2008 Woodie Awards
School, Spitzer to address budget
Joanna Knight
Issue date: 9/28/07 Section: News
Originally published: 9/27/07 at 6:36 PM EST
Last update: 9/27/07 at 6:35 PM EST
- Page 1 of 1
With the New York state budget facing a probable $3.6 billion deficit next year, a tuition increase at Plattsburgh State seems inevitable, Provost Robert Golden said.
"There has not been a tuition increase since 2003," Golden said. "Without a large infusion of state aid - which seems unlikely - tuition will probably see an increase in 2008."
SUNY Business Officer's Association member and PSUC Internal Control Officer John Homburger said the business officers have submitted a proposal to Governor Eliot Spitzer's Higher Education Commission to address the tuition issue on a SUNY-wide basis.
The proposal outlines what Homburger calls a "predictable tuition policy, under which tuition would increase at a very specific rate each year." He said the proposal has also been "vetted and edited" by individuals outside of the Business Officers Association.
Extreme hikes in college and university tuitions have become a problem nationwide. A study by the College Board last year found that the average cost of tuition at public, four-year colleges has increased by 35 percent since 2001, bringing the average tuition at such institutions to $5,836 for the 2006-07 school year.
A predictable tuition percentage increase, adjusting with inflation, would give parents and students the financial advantage of being able to better anticipate education costs and plan accordingly, Homburger said.
The rate of increase would be the same at all SUNY institutions but the cost of attendance at some SUNY schools would still be higher than the cost of attendance at others because of sector differentiation.
Homburger said implementation of the predictable tuition policy would mean the budget could be managed so any increases in tuition would be used to "add quality-type things to campus, to strengthen programs and add more full-time faculty." State support would then be used to cover costs like increased utilities and salary increases.
"[ I am] hoping that Spitzer's support for SUNY would also be shown in capital funds such as critical maintenance funds and funds to rehabilitate buildings," Homburger said.
PSUC is in the midst of implementing several such projects. Work will begin on a new science lab in June 2008. The college is close to hiring an architect for the renovation of Hudson Hall.
The renovation is expected to displace about 40 faculty and staff who have their offices in the building. The college plans to create a flexible space in Ward Hall to house the offices of those faculty and staff members.
The 2007-08 budget also provides money for new drug and alcohol initiatives, on which the college will work with the mayor's office on issues which affect Plattsburgh as well as the college.
Ultimately, Homburger hopes to a see an arrangement in which "tuition money is used to enhance the quality of the SUNY system rather than cover utilities like heat and light."
"There has not been a tuition increase since 2003," Golden said. "Without a large infusion of state aid - which seems unlikely - tuition will probably see an increase in 2008."
SUNY Business Officer's Association member and PSUC Internal Control Officer John Homburger said the business officers have submitted a proposal to Governor Eliot Spitzer's Higher Education Commission to address the tuition issue on a SUNY-wide basis.
The proposal outlines what Homburger calls a "predictable tuition policy, under which tuition would increase at a very specific rate each year." He said the proposal has also been "vetted and edited" by individuals outside of the Business Officers Association.
Extreme hikes in college and university tuitions have become a problem nationwide. A study by the College Board last year found that the average cost of tuition at public, four-year colleges has increased by 35 percent since 2001, bringing the average tuition at such institutions to $5,836 for the 2006-07 school year.
A predictable tuition percentage increase, adjusting with inflation, would give parents and students the financial advantage of being able to better anticipate education costs and plan accordingly, Homburger said.
The rate of increase would be the same at all SUNY institutions but the cost of attendance at some SUNY schools would still be higher than the cost of attendance at others because of sector differentiation.
Homburger said implementation of the predictable tuition policy would mean the budget could be managed so any increases in tuition would be used to "add quality-type things to campus, to strengthen programs and add more full-time faculty." State support would then be used to cover costs like increased utilities and salary increases.
"[ I am] hoping that Spitzer's support for SUNY would also be shown in capital funds such as critical maintenance funds and funds to rehabilitate buildings," Homburger said.
PSUC is in the midst of implementing several such projects. Work will begin on a new science lab in June 2008. The college is close to hiring an architect for the renovation of Hudson Hall.
The renovation is expected to displace about 40 faculty and staff who have their offices in the building. The college plans to create a flexible space in Ward Hall to house the offices of those faculty and staff members.
The 2007-08 budget also provides money for new drug and alcohol initiatives, on which the college will work with the mayor's office on issues which affect Plattsburgh as well as the college.
Ultimately, Homburger hopes to a see an arrangement in which "tuition money is used to enhance the quality of the SUNY system rather than cover utilities like heat and light."
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