Newly minted local college graduates take part in the annual Toss Your Caps class photo on May 8, 2015, on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia.

Matt Rourke / AP</s>For families with annual incomes of $125,000 and under, tuition will be free at four-year institutions and community colleges in the City University of New York (CUNY) and State University of New York (SUNY) system, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Saturday. The legislation is the first of its kind passed by any state.

The “Excelsior Scholarship,” as it is officially known, will be phased in over three years — beginning this fall —for new CUNY/SUNY enrollees from households making under $100,000. By 2019, the income ceiling will reach $125,000.

“Today, college is what high school was — it should always be an option even if you can’t afford it,” Cuomo said in a statement on Saturday. “The Excelsior Scholarship will make college accessible to thousands of working and middle class students and shows the difference that government can make. There is no child who will go to sleep tonight and say, I have great dreams, but I don’t believe I’ll be able to get a college education because parents can’t afford it.”

Presented as part of the state’s 2018 fiscal year budget, the program is intended to alleviate the “crushing burden of student debt and [place] more New Yorkers on the path to financial security,” the governor’s office said, and would provide free tuition to around 80 percent of New York families with college-aged children.

Free college: from campaign promise to reality

New York may be the first state in the country to make “free college” a reality, but in February, San Francisco became the first U.S. city to offer all of its residents free tuition for community college. (“Free college” was one of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ rallying cries during his run for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination.)

The concept has become popular in other states, like Oregon, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Minnesota — all of which have instituted programs or passed legislation that would cover tuition fees left over after state and federal aid have been provided. In 2016 alone, 31 proposals that would reduce or eliminate tuition were introduced by lawmakers in 12 states.

State legislators are “paying more attention than ever before” to the movement to provide free and reduced tuition opportunities, notes the National Conference of State Legislatures, which tracks these proposals. Part of this concerted push in statehouses came on the heels of former president Barack Obama’s 2015 America’s College Promise proposal, which would have made two years of community college free for students who maintain their grade point average and stay on track to graduate. Like New York State’s, Obama’s proposal sought to make two years of college as “free and universal” as high school; it would have benefited an estimated 9 million students nationally.

As the fervor for free college spreads, skeptics like Andrew P. Kelly, the director of the Center on Higher Education Reform at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, maintain that the idea will never be more than a “great political talking point.”

“Free college isn’t free, it simply shifts costs from students to taxpayers and caps tuition at zero. That tuition cap limits college spending to whatever the public is willing to invest. But it does not change the cost of college, or what institutions actually spend per student,” Kelly wrote in a 2016 New York Times op-ed. Others argue that free college would only benefit the economic and socially advantaged few who traditionally get to attend college anyway.

Regardless, state legislatures appear willing to stay the course. The passage of New York’s legislation, geared toward the middle-class, could encourage other states to follow suit. Rhode Island was already considering a similar plan, which would fund two years of tuition at state public schools.

By 2020, more than 70 percent of all jobs are expected to require some postsecondary training.</s>For families with annual incomes of $125,000 and under, tuition will be free at four-year institutions and community colleges in the City University of New York (CUNY) and State University of New York (SUNY) system, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Saturday. The legislation is the first of its kind passed by any state.

The “Excelsior Scholarship,” as it is officially known, will be phased in over three years — beginning this fall —for new CUNY/SUNY enrollees from households making under $100,000. By 2019, the income ceiling will reach $125,000.

Those eligible will pay nothing for tuition, which costs $6,470 annually at four-year schools and about $4,350 a year at community colleges. But they will still be on the hook for the cost of fees and room and board if they live on campus. Those other expenses can add up to $14,000 a year.

Students must take 30 credits a year to receive the scholarship. Some lawmakers had spoken out against this requirement, because it excludes students who enroll part time.

In the final proposal, Cuomo said the credit requirement is “flexible” so that any student facing hardship will be able to pause and restart the program, or take fewer credits one semester than another.

After they graduate, students who receive the scholarship must live and work in New York for the same number of years they received funding. If they leave the state, their scholarship will be converted into a loan. This requirement was not included in the governor’s initial proposal.

“Today, college is what high school was — it should always be an option even if you can’t afford it,” Cuomo said in a statement on Saturday. “The Excelsior Scholarship will make college accessible to thousands of working and middle class students and shows the difference that government can make. There is no child who will go to sleep tonight and say, I have great dreams, but I don’t believe I’ll be able to get a college education because parents can’t afford it.”

Presented as part of the state’s 2018 fiscal year budget, the program is intended to alleviate the “crushing burden of student debt and [place] more New Yorkers on the path to financial security,” the governor’s office said, and would provide free tuition to around 80 percent of New York families with college-aged children.

Free college: from campaign promise to reality

New York may be the first state in the country to make “free college” a reality, but in February, San Francisco became the first U.S. city to offer all of its residents free tuition for community college. (“Free college” was one of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ rallying cries during his run for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination.)

The concept has become popular in other states, like Oregon, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Minnesota — all of which have instituted programs or passed legislation that would cover tuition fees left over after state and federal aid have been provided. In 2016 alone, 31 proposals that would reduce or eliminate tuition were introduced by lawmakers in 12 states.

State legislators are “paying more attention than ever before” to the movement to provide free and reduced tuition opportunities, notes the National Conference of State Legislatures, which tracks these proposals. Part of this concerted push in statehouses came on the heels of former president Barack Obama’s 2015 America’s College Promise proposal, which would have made two years of community college free for students who maintain their grade point average and stay on track to graduate. Like New York State’s, Obama’s proposal sought to make two years of college as “free and universal” as high school; it would have benefited an estimated 9 million students nationally.

As the fervor for free college spreads, skeptics like Andrew P. Kelly, the director of the Center on Higher Education Reform at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, maintain that the idea will never be more than a “great political talking point.”

“Free college isn’t free, it simply shifts costs from students to taxpayers and caps tuition at zero. That tuition cap limits college spending to whatever the public is willing to invest. But it does not change the cost of college, or what institutions actually spend per student,” Kelly wrote in a 2016 New York Times op-ed. Others argue that free college would only benefit the economic and socially advantaged few who traditionally get to attend college anyway.

Regardless, state legislatures appear willing to stay the course. The passage of New York’s legislation, geared toward the middle-class, could encourage other states to follow suit. Rhode Island was already considering a similar plan, which would fund two years of tuition at state public schools. Given Cuomo’s success, and backing from big names like Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez, it could pass there too.

By 2020, more than 70 percent of all jobs are expected to require some postsecondary training, leading more states (and mostly blue ones) to prepare to adopt free and reduced tuition programs.</s>New York will be the only state in the country to cover four-year public college tuition for residents after the program was included in the budget package approved Sunday night.

The state's Excelsior Scholarship program will be rolled out in tiers over the next three years, starting with full coverage of four-year college tuition this fall for students whose families make less than $100,000.

The income cap will increase to $110,000 in 2018 and $125,000 in 2019.

"With this budget, New York has the nation's first accessible college program. It's a different model," said Governor Andrew Cuomo Saturday in a statement. "Today, college is what high school was—it should always be an option even if you can't afford it."

According to Cuomo's office, the budget includes a record $7.5 billion for higher education — though that's only a 6.3 percent increase from 2016.

An estimated 80 percent of New York State's families with college-age kids could use the new program.

The Excelsior Scholarship will be included in the state's Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), and students will see that they are eligible when they fill out the forms this spring.

There is no age limit for the program; students must be enrolled full-time with an average of at least 30 credits per year and meet the minimum GPA requirement for their program.

The state is also investing $8 million in electronic books in order to lower costs for students, a spokesperson for Cuomo's office told NBC News.

Free coverage of two-year colleges already exists in Tennessee, Oregon, and Minnesota. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, about a dozen other states have seen legislation proposed that would do the same.

In January, Cuomo paired up with Sen. Bernie Sanders at a press conference to announce plans for the Excelsior Scholarship. Free college was a central element of Sanders' presidential campaign platform.

"Today what Gov. Cuomo is proposing is a revolutionary idea for higher education," said Sanders at the January press conference. "And it's an idea that is going to reverberate not only throughout the state of New York, but throughout this country."

New York is the first state to extend tuition coverage to four-year colleges, and it's done so just one week after Senator Bernie Sanders introduced the College for All Act in an effort to eliminate college tuition—and the crippling debt that so often comes along with it.

"Higher education in America should be a right for all, not a privilege for the few," Sanders said in an April 3rd statement. "If we are to succeed in a highly competitive global economy and have the best-educated workforce in the world, public colleges and universities must become tuition-free for working families and we must substantially reduce student debt."</s>According to Fortune, the Excelsior Scholarship is all part of a new $163 billion state budget that was passed on Sunday. Under this new universal public college tuition plan, students will have waived tuition if their families earn less than $120,000 a year.

New York is the first state in the U.S. to have a type of scholarship program that has no requirements other than residency and income, and no caps on the amount of residents who can receive full tuition, NBC News noted.

“With this budget, New York has the nation’s first accessible college program. It’s a different model,” said Governor Andrew Cuomo Saturday in a statement. “Today, college is what high school was—it should always be an option even if you can’t afford it.”

According to NBC, the rollout will happen in waves over the next three years starting this fall with full coverage for four-year college tuition for students whose families make less than $100,000. In addition, the income cap will increase to $110,000 in 2018 and $125,000 in 2019.

It’s believed that the Excelsior Scholarship could impact almost 80 percent of New York State’s families with college-age kids. Adults who are entering college for the first time are also eligible.

There are restrictions though: Students must be enrolled full-time with an average of at least 30 credits per year and continue to meet the minimum GPA requirement for their program.

The new budget passed also includes other key components such as not imprisoning people younger than 18 with adults.

#BlackGirlMagic: New Jersey Teen Gets Into All 8 Ivy League Schools

BEAUTIFUL NEWS: The Entire Senior Class At This Predominantly Black School Applied To College

Black Quadruplets Offer Colleges Package Deal; Harvard and Yale Are Down</s>Hundreds of thousands of New York residents mulling the idea of going to college at a public university could soon enroll for free, as the state’s lawmakers passed a budget over the weekend that included a program that would allow students from middle- and low-income families to attend college for free.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo confirmed Monday that lawmakers approved the Excelsior Scholarship program that would initially provide tuition-free college at the state’s public colleges and universities to families making up to $100,000 a year.

The program received official approval Sunday evening when the New York Senate passed the 2018 Budget [PDF], a day after the state’s Assembly backed the plan.

Under the program, which was proposed by Gov. Cuomo in 2017, an estimated 940,000 middle-class families and individuals would qualify to attend college tuition-free at all CUNY and SUNY two- and four-year colleges in the State.

The program was created to close the “last mile” of tuition costs for students by covering the price remaining after the state’s Tuition Assistance Program and federal grant funding are deducted.

The Excelsior Scholarship program will be phased in over three years, with New Yorkers making up to $100,000 annual eligible starting this fall. In 2018, the threshold increases to $110,000 annually, and $125,000 annually in 2019.

To be eligible for the program, students must be enrolled full-time and average 30 credits each year, including summer semesters, and maintain a passing grade point average.

Additionally, the program requires students to live and work in New York for the same number of years after graduating that they received the scholarship. For example, if a student participated in the program for four years, they must live and work in the state for four years. Students must still foot the bill for room and board.

In all, the plan is estimated to cost about $163 million each year once fully implemented. According to the Governor’s office, tuition at SUNY and CUNY four-year schools cost roughly $6,400 and $4,300 at community colleges.

In addition to approving the Excelsior Scholarship program, the legislature also agreed to provide $8 million for open educational resources, such as e-books.

While New York is the first state to begin offering free tuition at four-year public colleges and Universities, two states offer similar plans for two-year schools.

In 2014, Tennessee became the first state to offer a program that provides all Tennessee high school graduates the opportunity to receive two years of free tuition to community colleges or technical schools in the state.

The following year Oregon implemented a similar program. Dubbed the Oregon Promise, the plan provides tuition waivers to recent high school graduates who earned at least a 2.5 grade point average and are Oregon residents for at least 12 months, and apply to community college no more than six months after graduation.</s>Albany, N.Y. – New York will be the only state in the county to offer a free four-year college education to qualifying residents.

As part of a budget package approved Sunday night, the Excelsior Scholarship program will be rolled out over the next three years. The program will provide four-year college tuition for students whose families make less than $100,000 per-year, according to an NBC News report.

The threshold for qualification will increase to $110,000 next year and to $125,000 in 2019.

While some states already have grant and scholarship programs, New York is the first to offer such a comprehensive program with no requirements other than residency and income–with no caps on how many residents can get free tuition.

“With this budget, New York has the nation’s first accessible college program. It’s a different model,” said Governor Andrew Cuomo Saturday in a statement. “Today, college is what high school was—it should always be an option even if you can’t afford it.”

Around 80 percent of the state’s estimated 940,000 college-age kids could use the program. Adults entering college for the first time are also eligible.

The program does not address the cost of housing, food and transportation, according to New York Assemblyman Victor M. Pichardo. He said, “This program does nothing to address the needs of countless low-income students and will only end up impacting a small percentage of CUNY students.”

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Oregon, Tennessee and Minnesota currently have programs in place to cover two-year college tuition for qualifying residents.

To qualify for New York residency, an emancipated individual must reside in the state for more than twelve months.

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 Note: By commenting below you agree to abide by the KOBI5.com commenting guidelines. View the KOBI5.com Comment Board Guidelines »</s>NEW YORK — New York is close to giving the final OK to tuition-free college.

Governor Andrew Cuomo has reached agreement with lawmakers on the state budget, and it includes a plan to make tuition free at public colleges for middle class New Yorkers.

The state Assembly and Senate are expected to vote on and approve the budget before Monday.

New York will be the first state in the nation to make tuition free at both two- and four-year public colleges for residents who earn up to a specific income cap, which will be phased in over the first three years.

Starting this fall, undergraduate students who attend a State University of New York or City University of New York school will be eligible for the Excelsior Scholarship if their families earn no more than $100,000 a year. The income cap will lift to $110,000 next year and will reach $125,000 in 2019.

Those eligible will pay nothing for tuition, which costs $6,470 annually at four-year schools and about $4,350 a year at community colleges. But they will still be on the hook for the cost of fees and room and board if they live on campus. Those other expenses can add up to $14,000 a year.

Students must take 30 credits a year to receive the scholarship. Some lawmakers had spoken out against this requirement, because it excludes students who enroll part time.

In the final proposal, Cuomo said the credit requirement is “flexible” so that any student facing hardship will be able to pause and restart the program, or take fewer credits one semester than another.

After they graduate, students who receive the scholarship must live and work in New York for the same number of years they received funding. If they leave the state, their scholarship will be converted into a loan. This requirement was not included in the governor’s initial proposal, which he announced in January.

The governor’s office has estimated the scholarship will cost $163 million in the first year, but some lawmakers say that’s lowballing it. An estimated 200,000 students would be eligible once the program is fully implemented.

The scholarship is structured to fill in the gap after accounting for other federal and state grants. Nearly half of full-time SUNY students, and more than 60% of those at CUNY, already pay nothing for tuition because of need-based federal Pell Grants or New York Tuition Assistance grants. Those students would not be eligible for the Excelsior Scholarship.

SUNY Chairman Carl McCall and Chancellor Nancy Zimpher applauded the budget deal in a statement released by the school, calling the plan “truly ground-breaking.”

But they also said they had “hoped for additional support,” especially for SUNY community colleges, which they expect to have more students because of the scholarship.

Some Republican lawmakers criticized the governor’s proposal during budget negotiations for excluding students at private colleges.

The final budget includes an additional $19 million to create a new financial assistance program for private school students whose families make under the income cap, according to the governor. Those students would get a maximum award of $3,000. Colleges that participate would have to match that funding and agree to not raise the student’s tuition during her enrollment.

Tennessee, Oregon, and the city of San Francisco have recently made tuition free at community colleges for all residents, regardless of income.

But New York will be the first state to make tuition free for some residents at four-year public colleges. Lawmakers in Rhode Island are considering a similar proposal to make two years of public colleges tuition-free.</s>New York will be the first state in the nation to offer free college tuition to middle-class students under the new state budget deal worked out by Governor Andrew Cuomo and lawmakers.

The free tuition will be available for students attending SUNY and CUNY schools. Cuomo said college today is what high school used to be. He said college should be an option for all.

"This will make college accessible, tuition free, for families making up to $125,000," Cuomo said. "That's 80 percent of the families in this state."

Here in Western New York, nearly 69,000 families are eligible.

Students receiving the free tuition will be required to live and work in New York after graduation for the same number of years that they benefited from the tuition grants.

The new state budget also increases tuition aid for private college students.</s>The state budget finally getting approved last night wasn’t the only thing to celebrate. There was also a provision in the final package that should make college much more affordable for many New York families.

The Excelsior Scholarship program will provide free public college tuition for the children of working class and middle class families. It’s expected to be rolled out in stages over the next three years, with the income cap getting progressively higher. This year, the program will be available to families making less that $100,000. That number will be raised to $110,000 in 2018 and $125,000 in 2019.

An estimated 80 percent of New York families with college-age kids should be able to take advantage of the new program which will be included in the state’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form.

If a student receives the scholarship, they’ll have to remain enrolled in college full-time and be required to maintain a minimum GPA.
Starting this spring, the state of New York will offer free four-year public college tuition for residents whose families make less than $100,000, the first state in the country to do so.