October 25, 2014
Tuition Free NY: Dispelling Misconceptions and Presenting the Truth
Recently I’ve seen several articles in local newspapers heralding James Skoufis’s Tuition-Free NY as a solution that will pay for students’ college tuition. But many people aren’t aware of all aspects of the bill and upon hearing them are wary of it. So to clear up the misconceptions, here are the facts: any NY student may participate in Tuition-Free NY and have their SUNY or CUNY (only) tuition paid for if they complete 250 hours or 125 hours (as a STEM degree student) of community service every school year. Following graduation, the student must remain in NY for at least five years longer as they must also be employed in NY for a sum total of five years. Overall this program will require increasing taxes about $1.5 billion dollars, and any student that fails to meet the requirements will still owe the tuition amount.
That said, this is a bad plan for the students of NY. Besides the cost to taxpayers, shackling students to NY following graduation is not in their best interests. With the lack of good quality jobs available, what are students supposed to do, remain jobless or work for five years for minimum wage? If anything, this may lead to many students being saddled with loans that they can’t afford. To me, this is irresponsible legislation that would do more harm than good, and if we want to make college more affordable, then we should consider Rich Cocchiara’s student loan tax credit plan as a better alternative.
Matthew Sweet
Cornwall, NY 12518
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