Governor Signs Tuition Choice

Governor George E. Pataki signed legislation creating the College Choice Tuition Savings Plan that will help families save for their children’s college education. Under the program, contributions to a Family Tuition Account of up to $5,000 annually will be exempt from State taxes. Withdrawals from the account, including interest earned on family contributions, also will be exempt from State taxes when used for qualified higher education expenses.

“New York has some of the best public and private colleges in the nation — in fact, SUNY has been consistently rated by Money magazine as an outstanding value,” said the Governor. “This bill will allow more students to take advantage of the fantastic opportunities available to them here in New York, as well as opportunities out-of-state.”

Chancellor John W. Ryan responded to the Governor’s action by saying, “We are extremely pleased with the College Choice Tuition Savings Plan bill signed into law today by Governor George E. Pataki.

“For many more New Yorkers, this plan will help alleviate some of the daunting prospects of meeting the higher educational needs of their children. Certainly all of higher education in the State, including the campuses of SUNY which continue to increase their highly regarded national reputations, will benefit from this legislation.

“But, more importantly, this plan will increase access to higher education for more New Yorkers. As a result, the business community will be supplied with a greater pool of better educated and more highly skilled workers. These new college graduates will become more productive and contributing members of the State’s growing economy. We therefore applaud the Governor, the Legislature and the Comptroller for their sincere and concerted efforts and support in developing this landmark legislation.”

The College Choice program will be administered by the State Comptroller and the Higher Education Services Corporation. Accounts must be opened for at least three years before withdrawals can be made. The maximum $5,000 per year can be deposited into each account which covers one beneficiary, up to a maximum of $100,000 in contributions per beneficiary. Funds in such accounts will not be counted toward family income in the determination of awards under the Tuition Assistance Program and other financial assistance programs.

UUP Pay Bill on Hold?

The State Senate will almost certainly return sometime in September to pass a bill authorizing extension of agency shop for the public employee unions. Agency shop expires Oct. 1, and this is a virtual guarantee of Senate action. However, the Assembly, which has already passed the agency shop bill, has no compelling legislative reason to return, according to SUNY spokesmen.

Whether the Senate will pass a United University Professions “pay” bill, that would implement the state’s collectively negoitated labor agreement with UUP, when it returns for session remains uncertain at this point. If the Senate were to pass such a bill, it would put pressure on the Assembly to return. To date, the Governor’s office has not forwarded the implementation bill to the Legislature, which is necessary in order for either house to act.

Hitchcock Named to Teacher Education Panel

President Hitchcock is one of seven SUNY presidents recently appointed to a 25-member panel formed by the State Education Department that will develop a set of guidelines for institutions with teacher education programs.

An outgrowth of the Regents Task Force on Teaching, the panel includes 25 college presidents in all, representing SUNY, the City University of New York, and the independent colleges. Other SUNY presidents named were Muriel Moore of State College at Buffalo, Lois DeFleur of Binghamton, Christopher Dahl of Geneseo, Roger Bowen of New Paltz, Eudora Pettigrew of Old Westbury, and D. David Conklin of Dutchess Community College.

Budget Adopted by SUNY

The SUNY Board of Trustees Executive Committee adopted a $1.5 billion 1997-98 operating budget plan for the University’s State-operated campus system on Sept. 3. The Trustees also reviewed the $276.3 million State appropriation for SUNY’s community colleges, and the $200 million in capital appropriations. The all-funds budget remains at approximately $4.3 billion.

The plan for the State-operated campuses results from the passage of New York State’s 1997-98 budget and it equals the operating budget requested by the Trustees last fall. It includes an increase of $34.4 million in State tax support for University operations from the 1996-97 fiscal year.

These funds will help cover increases in the cost of library acquisitions, general supplies, contractual services, utilities, equipment and other instruction expenses. Increased tax support, enrollment variations, and reforms designed to allow campuses to retain more of their own locally-generated revenues will cause some changes to the amount allocated to individual campuses from the 1996-97 operating budget levels.

“We are very pleased that the leaders of our State have favorably responded to our budget requests,” said Trustees Chairman Thomas F. Egan. “This increased financial support ensures access, strengthens academic quality and helps move our University into the front ranks of American higher education. The Trustees wish to express their appreciation to Governor Pataki and the Legislature for all their efforts on behalf of the University.”