During the latest gathering of the State University of New York (SUNY) Student Assembly in East Syracuse, a tuition hike across the board for students in the SUNY system was endorsed.
The idea for the Rational Tuition Plan (RTP) was born within the Assembly about four years ago at an annual meeting. The plan returned this week to the Assembly, which comprises of a proportional number of representatives from each of the 64 SUNY schools, to be passed.
The student representatives supported the policy to embrace the changing economic times and the imminent forthcoming of tuition increases. The SUNY system has already suffered a $210 million budget slash during the last 18 months.
The RTP will deter what Assembly calls irrational, unpredictable tuition increases that New York State implements every five or six years. It will introduce moderate tuition increases and as a consequence, decrease the chances of an immense and unexpected increase every five years.
"They smack everyone with a hike of as much as 30 percent every five years. Unfortunately, New York State works on a panic mode," said Melody Mercedes, vice president of the SUNY Student Assembly.
There is no denying a tuition increase in the near future, Mercedes said.
"It is because we know a tuition increase is going to happen. We want to implement a predictable tuition increase with a cap," Mercedes said. "We don't want [tuition] to increase, but we don't a choice. But, we can set the terms."
A 4 percent cap will also protect SUNY students from substantial tuition increases. Increases will be between 2.4 percent and 4 percent of total tuition rates.
The RTP calls for a tuition increase that is tied with the Higher Education Price Index (HEPI) rather than comparing the rates with the national Consumer Price Index.
Rates will increase with the HEPI, which allows the university to give students the consistent high-quality education. Mercedes said the additional money will stay on campuses, rather than other state-funded projects.
If the RTP is passed, tuition rates will be removed from the irrational and political constraints the Assembly believes the system resides under.
"A rational tuition plan is a plan that includes a predictable and annual tuition increase tied directly to an inflationary index, not to exceed the 20 year inflationary average," as stated in the resolution passed by the voting body.
At this time, having been passed by the Assembly, the policy will move up the ladder to be approved by the SUNY Board of the Trustees, the New York State Legislature and to Gov. David Paterson to decide the fate of the policy by approximately fall 2009.
"We expect it to pass," Mercedes said. "It was all born here. In other states rational tuition policies have succeeded in being passed."
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
