New York State fully enacts Excelsior Scholarship

By: Maggie Helenek

Junior Copy Editor

The Excelsior Scholarship budget passed over the weekend of March 30, 2019. This lead to the scholarship being fully approved.

This expanded eligibility based on adjusted gross income from $110,000 in 2018/19 to $125,000 in 2019/20.

Signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo, the program was first enacted in April of 2017. For those eligible, it provided tuition-free college within the State University of New York system.

The program did not cover the cost of room and board, books or transportation.

Dennis Kennedy, Executive Director of Communications and Marketing Community Relations at Hudson Valley Community College, explained how programs such as the Excelsior Scholarship can encourage more people to continue their education.

“A tuition-free education, for those who qualify, is a fantastic opportunity,” Kennedy said. “It raises awareness that college is possible, especially for lower and middle-income families, and it removes the financial barrier to education and burden of college debt for many.”

Nathan Raia, a digital media student agreed.

“In order to pursue a career or get a higher paying job, you need a college education and not everyone who wants that opportunity has the money to put themselves through college,” he said.

According to the State University of New York (SUNY), 55% of resident undergraduate students are attending SUNY and CUNY tuition-free due to the Excelsior Scholarship Program and the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP).

According to the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation (NYS HESC), 366 Hudson Valley Community College students received money from the program in Fall 2018.

This was out of 484 Excelsior Scholarship applicants who indicated that they would be attending the Hudson Valley Community College.

The remaining 118 students were either academically eligible, with another source of tuition funding, or were decertified for the award. Reasons for ineligibility included not being enrolled, not enrolling full-time or not earning the required amount of credits.

To be eligible for The Excelsior Scholarship, applicants had to be New York State residents. This meant they had to live in the state for 12 months prior to the term that the award was being sought for.

After graduation, applicants must continue to live and work in New York for the number of years they received the scholarship. If this requirement doesn’t get fulfilled, applicants are required to pay back a no-interest loan.

Alyssa Concha, a liberal arts major, explained why these were fair requirements.

“I don’t believe that the [eligibility] requirements are too strict because if they were too lenient, then it offers some the chance to take advantage of the scholarship,” Concha said. “I think that a student needs to be able to prove that they can’t attend a college due to their financial state.”

“That seems pretty fair, especially since your going to college for free,” Nicole Sango, a digital media major, agreed.

As stated by Kennedy, the Excelsior Scholarship will certainly help many students at Hudson Valley. However, he also said that the program levels the playing field between two-year and four-year colleges.

“Still, hundreds are already benefiting from the program here at the college,” Kennedy explained.

New York is not the only state that has attempted to make attending college less costly. Tennessee, Arkansas, Indiana and Minnesota have also enacted policies to help students with tuition.

“I believe there are nearly 20 states that offer some form of a tuition-free college program,” Kennedy said. “There are several more in the works.”

“The fact that other states are implementing their own type of free tuition scholarships is a good thing,” said Concha. “I believe that if some states start to offer this scholarship, then other states will follow.”

According to Kennedy, this is a clear sign that college access and limited student debt are critically important for more successful communities and our workforce.