A Detailed Look at the *Free* NYS Tuition Excelsior Program

The individual must not be the one to choose the value of education, but people as a whole must be responsible in upholding one of the pillars of modern society. A man sitting on Capitol Hill with the monumental accumulation of wealth cannot rightfully decide how our education for this new generation, and for those to come, are valued. These are not opinions, these are truths.

On April 10th, the New York in-state Senate and Assembly passed bill S009-C (And A3009C).  This bill outlined the future budget plan for the State, and enacted one of the first ‘free in-state tuitions in the country. This bill allowed for residents of New York to attend public colleges and universities free of charge under the Excelsior Program.*

As with most good things, it must come at a cost, which warrants the aforementioned astrix. While the prospect of free education is a good thing to all who look at the concept, we here at the Johnny Green, in journalistic standards, must find the balance within such a program. Any attempt to otherwise present an argument that could potentially be beneficial to nearly every student in the building is not something to sugar coat, nor blast to pieces. Admittedly, a recommendation of interviewing key subjects on the political spectrum was thought of taking hold here. It was decided that explaining this issue in a fair and informative manner was objectively more important than political fighting.

In doing so, the stipulations attached to the bill are as follows…

1. You must be a current resident of New York, and must continue to do so for 2-4 years after your graduation.
2. You must be a fulltime student and not fail any of your academics, no private school or university is eligible, and only select ones may apply.
3. Current collegiate level students may apply as long as they’re not graduates.
4. The average household income must not exceed $100,000.
5. In certain cases, your college will not be completely free, but you will be awarded with a larger sum of scholarship money if you apply.
6. You must finish school within the allotted time you were given at the start of your educational program.

These are some of the many, many, many, asterixes attached to the program. The truth we must face ourselves with is that Weedsport is traditionally a lower-middle class community. The median household income is $54,000. Any students from our area would most likely benefit from Excelsior rather than not have access to it. In contrast, families in Skaneateles will have a harder time qualifying as most families there have an average income of $84,000 or more, and the general area and school districts are considerably wealthier. Although there is some hope for people that are going to be barely able to make the cut, the maximum amount will eventually be raised to $125,000 a year family income.

The major concern that was raised in local papers, and even the New York Times, was the low amount of students that might actually be able to qualify. Governor Andrew Cuomo claimed that “Nearly 80%, or 940,000 families can qualify under this bill that are enrolled SUNY and CUNY schools.” While other reports and census data points to only 5% of students already enrolled into the schools may qualify, and the quantitative data to how many people across New York that aren’t currently enrolled has not been seen. In addition, the chairman of SUNY schools Carl McCall recognizes the difficult to graduate with a four year cap, but reportedly says, “It’s hard, but it’s possible.” Leading to this only further raising concerns.

While this is fully agreed upon as a step in the right direction for the prospect of free education, it is decisively not a long term solution. Even Senator Bernard Sanders showed his doubts with the plan, claiming that it did not do enough to encompass all citizens of our state.  

There is hope; while the many doubts that have been shown here, this program will benefit over 1.3 million students over the next year, and help developing communities, low income families, and overall should positively boost the economic potential that New York State potentially has with the amount of higher educated citizens that can create jobs and opportunities without being in debt.

To determine if you potentially qualify for this program, we recommend reading further into the scholarship details on New York’s Government site, or discussing the issues further with the counseling office.