Presidents support creation of SUNY Investment Fund
State support at Fredonia has dwindled to just 11.9 percent of its current operating budget.The balance of the more than $110 million needed to run the university during the 2014-15 fiscal year is expected to be entirely self-generated, and has resulted in a budget shortfall of 5.5 percent.
That’s just one example to be found among the more than 64 campuses across the State University of New York (SUNY) system, and why system leaders in Albany and on campuses across New York are reaching out to state legislators, encouraging them to increase the amount of state funding.
Leadership from SUNY campuses are calling on legislators to continue their leadership in supporting New York’s public higher education sector by creating a new Investment Fund and extending NYSUNY 2020 — including the successful rational tuition policy — in the 2015-16 New York State Budget.
Since NYSUNY 2020 was first enacted, SUNY campuses have used additional revenue generated by rational tuition to grow and expand student services, including the hiring of 520 new instructional staff, 270 of whom are full-time faculty. In addition, SUNY has implemented 100 new degree programs, reflecting high-demand areas in New York's workforce. SUNY also continues to be a huge economic driver for the state, serving three million New Yorkers every year — including students, faculty, staff, and hundreds of communities. It is an economic powerhouse that generates $21 billion annually for New York.
The key component of SUNY's budget request is an Investment Fund that is designed to enable SUNY to graduate 150,000 students annually by 2020 through the system-wide scale up of evidence-based programs known to support student success, including four-year degree promises across the system modeled after the pioneering Fredonia in Four program. In addition, applied learning, Educational Opportunity Programs (EOP), and expanded advisement services will also be enhanced. SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher outlined this objective in her recent State of the University address.
“We cannot plan the future of our State University on yesterday’s dollars, which is why extending this legislation until 2020 is essential. NYSUNY 2020 is perhaps the smartest, most impactful legislation to support SUNY in history,” said Chancellor Zimpher. “Governor (Andrew) Cuomo and state leaders showed excellent foresight when this bill was enacted, positioning our campuses to drive regional economic development for New York while protecting our students’ investment, taking tuition roulette off the table so that they are able to plan for the full cost of college without the possibility of unexpected tuition spikes.”
To help lead the effort, SUNY has launched a new website, www.suny.edu/invest, which it has supplemented with social media efforts such as the Twitter hashtag, #InvestInSUNY.
