The State University of New York (SUNY) Board of Trustees took unprecedented action last week when they approved tuition increases before getting the go-ahead from the state Legislature.
???The board decided on a $620 tuition hike for all in-state students. The increase would begin with a $310 increase in the spring semester, as well as introducing a rational tuition policy that would bring smaller, annual increases based on an inflation index.
???Out-of-state tuition will jump $2,260 annually with a $1,130 increase beginning in the spring.
???The board normally proposes a tuition increase, the last of which took place in 2002, to the Legislature for approval. SUNY has the authority to set the tuition rate, but state lawmakers decide who spends it.
???SUNY officials want to see the money go directly back to the campuses, a demand that goes in stark contrast to Gov. David A. Paterson's budget proposal two weeks ago.
???In an effort to slash $2 billion off the state's budget deficit by the end of this fiscal year and get started on next year's projected $12.5 billion debt, Paterson asked for a similar $600 tuition hike on student's bills.
???Only, under Paterson's plan 90 percent of the money would go back to the state rather than to the campuses.
???However, if the Legislature sides with SUNY and funnels the money back to the schools, Paterson will be left looking for a different avenue to get those funds. That might mean more cuts in the school's budget.
???"There has already been 10 percent cut that we are in the process of absorbing," President John B. Simpson said in a Nov. 13 interview. "What the governor is doing is proposing a tuition increase instead of cutting the SUNY budget yet again."
???For now, the money, which is set to be collected regardless of where it goes, will be in limbo until the legislature decides on a side or comes up with a compromise.
???The governor is set to release another budget proposal on Dec. 16, and has the ability to call a special session of the Legislature before its next scheduled meeting in January, according to David Henahan from the SUNY Office of Public Relations.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
