Despite all the talk of tuition hikes and rational plans, the cost of attending a SUNY school could quite possibly remain the same through 2007.
In the latest budget proposal on the table, SUNY is proposing increasing funding for the statewide system in the 2006-2007 school year without increasing tuition.
If it goes through, the money for SUNY schools would go up by $211.3 million, raising the total funding to $2.3 billion, for the next fiscal year. Acting Chancellor John Ryan's proposal also calls for tuition at campuses statewide to remain unchanged for the fall 2006 semester.
The proposal will go before the SUNY Board of Trustees this week for approval, and if it is given the thumbs up, it will go to Gov. George Pataki, who will consider it for his executive budget proposal.
State legislators will then negotiate SUNY funding as part of a state budget due April 1.
According to SUNY spokesperson Dave Henahan, Ryan also supports a "rationalized" tuition plan that is frozen for a student's entire undergraduate education. Such a plan, which originally suggested by former Chancellor Robert King, would have tuition increase moderately every year for incoming students.
"Basically, with the tuition indexing plan, what they do is they use indexing that is based on the consumer price index," said Ann Zagare, project coordinator for Buffalo State's NYPIRG branch. "With this index, it would be an estimated 2.1 to 4.6 (percent increase) each year."
Zagare also said in states that use similar plans, the increases end up being much higher.
"The problem is the expected increase is supposed to be in that range," she said. "When they do increase it, it does not have any guarantees-they may increase it way higher than that percentage."
SUNY officials have largely supported the idea, saying that rising tuition costs would be moderate, consistent, and would allow parents and students to prepare for future college costs because of the predictability of the tuition hikes.
SUNY SA delegate Brittany Shapiro said she believes the indexing plan is plausible.
"It makes the impact less noticeable to students because their tuition is not increasing every year," she said. "The issue is that there must be financial aid to assist the students who have higher tuition."
Henahan said that over time, as tuition reached the limits of the Tuition Assistance Program, additional assistance would become available.
"Tuition assistance would have to be evaluated at the time the tuition plan is adopted. That would be something that (the state) has to address," he said.
Tuition was last raised in 2003, by $950. Zagare said large hikes like that on are very possible when there are no guarantees in the state constitution.
"There are no locks for each year. It wouldn't just be freshmen, it would be everyone paying tuition that would have to pay more," she said.
Zagare said she is also wary of the benefits for students of raised tuition.
"I do not think (tuition hikes) would affect students positively at all," she said.
According to Henahan, the money from tuition hikes would ultimately benefit students.
"Over time the revenue from the increases in tuition would stay on the campus, and the campus could use those funds to hire more tenure-track full-time faculty," he said. "The money is being reinvested at the campus to provide students with an enhanced academic environment and resources."
"The problem is that during periods of tuition not being increased, there are budget difficulties at the state level," he added. "For example, 9-11 and national recession: the state had less resources, the budget was reduced, tuition was increased and we had to pay faculty, heat and light the buildings, plow snow. The new tuition plan avoids episodic increases."
Henahan acknowledged that periodic hikes could not be eliminated.
"In the event of a fiscal crisis, we would still need to pay our faculty, heat the buildings, plow the roads and maintain the buildings."
Zagare also said she wondered what kind of plan SUNY had for limiting the increases.
"When they talk about this plan, it's kind of like they set a floor, but they don't set any ceiling at all."
The average tuition at SUNY, including state and campus fees, is about $5,355, according to the College Board. The national average for public colleges is $5,491.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
