SUNY Chancellor King and Board of Trustees Announce $6.8 Million State Budget Investment in SUNY’s Affordable Excellence in the Capital Region
June 3, 2026
New Funding Maintains Resident Tuition and Broad-Based Fees Freeze for State-operated Campuses as SUNY Expands Initiatives to Support Students on a Path to a College Degree
FY 2027 Enacted Budget for SUNY Brings Four-Year Total Increase to Nearly Half a Billion Dollars Thanks to Governor Hochul and State Legislature
Albany, NY — State University of New York Chancellor John B. King Jr. and the SUNY Board of Trustees today announced the distribution of $54 million in new Direct State Tax Support in the FY 2027 Enacted New York State Budget to State-operated campuses—with $6.8 million allocated to SUNY campuses in the Capital Region—as they affirm the affordability of an excellent education at SUNY. The funding maintains the statewide resident undergraduate tuition freeze even as SUNY expands initiatives to support students on their path to a college degree and strengthens the role SUNY campuses play in driving research, innovation, and economic growth statewide.
The budget was enacted under the leadership of Governor Kathy Hochul with support from Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, and the entire State Legislature. Thanks to the Governor and legislative leadership, in addition to other investments in campus operations and facilities, total Direct State Tax Support has risen by $445 million over the last four years, a time marked by gains in enrollment, rigorous academic experiences, and SUNY research excellence.
“SUNY campuses are engines of opportunity for students and communities across New York, and this year’s state budget strengthens our ability to deliver on SUNY’s mission of affordable excellence,” said SUNY Chancellor King. “Thanks to the leadership of Governor Hochul and the State Legislature, public higher education remains central to a strong and affordable New York. This state investment will help campuses support student success, increase access to high-quality academic programs, grow research and workforce partnerships, and ensure students graduate prepared to thrive in New York’s economy and contribute to civic life.”
The SUNY Board of Trustees said, “This state budget represents a bold affirmation of SUNY’s pivotal role in New York’s future. With this investment, Governor Hochul and the State Legislature are reinforcing their commitment to academic excellence and are expanding the promise of opportunity for every New Yorker while prioritizing affordability. These new resources will fuel innovation, support cutting-edge research, and ensure SUNY remains a powerful engine of workforce development and economic mobility.”
Under today’s Board of Trustees resolution, SUNY will allocate the $54 million to its 29 State-operated campuses, which will be used primarily to replace revenue that would have been generated from a tuition increase. As part of this investment, every University Center will commit to investing in research growth and all other State-operated campuses will invest in additional student services and supports to help all students thrive academically and prepare for rewarding careers.
The SUNY Board of Trustees also affirmed that it will freeze broad-based resident undergraduate fees for the 2026-27 academic year. In addition, with the Governor’s and State Legislature’s support, SUNY will complete the multi-year process of eliminating fees for graduate student workers.
In the Capital Region, SUNY has allocated:
- $5.5 million allocated to The State University of New York at Albany; $39.17 million allocated since FY 2023
- $1.3 million allocated to SUNY Empire State University; $8.54 million allocated since FY2023
The budget builds on three years of investment across the SUNY system, which made it possible for SUNY to allocate recurring funding to State-operated campuses to freeze resident undergraduate tuition and advance:
- General operating support to invest in student success and recruit and retain faculty and staff
- Cutting-edge research
- Paid internship opportunities for undergraduate students
- Student mental health services
- Services for students with disabilities
- Resources to address food insecurity
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, said, “Investments in our SUNY system are an investment into the futures of our young people. As prices rise on everything from gas and groceries to higher education, the Assembly Majority is committed to keeping our great SUNY schools within reach for New Yorks’ students and families. Maintaining the tuition freeze is vital to that mission. The enacted SFY 2026-27 budget ensures that both schools and students have the resources they need to succeed and thrive.”
State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky, Chair of the Higher Education Committee, said, “When I became Chair of the Higher Education Committee in 2019, I vowed to reverse the trend of a $200 increase in tuition every year. Since then, there's hasn't been tuition increases for New York students. The Legislature put $54 million into this year's budget to replace the revenue a tuition hike would have generated. In an affordability crisis, holding the line on tuition is one of the most powerful tools we have. I thank Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins, Speaker Heastie, Chancellor King, and Governor Hochul, for helping to make this a reality.”
State Assemblymember Alicia Hyndman, Chair of the Higher Education Committee, said, “A premier public university system must be defined not only by the caliber of its academics but by the accessibility of its institutions. By securing this critical investment to freeze resident tuition and broad-based fees - and by fulfilling our promise to eliminate fees for our dedicated graduate student workers - the Legislature is unequivocally prioritizing the future of New York’s students. We are dismantling financial barriers and ensuring that SUNY remains a powerful engine of upward mobility, allowing our scholars to focus on academic excellence and innovation rather than the anxiety of rising costs.”
State Assemblymember John T. McDonald III, RPh said, “This $6.8 million investment in Capital Region SUNY campuses reinforces our commitment to ensuring that higher education remains both accessible and affordable. By maintaining the resident tuition freeze while expanding student support services and strengthening academic and research programs, we are helping more students earn a degree and preparing the next generation of skilled professionals. I thank Governor Hochul, Chancellor King, and my colleagues in the Legislature for prioritizing SUNY and making this investment in our region.”
State Assemblymember Gabriella A. Romero said, “I am proud to have passed a State Budget that makes meaningful investments in higher education and expands opportunities for students across the Capital Region. This $6.8 million investment in our local SUNY campuses will help keep a world-class education affordable, strengthen student support services, and ensure more New Yorkers can earn a degree without being priced out of the opportunity. I thank Governor Hochul, Speaker Heastie, and my legislative colleagues for prioritizing SUNY and the students it serves.”
State University of New York at Albany President Havidán Rodríguez said, “New York’s investments in the University at Albany in the FY 2026-27 State Budget will empower our work to support students, conduct research that benefits the public, and serve our community. I am particularly pleased that the state provided historic funding for the New York State Mesonet at UAlbany, a best-in-class statewide early warning weather monitoring network that helps protect the public by predicting dangerous conditions like flash flooding and tracking conditions like unhealthy air from wildfires. I am also grateful that the state provided another year of funding for the Center of Excellence in RNA Research and Therapeutics, which is jointly run by UAlbany and the University of Rochester. This funding will enable the center to continue its critical work leveraging RNA to develop treatments for devastating diseases and training the next generation of workers who will power the growth of New York’s life sciences industry. The state’s continued support that Governor Hochul and the State Legislature have provided for operating aid, capital expenses, and student aid and access programs is essential to maintaining and expanding UAlbany’s impact locally, statewide, and globally.”
SUNY Empire State University President Lisa Vollendorf said, “Thank you to Governor Hochul and the Legislature for their sustained investment in SUNY. As New York’s only online public institution, Empire State University is delivering on the promise of public higher education by serving learners at all stages of life and by driving innovative workforce development solutions. The state’s continued support helps ensure that an Empire education remains affordable and flexible for everyone who dreams the dream of college.”
About the State University of New York
The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY’s 64 colleges and universities. Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers, five hospitals, four medical schools, two dental schools, a law school, the country’s oldest school of maritime, the state's only college of optometry, 12 Educational Opportunity Centers, over 30 ATTAIN digital literacy labs, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.7 million students across its portfolio of credit- and non-credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures system-wide are nearly $1.5 billion in fiscal year 2025, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and annually one in three New Yorkers who earn a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunities, visit suny.edu.
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