It's hard to endorse a tuition increase. But there are no alternatives, at least in the short-term future - tuition hikes in New York are as inevitable as death and taxes. If tuition is going to go up, SUNY Chancellor Robert King's plan for gradual increases is a good way to do it. The plan can only work, however, if Governor George Pataki doesn't cut SUNY funding again; the state increases financial aid; and campuses hold the line on fees.
The plan would increase tuition by $600 next year; each year after that, it would go up according to an index tied to inflation. The proposal protects students from rising tuition costs, to an extent, by setting tuition for each incoming freshman class at that year's tuition level for four years. While tuition costs would steadily rise, incoming students would no longer have to worry about incalculable tuition increases.
UB President John Simpson said the plan would also make UB more flexible, providing steady income outside of state budget constraints, thus making UB more independent from Albany. Right now, the state schools are dependent on the yearly state budget quagmire that leaves SUNY and UB in the dark as to how much support they will receive. Long-term planning, for students and the university as a whole, is almost impossible under these circumstances.
The King proposal is dependent on an understanding that the state legislature will give SUNY a gradually increasing amount of support each year, keeping the schools solvent and preventing them from having to hike tuition further. For the plan as a whole to work, the state must hold up its end of the bargain and keep SUNY sufficiently funded.
King's plan is far better for the state schools than a second plan proposed by Governor Pataki for a one-time $500 increase in tuition, because this plan provides none of the security associated with the King plan.
Increases in financial aid are needed to complement the increases in tuition. Under Governor Pataki's plan, half a student's TAP awards would be withheld until they graduate. Pataki has said this will increase the "performance" of students by encouraging them to graduate; this negative reinforcement is completely off base. In order for students - especially those in need - to cope with these regular tuition increases, programs such as TAP must be increased along the same index that tuition is raised.
Schools should also hold their fees in check, preventing the "back door" tuition hikes in the form of fee increases. During the 1990s at UB, tuition was held constant but fees kept going up, leaving students with bigger bills just like a tuition hike. In 2003 UB students were subject to not only a $950 tuition increase, but in 2004 the comprehensive fee was raised by over $50.
Since it is clear tuition increases cannot be avoided, the plan backed by King and Simpson seems to be a reasonable idea. If a financial aid plan can be put into effect to coincide with the tuition increases, a student should be able to reasonably budget for higher education without the undue financial pressures.
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
