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New York State Says Students Who Get Tuition-Free College Must Stay in State Afterward
Law states that recipients must live and work in state for several years after graduation
By Leslie Brody / Wall Street Journal
April 10, 2017
A new scholarship that will let many New York students attend state colleges tuition-free has a caveat in the fine print: Recipients must live and work in the state for several years after graduation or pay back the money.
Some advocates for affordable college criticized that requirement in the Excelsior Scholarship, a part of the new $153.1 billion state budget that passed Sunday night for fiscal 2018. They said it might deter some applicants, and could force some recipients to reject job opportunities beyond New York’s borders after graduation.
But supporters said it makes sense to keep scholars in state so they can contribute to the local economy and reward taxpayers’ investment in their skills.
“Why should New Yorkers pay for your college education and then you take off and you move to California?” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday. “The concept of investing in you and your education is that you’re going to stay here and be an asset to the state.”
Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, hailed the scholarship as a first-of-its-kind in the nation and a boon for thousands of working and middle class students. Under the program, students in families making up to $100,000 a year can enroll in the state’s public two-year and four-year colleges tuition-free in fall of 2017. That income cap would phase in to $125,000 in 2019, at a projected cost of $163 million that year.
Many families and advocates have applauded the program, and the governor says 940,000 students would be eligible. But some express concern about the requirement that scholars must live and work in-state after graduation for the same number of years that they received the award, or it converts to a loan.
“Capturing New Yorkers and forcing them to stay in state as they start their careers is not always the best way to grow the economy,” said Sara Goldrick-Rab, a professor of higher-education policy at Temple University in Philadelphia, and a free-college advocate.
She called a grant-turned-loan a “groan” that could saddle some graduates with debts of $25,000 or push them to pick unemployment inside New York rather than jobs elsewhere.
The program says repayment of the loan could be deferred during graduate school, and there could be waivers for debts that would “involve extreme hardship.” But Ms. Goldrick-Rab said that criteria were vague, subjective and an administrative headache.
Deborah Glick, a Democrat who chairs the Assembly’s higher-education committee, said such clawbacks are common, and the vast majority of graduates already remain in state after leaving the City University of New York and State University of New York.
“I always say my role is to assist students in becoming the biggest taxpayers in the state,” she said.
She predicted about 32,000 students a year would take advantage of the Excelsior Scholarship.
The program, which kicks in after students have exhausted other sources of federal and state assistance, requires them to be enrolled full-time, average 30 credits a year and maintain a grade-point average that will lead to a degree.
Some advocates for low-income families said those conditions hurt students who need to work part-time. They also noted that the tuition awards don’t cover books, transportation, housing or other expenses that often make up the bulk of the costs of attending these public colleges.
Patrick Warren, a sophomore at CUNY’s LaGuardia Community College who aims to apply for the scholarship for a four-year school, said the residency requirement was a mixed bag. If he gets a dream job offer in Connecticut, he said, it would be frustrating to turn it down, but “the optimist in me says I’ll find a good job in New York.”
Elsewhere in the education budget, lawmakers increased overall school aid to $25.8 billion, up $1.1 billion from the current year. That includes a $700 million increase in so-called foundation aid, which is allotted by formula based on students’ needs and local communities’ ability to pay.
Advocates for struggling districts said that wasn’t enough, though some expressed relief that the budget didn’t eliminate the foundation aid formula altogether, as some had feared it would.
For high-poverty districts, the budget expands after-school programs, public prekindergarten and community schools, which offer social services and health clinics.
Some charter school boosters welcomed more rental assistance for new and expanding charter schools in New York City.
Write to Leslie Brody at leslie.brody@wsj.com
Law states that recipients must live and work in state for several years after graduation
By Leslie Brody / Wall Street Journal
April 10, 2017
A new scholarship that will let many New York students attend state colleges tuition-free has a caveat in the fine print: Recipients must live and work in the state for several years after graduation or pay back the money.
Some advocates for affordable college criticized that requirement in the Excelsior Scholarship, a part of the new $153.1 billion state budget that passed Sunday night for fiscal 2018. They said it might deter some applicants, and could force some recipients to reject job opportunities beyond New York’s borders after graduation.
But supporters said it makes sense to keep scholars in state so they can contribute to the local economy and reward taxpayers’ investment in their skills.
“Why should New Yorkers pay for your college education and then you take off and you move to California?” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday. “The concept of investing in you and your education is that you’re going to stay here and be an asset to the state.”
Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, hailed the scholarship as a first-of-its-kind in the nation and a boon for thousands of working and middle class students. Under the program, students in families making up to $100,000 a year can enroll in the state’s public two-year and four-year colleges tuition-free in fall of 2017. That income cap would phase in to $125,000 in 2019, at a projected cost of $163 million that year.
Many families and advocates have applauded the program, and the governor says 940,000 students would be eligible. But some express concern about the requirement that scholars must live and work in-state after graduation for the same number of years that they received the award, or it converts to a loan.
“Capturing New Yorkers and forcing them to stay in state as they start their careers is not always the best way to grow the economy,” said Sara Goldrick-Rab, a professor of higher-education policy at Temple University in Philadelphia, and a free-college advocate.
She called a grant-turned-loan a “groan” that could saddle some graduates with debts of $25,000 or push them to pick unemployment inside New York rather than jobs elsewhere.
The program says repayment of the loan could be deferred during graduate school, and there could be waivers for debts that would “involve extreme hardship.” But Ms. Goldrick-Rab said that criteria were vague, subjective and an administrative headache.
Deborah Glick, a Democrat who chairs the Assembly’s higher-education committee, said such clawbacks are common, and the vast majority of graduates already remain in state after leaving the City University of New York and State University of New York.
“I always say my role is to assist students in becoming the biggest taxpayers in the state,” she said.
She predicted about 32,000 students a year would take advantage of the Excelsior Scholarship.
The program, which kicks in after students have exhausted other sources of federal and state assistance, requires them to be enrolled full-time, average 30 credits a year and maintain a grade-point average that will lead to a degree.
Some advocates for low-income families said those conditions hurt students who need to work part-time. They also noted that the tuition awards don’t cover books, transportation, housing or other expenses that often make up the bulk of the costs of attending these public colleges.
Patrick Warren, a sophomore at CUNY’s LaGuardia Community College who aims to apply for the scholarship for a four-year school, said the residency requirement was a mixed bag. If he gets a dream job offer in Connecticut, he said, it would be frustrating to turn it down, but “the optimist in me says I’ll find a good job in New York.”
Elsewhere in the education budget, lawmakers increased overall school aid to $25.8 billion, up $1.1 billion from the current year. That includes a $700 million increase in so-called foundation aid, which is allotted by formula based on students’ needs and local communities’ ability to pay.
Advocates for struggling districts said that wasn’t enough, though some expressed relief that the budget didn’t eliminate the foundation aid formula altogether, as some had feared it would.
For high-poverty districts, the budget expands after-school programs, public prekindergarten and community schools, which offer social services and health clinics.
Some charter school boosters welcomed more rental assistance for new and expanding charter schools in New York City.
Write to Leslie Brody at leslie.brody@wsj.com
