SUNY needs a tuition hike

Solve this problem: How can New York's public colleges and universities continue to offer a quality education when a lack of funding is causing them to reduce staff, increase class size and delay new initiatives? 

Gov. Kathy Hochul's solution is a tuition increase for students from households earning more than $125,000. If the State Legislature agrees, CUNY and most SUNY schools will likely enact a 3% increase while the system's four university centers — Stony Brook, Albany, Buffalo and Binghamton — would impose a 6% hike. The annual hikes would be authorized for five years. It's tough math but Hochul's answer is correct.

For New Yorkers, SUNY would still be a good deal. A combination of TAP and Pell grants, along with Excelsior scholarships, already cover the full tuition costs of 53% of SUNY students and 80% of CUNY enrollees, and those grants would increase to match any tuition hikes.

The need for more revenue is especially acute for Stony Brook, one of SUNY's two flagship universities. With 24,000 students and a top medical center, it is making solid strides to place in the top tier of the nation's public universities. Currently, tuition at SBU is $7,070 a year. That's less that other top state schools in the Northeast such as Rutgers (where tuition is $12,900), the University of Connecticut ($15,772) and Penn State ($19,286). After five years of increases, SBU would still be among the very lowest at $10,655.

The governor's budget proposal, tied to the inflation rate for higher education, comes after a decade of little increase in state operating aid and a tuition freeze since 2019. As a result, facilities are worn down, laboratories are out of date, and the ranks of professors and administrative staff have shrunk. Most of SBU's buildings were built more than a half-century ago; $1.8 billion in deferred maintenance awaits.

As college enrollments decrease nationwide, attendance at SUNY schools would erode if their programs and campuses start to decline. 

While students are being asked to pay more, so are state taxpayers. Hochul’s budget proposal includes $400 million in new funding for capital projects, $200 million to bolster IT infrastructure and a $500 million pot for matching contributions made to the four university centers. This first-of-its-kind matching grant program can attract more support for the important research being done at Stony Brook from biofuels and batteries to hydrogen fuel and quantum internet technology.

The hikes come at a difficult financial time for many in this unsettled economy. Hochul's proposal has been met with a ferocious pushback from state legislators who not only oppose a hike but unrealistically counter that CUNY and SUNY should be free for all. With this small and predictable tuition increase, these schools can continue to provide an excellent education and ensure that their diplomas remain a valuable credential.