Lessons learned from SUNY budget cuts

The UB 2020 Flexibility and Economic Growth Act came under a lot of fire after being passed by the State Senate over the summer.
The Act was halted by the State Assembly because of the autonomy UB would have in the state's higher education system. The New York State Senate passed the bill two days after a new chancellor was elected, but the bill did not make it through the State Assembly who felt the bill was too focused on UB and not the rest of the state or SUNY.
Now, instead of the bill just affecting UB, it will affect SUNY schools statewide.
Unlike the previous bill, Ryan McPherson, associate vice president for government and community relations, said this one has created a broader coalition with more political power made up mainly of other research universities, like Binghamton and Stony Brook.
"The 2020 bill is expanded in scope and impact," McPherson said.
It is a strategy to gain SUNY's board of trustees' support.
The state is already in support of the new bill; Governor Paterson included the bill in the executive budget for the state.
"This allows us to put forward proposals tied to the budget process," McPherson said.
The 2020 bill creates a rational tuition system, according to McPherson. It gives both differentials and prediction. Students will know their tuition in full for not only the semester, but the following years as well. Tuition will increase a certain amount every year because of rising costs.
Student Association President Ernesto Alvarado believes the gradual increase in tuition is better than increase spikes.
"A $5,000 spike is difficult [financially]. It catches people by surprise and hits them harder," Alvarado said.
Two weeks before winter break, UB's tuition spiked 14 percent, leaving many students in the lurch.
"Obviously, I wish it wouldn't increase at all," Alvarado said.
But financially, it is better to increase the tuition incrementally, according to Alvarado. It will help not only current college students plan their finances, but students in high school as well.
Alvarado also believes that the amount of people coming to UB will decrease if tuition continues to rise.
"They'll look at other ways to continue higher education," Alvarado said. "UB is the biggest SUNY school, so people will continue going here. We'll still see a flow from the New York City area, but a gradual decrease of lower income and out of state [students]. My tuition has gone up a lot higher and I feel the brunt."
But McPherson claims differential tuition is nothing new. Only four states do not allow this type of tuition, and New York State is one of them.
"We are the minority in terms of our state micromanaging," McPherson said.
McPherson does not think that the new tuition will stop students from applying and attending UB or other SUNY schools. The SUNY system is less expensive than any other state. McPherson went on to say that SUNY is competitive in price but not in overall quality, and the bill hopes to change that. Financial aid, however, will be 'high impact, no cost.'
With tuition costs in the hands of SUNY rather than the state, financial aid will not affect taxpayers. According to McPherson, the tuition prices will not strike out the most needy students. Twenty-five percent of tuition will be put back into need-based aid.
But now that the bill has been expanded to all SUNY schools, it allows the freedom to do more things. In UB's case, this will allow for more expansion into the city of Buffalo, rather than just the suburbs.
"Coming from an outsiders perspective, Amherst is a lot more affected than the city itself," McPherson said.
If UB continues with downtown development, it can reconnect the city with Amherst and reinvigorate the downtown area, which will make Buffalo more of a college town.
McPherson said that UB is not the only school that would benefit; the new bill will be applied to all SUNY campuses, such as Buffalo State and Fredonia.
This sounds great, but it still leaves Alvarado slightly skeptical.
"They're doing a great job pushing [UB 2020], but how successful will they be?' Alvarado said.

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