While the state of New York’s new “tuition-free college” program may pave the way for similar and broader programs throughout the country, the way the program is structured makes it so that it will benefit the middle class and do nothing for low-income students.
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s office never pretended anything else, announcing over the weekend that the program will “provide tuition-free college to middle class families.”
Nevertheless, advocates and policy experts say the Excelsior Scholarship program — being included in New York state’s fiscal 2018 budget agreement — represents an important first step toward making college more affordable.
The program makes attendance at New York state’s public universities — CUNY and SUNY institutions — tuition free for families that make $125,000 a year or less.
While programs in a number of other states offer “free” community college, Excelsior is considered the first of its kind in that it extends free tuition to four-year universities.
“What’s exciting is that this is a first step — a positive step in the direction of eliminating cost as a barrier to access and success,” said Kevin Stump, the New York-based northeast regional director for Young Invincibles, a nonprofit that focuses on policy issues that affect 18- to 34-year-olds.
However, Stump’s enthusiasm for Excelsior was tempered by the fact that the program functions as a “last-dollar” scholarship program that only covers what New York State Tuition Assistance Program, or TAP, and federal Pell Grants do not cover.
