SUNY calls for regular tuition increases

DATELINE: ALBANY N.Y.

Tuition would increase by about 4 percent at most State University of New York campuses by the fall of 2008 under a budget proposal released Tuesday.

The SUNY Board of Trustees approved a request for $239.8 million, or 12 percent, more in state spending. The plan totals almost $2.22 billion and includes hiring more full-time faculty and $123 million in new initiatives.

The proposal for the 2007-08 fiscal year has a long way to go. Eliot Spitzer will consider the plan in crafting his first executive budget as governor in January. His proposal will then go to the Legislature, which will seek agreement on a state budget by the April 1 fiscal deadline.

The tuition increase would be part of SUNY's long-proposed "rational tuition plan." That would automatically increase tuition every four years for most students by a "higher education cost index" usually around 4 percent. The index could also be pegged to the general inflation rate or some other barometer of rising costs. The plan is an incentive for students to graduate on time in order to avoid a tuition increase, said SUNY spokesman David Henahan. Programs that take more than four years to complete would be covered by a similar plan.

The intent is to avoid politically unpopular tuition spikes after long years of no increases. The plan could also replace decisions to increase tuition now made by the SUNY board, the governor and the Legislature.

"Indexed tuition hasn't stopped or provided stability for students in other states," said SUNY Stony Brook student John Mascher, a leader in the student-backed New York Public Interest Research Group. He said the index allows states to depend more on family payments and ease up on state funds.

"All indexed tuition can guarantee is that students will pay more every year," said Frank Clark of NYPIRG.

SUNY tuition is now $4,350 a year, but fees push the average to more than $5,000 a year. SUNY serves more than 400,000 students on 64 campuses.

The union that represents most SUNY employees supports the proposal that includes more hiring.

The budget request "is the gift that will keep on giving and growing for all New Yorkers for now and generations to come, since it provides for enrollment growth, new full-time faculty and increased support for SUNY hospitals," said William Scheuerman, president of the United University Professions.

"Our budget request focuses on enhancing the quality education we provide our students, achieving more timely graduations, attracting more students to degrees in high-need areas like engineering and nursing, and in growing SUNY's research enterprise, which leads to job creation and economic development throughout New York state," said SUNY Chancellor John Ryan.

There was no immediate comment from Spitzer.