The 410,000 students in the State University of New York system may soon see their tuition bill rise once again - and again.
SUNY delegates approved a proposal Tuesday by a vote of 13-2 authorizing the development of a new tuition plan that may increase SUNY tuition on an annual basis.
"We're looking at modest, annual, predictable tuition increases," said David Henahan, SUNY director of media relations and a spokesman for SUNY Chancellor Robert King. "It would help students and their families better plan for their futures."
This fall, in-state SUNY tuition ballooned to $4,350 per year, an increase of $950 over last year. Any new annual tuition increases would be in addition to the $950 increase and could take place as early as next fall, according to Henahan.
Henahan stressed that Tuesday's vote will not increase tuition. It will instead develop a plan to prevent a tuition spike as dramatic as the one this year. For a tuition increase to take effect, a bill must be passed by the State Legislature and signed by Gov. George Pataki.
Henahan said no specific numbers have been considered, and the increase could affect all types of tuition - graduate or undergraduate. He said the annual increase could be tethered to a cost of living index.
UB President William R. Greiner said he does not think students should have such a large amount of responsibility for filling in New York State's budget gap.
"I don't like how it's all on the students without any heat on the governor," said Greiner.
He said increases like the one SUNY is proposing are inevitable, however, considering the grim prospects of the state's budget.
"It's unrealistic to assume that there won't be any tuition increases," said Greiner. "There ought to be increases every year spread out across all of the relevant parties."
The plan was introduced the day after Thanksgiving and quickly went to vote Tuesday, making many question whether it was meant to fly under the radar.
The New York Public Interest Research Group, along with many students, is strongly opposed to any plan that includes an annual, built-in increase in tuition, especially during a time of record enrolment.
"So many (students) are struggling this year to cover the $950 increase, that it is deplorable to make increases automatic," said Miriam Kramer of NYPIRG, who was in Albany Tuesday to observe the vote and lobby against it.
"SUNY is going straight for the students' pockets," Kramer said.
On its Web site, www.nypirg.org, NYPIRG argues that students have already been emptying their wallets more and more every year.
Since 1995, the site stated, the year of the last tuition increase, mandatory student fees have increased 137 percent at SUNY's four university centers, of which UB is one.
Those opposed to the plan say asking students for more money should be a last resort.
"These are public colleges. They should be funded by the state - not students and their families," said Kramer. "They should ask the state for money, not the students."
SUNY has requested funding from New York State, but there is only so much the state can give, considering an anticipated budget gap of $6 billion next year, according to SUNY's Web site, www.suny.edu.
The revenue from the tuition increase, if an increase happens, would cover "cost pressures resulting from enrollment growth, contractual salary increases, inflation in energy costs and other budget items."
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
