I congratulate Chancellor King and his staff for this plan, and for stimulating a new kind of discussion about how the state and SUNY will balance taxpayer support with tuition rate structures to build and maintain a world-class system of public higher education in New York State."

 

State University of New York College at Purchase President Thomas J. Schwarz said, "To support this plan is to support not only the education of our future students but the economic stability of our future state."

 

State University of New York College of Technology at Delhi President Candace Vancko said, "This tuition proposal addresses one of the biggest financial variables that families face. It is a fair and rational policy that should be well received because it will allow families to more accurately plan and budget what it will cost for their sons and daughters to attend college.

 

"I expect that it will help increase SUNY enrollments and provide campuses with the resources they need to continue to improve quality. At Delhi, it will allow us to invest in new technology for our academic programs and add faculty to support new programs and the enrollment increases we have seen over the last five years."

 

State University of New York College at New Paltz President Steven G. Poskanzer said, "The strength of this proposal is that it addresses two interlocking problems that have bedeviled SUNY and its campuses for years, namely the unpredictability and unfairness of lumpy and scattered tuition increases and several decades of constrained state funding that have not allowed us to address the inevitable rising costs of a top-quality education to students."

 

State University of New York College at Oswego President Deborah F. Stanley said, "Finding the right balance between continued quality and access is a delicate process. We can help students if we adopt a tuition policy that lets them know what they can expect to pay as they start their college years. One way we work toward this stability at our campus is our Oswego Guarantee, which includes a promise to students who enter as freshmen that they will not experience an increase in their room or meal plans for four consecutive years."

 

Professor Joseph Hildreth, president of the State University of New York Faculty Senate said, "Investing in quality higher education at the State University of New York through the addition of full-time faculty is excellent public policy. The tuition freeze and indexing components of the plan would provide students and their families with the ability to better plan for future college costs. I am very pleased to support the chancellor’s excellent proposal, which would maintain access to academic excellence and quality."

 

The tuition proposal also calls for differential tuition at the SUNY University Centers. Under the plan, annual resident undergraduate tuition adjustment at the University Centers may be greater than HEPI to reflect the comparatively higher level of State support dedicated to these campuses, which on average is about three times that of the comprehensive and technology college sectors.

 

The tuition increases for students attending the University Centers would not be greater than 1.5 times HEPI. Over time, the growth in tuition would be capped at 1.5 times the tuition of our comprehensive colleges. This differential would mirror the differences seen in most other states.

 

Apart from the tuition proposal, the Chancellor has recommended a $600 across-the-board tuition increase for all students for the fall of 2005 This increase is necessary to offset the more than $30 million in energy cost increases that University is absorbing in 2004-05, which will recur in 2005-06, as well as other major mandatory recurring cost increases during the past several years, most significantly collective bargaining.

 

These prior-year uncompensated mandatory costs have a recurring annual value of approximately $100 million, which is in addition to the $87 million in State tax dollar funding that the University has requested to support new 2005-06 mandatory cost increases, primarily for contractual salary increases and energy.

 

Managing a funding gap of this magnitude has required the University to work very efficiently, effectively and creatively.

 

However, the continued pressures of mandatory cost increases coupled with unfunded prior year increases suggests that additional revenue is needed just to provide the University with the stable financial foundation necessary to ensure that the commitment to students under the SUNY Tuition Guarantee can be fulfilled.

 

A $600 tuition increase for all students in fall 2005 would ensure that the University’s new Tuition Plan can be implemented effectively.

 

The $600 adjustment would raise resident undergraduate tuition from $4,350 to $4,950. However, under the University’s Plan, an entering freshman would be guaranteed that tuition level for four years. In fact, under the Plan, every full-time student enrolled in fall 2005 would have their tuition rate guaranteed for the remainder of the defined term of their degree program.

 

In addition, the projected 2005 resident undergraduate tuition and average fees of an estimated $5,868 would be lower than the 2004 tuition and fees for New England of $6,839, the Midwest at $6085 and Mid-Atlantic region level of $6,300 as defined by the College Board Annual Survey.

 

Finally, more than two-thirds of TAP recipients would have the tuition increase fully covered.

 

In order for the SUNY Tuition Guarantee to become effective, the Legislature would have to approve the proposal as part of the state’s enacted budget.

 

King added, "I have been discussing the need to move toward a rational tuition policy for more than a year, and will continue that discussion in the upcoming budget cycle."

 

Under the SUNY Tuition Guarantee, the state would fund growth in costs such as salary increases and other mandated costs and energy. This would be balanced by student tuition, which would fund enhancements to academic quality, such as hiring additional full-time tenure-track faculty and other needs such as scholarships, laboratories and enhancements to libraries.

 

The SUNY Tuition Guarantee would provide for certainty in college tuition costs for students and families and predictability of expense for the state. Also, with a defined policy in place, tuition would also be removed from the political process.

 

The State University’s past 10 years have been marked by historic accomplishments. Enrollment has increased by 44,351 students, from 368,459 to an estimated 413,000, or 12 percent; the academic profile of incoming students to the University Centers is now comparable with the top public flagships in California, Michigan, Texas and North Carolina; sponsored research has grown by 89 percent, from $455 million to and estimated $860 million; and, the University is serving more than 1.2 million people who participate in continuing education opportunities.

 

The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive university system in the United States, educating more than 413,000 students in 6,688 degree and certificate programs on 64 campuses.