New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, joined by U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Tuesday proposed to make college tuition-free for middle class families in state colleges.
Under the proposal, more than 940,000 middle class families and individuals making up to $125,000 per year would qualify to attend college tuition-free at all public universities in New York State.
Billed as the first of its kind, New York’s tuition-free college degree program, the Excelsior Scholarship, will help alleviate the crushing burden of student debt while enabling thousands of bright young students to realize their dream of higher education.
“A college education is not a luxury – it is an absolute necessity for any chance at economic mobility, and with these first-in-the-nation Excelsior Scholarships, we’re providing the opportunity for New Yorkers to succeed, no matter what zip code they come from and without the anchor of student debt weighing them down,” the Democratic Governor Cuomo said.
According to Governor’s office, the Excelsior Scholarship program will ensure that students statewide, regardless of their socio-economic status, have the opportunity to receive a quality education and gain the skills they need to succeed in our global economy.
Welcoming the proposal, Senator Bernie Sanders said, “If the United States is to succeed in a highly competitive global economy, we need the best educated workforce in the world. With exploding technology, and with most of the good paying jobs requiring more and more education, we need to make certain that every New Yorker, every Vermonter and every American gets all the education they need regardless of family income. In other words, we must make public colleges and universities tuition free for the middle class and working families of our country.
“That is what Governor Cuomo is fighting for here in New York and it’s something I strongly support. I urge New York legislators to pass this enormously important proposal, and become a model for the rest of the nation.”
Here are some of the details released by the Governor’s office:
“New York’s tuition-free degree program, the Excelsior Scholarship, requires participating students to be enrolled at a SUNY or CUNY two- or four-year college full-time. The initiative will cover middle class families and individuals making up to $125,000 through a supplemental aid program. Currently 80 percent of NY households statewide make $125,000 or less with an estimated 940,000 households having college-aged children that would be eligible for the program. Based on enrollment projections, the plan will cost approximately $163 million per year once fully phased in.
The new initiative will be phased in over three years, beginning for New Yorkers making up to $100,000 annually in the fall of 2017, increasing to $110,000 in 2018, and reaching $125,000 in 2019.
As student debt continues to soar – reaching $1.2 trillion nationwide and surpassing credit card debt, car debt and home equity lines of credit as the second largest source of consumer debt, this program will work to make college affordable for students and families.
The initiative will work by leveraging New York State’s generous aid programs. Currently, the Tuition Assistance Program or TAP provides nearly $1 billion in grants to college students statewide and New York is one of only two states in the nation that offers this type of entitlement. Under the program, eligible students would still receive TAP and any applicable federal grants. Additional state funds would cover the remaining tuition costs for incoming or existing eligible students.”
FEATURED IMAGE : Screenshot/Official video on YouTube
