New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo last week filed legislation that would authorize $80 million of Empire State Development Corp. bonding for the State University of New York system and enable SUNY schools to boost tuition rates during the next five years.
The governor’s initiative, called the NYSUNY 2020 Challenge Grant Program, plans to use SUNY’s 64 campuses throughout the state to help drive economic development in those regions.
Along with the $80 million of ESDC borrowing, the administration will allocate $20 million for each qualifying campus and SUNY will direct another $15 million for schools that qualify for the program. Total capital spending is $140 million.
“By offering $140 million in new capital funding to our state’s leading universities, we are building these schools into America’s leading institutions of research and innovation, while also creating jobs for New Yorkers and improving our state’s economic competitiveness,” Cuomo said in a statement.
SUNY schools will submit development proposals. The plans must include new or additional academic missions that involve health care, clean energy, or technology to win grant money.
The bill would allow SUNY schools to increase tuition by up to 5% annually for the next five years.
On top of that, the Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo, and Stony Brook campuses would be able to raise tuition by an additional 3% per year during the next five years, if the governor and the SUNY chancellor approve the school’s grant application.
During the past 20 years, tuition at SUNY campuses has increased by an average 6.7% per year, according to the Cuomo administration. Current annual in-state undergraduate tuition is $4,970 and in-state graduate tuition is $8,370, according to SUNY’s website.
The bill would take effect on July 1 and sunset in five years.
