Back in April, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced his proposal for making SUNY and CUNY colleges and universities tuition free for income-eligible students. The program would be put into place gradually over the next three years, starting with the fall semester of the 2017-18 school year. The income cut off is $100,000, and is expected to rise to $125,000 once the program is fully in place by 2019. New York is not the first state to introduce free tuition, but they are the first to offer it for four-year institutes. The idea was first brought up during Bernie Sanders' campaign, and was also mentioned in Hillary Clinton's. Other politicians, like New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, greatly opposed the idea; even United States Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos said that free tuition is never really free, implying that someone has to pay for it.
Along with his announcement came a lot of backlash, mostly from taxpayers as well as private school-goers. Many New Yorkers are upset that they have to "foot the bill" for higher education. It is important to understand everything about the Excelsior Scholarship to understand that although it provides free tuition; there are guidelines to follow and it is far from making college completely free.
The Excelsior Scholarship covers the cost of tuition only. It does not account for the cost of room and board, text books, or living expenses. The University at Albany charges just over $6,600 in tuition (it has since risen by $200 as of Fall 2017). Looking at their tuition and fees page, it can be seen how they can quickly rise. Many students who will qualify for the scholarship already receive the TAP and PELL grant. These grants are typically applied to tuition costs meaning that the amount a student is offered from The Excelsior Scholarship will depend on the remaining balance not covered by the other grants. That doesn't mean that students who do not receive these grants will be ineligible for the Excelsior Scholarship. With the income cutoff starting at $100,000 and expected to rise, it will help the students who are above the income requirements for other grants but still struggle to pay for school.
There is some concern from private schools that the Excelsior Scholarship with negatively impact private schools. However, private schools tend to offer better financial aid packages to students and the reasons students choose private institutes over public still remain. Whether or not the free tuition program will directly impact enrollment rates in private universities is still unclear. For those who are concerned with taxpayer dollars being spent on free tuition, as noted in this New York Times article, New York has spent more taxpayer dollars funding private colleges than any other state besides Texas.
The Excelsior Scholarship isn't just given to every college student who falls within the income guidelines. There are other guidelines a student must meet. Students must be enrolled in school full time. It has also been mentioned that students will need to maintain a certain grade point average, although the exact number is still unclear. Students who receive the Excelsior Scholarship will also be required to live and work in the state of New York for the same amount of time that they received the scholarship. If a student leaves the state before their time is up, the money given to them turns into loans that they must pay back.
Despite a lot of backlash, news reports state that over 60% of Americans are in favor of free tuition.
