Nearly one million students from middle- and working-class families attending public colleges and universities from Harlem to Hollis in New York state would no longer pay tuition, if an unprecedented scholarship plan proposed Tuesday morning by Gov. Andrew Cuomo makes it through the state legislature.
Cuomo announced the plan at a Tuesday morning press conference alongside Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former NYC mayoral candidate Bill Thompson.
“The American Dream lives in the state of New York and nobody is taking it away,” Cuomo said. “And that’s what this program is about.”
The Governor’s plan — which he’s calling the “Excelsior Scholarship” — would make tuition free at State University of New York (SUNY) campuses, City University of New York (CUNY) campuses (in Harlem)…
The Governor’s plan — which he’s calling the “Excelsior Scholarship” — would make tuition free at State University of New York (SUNY) campuses, City University of New York (CUNY) campuses and two-year community colleges for students whose families earn less than $125,000 per year, Cuomo said Tuesday at LaGuardia Community College in Queens.
Under the plan 940,000 families with college-aged children would qualify to attend public two- and four-year colleges and universities, according to a press release from Cuomo’s office. Currently 80 percent of households in New York State make less than $125,000 per year, according to the press release.
With the national economy in flux, a college education has become more necessary than ever, Cuomo said Tuesday. But paying for such an education has at the same time become much more difficult, due to high tuition costs and lingering student debt, he said.
According to the governor, 70 percent of jobs in New York State require a college education. However, because the average college-educated person graduates with $30,000 in student loan debt, entering the current job market is like “starting a race with an anchor attached to your leg.”
If passed by the state legislature, the Excelsior Scholarship program would be launched this year and would take three years for a full implementation of the program. New Yorkers making up to $100,000 annually would be eligible for the Excelsior Scholarship in the fall of 2017. In 2018 the cutoff would increase to $110,000 and it would reach $125,000 in 2019.
This is a developing story. Refresh the page for updates.
Via source
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