There is a good chance that the governor will cut funding for higher education and increase tuition for the State University of New York and City University of New York, said Sean Vormwald, project coordinator for the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) at Syracuse University and the State University of New York College of Environmental Services and Forestry.

He added that these possible cuts in higher education funding could affect financial aid for both private and public colleges. The cuts could also affect the Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) for private colleges, the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) at SUNY, and several other financial assistance programs within the state of New York.

Vormwald cited the last increase in tuition at state universities, in 1995, as evidence that an increase in tuition results in a significant drop in undergraduate enrollment.

Vormwald said after the tuition increase in 1995 undergraduate enrollment at state universities and colleges dropped by 29,000 students.

John View, Director of Financial Aid at ESF, stressed Pataki has yet to propose a plan that would cut funding to higher education and many people are speculating as to the governor’s future plans.

“If the governor, Pataki or whoever it may be, decreases financial aid and or increases the tuition for state schools, students are always going to be affected, especially those from the lower and middle classes,” View said.

Andrew Rush, spokesman for the New York State Division of Budget, said that Pataki has done a great deal to keep education affordable for New Yorkers during his time in office.

“The governor has held the line on SUNY tuition for seven consecutive years, including this year when we are facing one of the biggest fiscal challenges in the history of the state due to 9/11,” Rush said. “From holding the line on tuition to supporting one of the most generous tuition assistance programs in the nation to making multi-billion dollar investments in SUNY and CUNY campuses, no one has done more than Governor Pataki to keep higher education affordable for all New Yorkers.”

Vormwald and others at NYPIRG are not confident that Pataki will continue to hold the line on tuition and financial aid and have issued a report entitled “Shifting the Burden: Shifting the costs of higher education from state government to New York families,” which contains statistics comparing the cost of state universities and colleges in New York to other states.

The report contains several recommendations such as keeping public colleges affordable for everyone and shifting the cost of a higher education from the family back to the state’s general fund.

“We are calling on the legislature to go through the budget and not to cut funding to higher education because it is a good investment for the state,” said Vormwald.

Vormwald fears that if the legislature does not comply with the NYPIRG recommendations many students will not be able to afford to continue with school.

Richard Lee, a freshmen environmental studies major at ESF, said that an increase in tuition or a cut in financial aid would definitely affect him at school but also noted that there could be a positive side to an increase in tuition.

“Hopefully the increased funds will improve the school and not go to profits,” he said.

Published on September 26, 2002 at 12:00 pm