"In January 2017, then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo stood with Bernie Sanders at CUNY's LaGuardia Community College to announce his plan for free tuition at New York's public colleges, under banners that read "Excelsior Scholarship." His budget director wrote that 900,000 families would qualify for the new program. As a CUNY student and campus organizer at the time, I was excited to think that my classmates would no longer struggle to afford college."
"Students learned the hard way that Cuomo misled New Yorkers about the Excelsior Scholarship. Despite the subway ads claiming "Free College for All," only 5 percent of CUNY students actually received Excelsior, including a lackluster 0.4 percent of community college students, barely helping the students who needed it the most. Its "Super full-time" credit requirement made Excelsior nearly impossible for most students to qualify, with half of all CUNY students working to support themselves and their families while pursuing their studies."
"CUNY students need free tuition. Half of undergraduates come from households with less than $30,000 in annual income, while 60 percent are first generation college students, and more than a third were born overseas. But instead of supporting a stronger future for these New Yorkers, Cuomo systemically underfunded CUNY, starving its 240,000 students at 26 colleges of resources and opportunities."
In January 2017 Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the Excelsior Scholarship for free tuition at New York public colleges and projected 900,000 families would qualify. CUNY tuition rose in fall 2017, the seventh consecutive hike since Cuomo's election. Only 5 percent of CUNY students received Excelsior, and just 0.4 percent of community college students qualified because of a "super full-time" credit rule. Half of CUNY undergraduates work while studying. Half come from households under $30,000, 60 percent are first-generation, and over a third were born overseas. NYSUNY2020 established annual tuition increases and capped TAP payments, leaving students to pay at least $2.5 billion.
Read at City Limits
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