New York set to become first state to offer free tuition at public four-year colleges

BipolarFuk

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Budget negotiators struck a deal late Friday that could make New York the first state to cover residents’ tuition at public four-year universities.

The $163 billion state budget agreement includes the Excelsior Scholarship, which covers tuition for any New Yorker accepted to one of the state’s community colleges or four-year universities, provided their family earns less than $125,000 a year.

Proposed by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo in January, the scholarship taps into one of the Democratic Party’s most popular ideas and advances a bipartisan movement to lower the cost of college that is taking shape across the country.

“Today, college is what high school was — it should always be an option even if you can’t afford it,” Cuomo said in a statement Saturday. “With this program, every child will have the opportunity that education provides.”

The scholarship program will be phased in over three years, beginning for New Yorkers making up to $100,000 annually in the fall of 2017, increasing to $110,000 in 2018, and reaching $125,000 in 2019. Nearly 1 million families will qualify for the scholarship.

It is a last-dollar program, meaning the state would cover any tuition left over after factoring in federal Pell Grants and New York’s Tuition Assistance Program. Students must be enrolled in college full time and take at least 30 course credits a year, though those facing hardships can pause and restart the program or take fewer credits.

Not much changed from the initial proposal, including the $163 million estimated cost for the first year of the program, though there were some concessions to win over lawmakers. Award recipients attending community college now have to remain in New York for two years after graduation, while those at state universities must stay for four years. Private universities, whose leaders said the plan would undermine their schools, will see an increase in state tuition assistance funding.

The New York State Assembly was to vote on the budget Saturday, with the state Senate slated to do the same in the coming days, according to Cuomo’s office. All told, the budget includes $7.5 billion in support for higher education, a 6.3 percent increase in funding over the prior year.

In-state tuition at community colleges in New York pencils in at $4,350, while tuition at State University of New York schools is $6,470 for residents. The City University of New York schools cost about the same as their state counterparts. State and city university systems were granted permission to raise their tuitions by $200 in the budget agreement.

States across the country and political spectrum are paying greater attention to college costs as more local employers demand some form of postsecondary education. There are at least 85 initiatives at the municipal and state level aiming to cover the cost of tuition at community colleges, according to the Upjohn Institute. Tennessee, Oregon and Minnesota have free community-college programs, with Tennessee’s model lauded as a viable path for reducing higher-education costs.

Momentum for debt-free college has been building for years, but Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Hillary Clinton elevated the issue of college affordability with proposals during the 2016 presidential campaign to make public higher education free for the vast majority of American families.

Sanders, who in January helped Cuomo unveil the scholarship at LaGuardia Community College in Queens, introduced legislation in the U.S. Senate last week to make public colleges and universities tuition-free for families earning less than $125,000.
 

skidadl

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Awesome, now we can make degrees worth even less. Let's devalue he dollar AND education!!!! Weeeeeeee!!!! Free stuff!!
 

BipolarFuk

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Awesome, now we can make degrees worth even less. Let's devalue he dollar AND education!!!! Weeeeeeee!!!! Free stuff!!
This makes zero sense.

Educating more people means education is worth less?

More educated people is a good thing. :dunce
 

boozeman

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This makes zero sense.

Educating more people means education is worth less?

More educated people is a good thing. :dunce
Degrees aren't worth shit anymore. There is a whole entitled generation now that thinks the paper matters.

I am interviewing kids now for the same shit jobs I had to take long ago and some start arguing about starting salary with zero experience because they have the paper.

Companies like mine value experience just as much if not more than some shithead that thinks their University of Phoenix degree matters.
 

skidadl

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This makes zero sense.

Educating more people means education is worth less?

More educated people is a good thing. :dunce
Making education free doesn't make education better. We have so much grade inflation as it is, nevermind the severe abuse of government programs in for profit colleges...

But no, free education doesn't really work on a wide scale for us. Do you think that everything that can be paid for by the government is a good thing?

Education is good, so it is better free...when does it stop? Is there a limit to making all good things free?

I like fried chicken, so make it free.
 

skidadl

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This makes zero sense.

Educating more people means education is worth less?

More educated people is a good thing. :dunce
To answer your question - yes, more education makes it worth less. Look at the MBA, at one time it was a very highly sought after degree but employers. Now everyone has one, so yeah, it is worth less. Ever hear of supply and demand by chance?
 

L.T. Fan

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To answer your question - yes, more education makes it worth less. Look at the MBA, at one time it was a very highly sought after degree but employers. Now everyone has one, so yeah, it is worth less. Ever hear of supply and demand by chance?
It also reinforces another round of students who feel entitled.
 

boozeman

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Education is good, so it is better free...when does it stop? Is there a limit to making all good things free?
Biggest thing is the devastation it would make to our country's order if going to college did not mean you were in debt up to your ass when done.

Ultimately, the money has to float upward.
 

skidadl

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Biggest thing is the devastation it would make to our country's order if going to college did not mean you were in debt up to your ass when done.

Ultimately, the money has to float upward.
The cost of education is pure stupidity, to the point that it isn't worth it. Everything can't be free though.

Thankfully there are some great alternatives out there to greatly reduce the cost.

The whole deal where it is every kid's right to go to a university and party for 6 years while they "find themselves" is only for the elite these days.

My kids are going to junior college. One of my sons got an associates degree for $3700 and not he's a proven student. He can transfer whenever he wants, basically.
 

boozeman

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The cost of education is pure stupidity, to the point that it isn't worth it. Everything can't be free though.

Thankfully there are some great alternatives out there to greatly reduce the cost.

The whole deal where it is every kid's right to go to a university and party for 6 years while they "find themselves" is only for the elite these days.

My kids are going to junior college. One of my sons got an associates degree for $3700 and not he's a proven student. He can transfer whenever he wants, basically.
My 17 year old has his shit together. He wants nothing to do with a four year college. He wants to go out and get real world experience, educate on the side and "find himself" while getting paid at the same time.
 

Smitty

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College isn't education for half the people who go.

Maybe more than half.

It should be free if you are going into science, math or medicine, maybe.
 

boozeman

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College isn't education for half the people who go.

Maybe more than half.

It should be free if you are going into science, math or medicine, maybe.
It is called "Liberal" Arts for a reason.
 

skidadl

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My 17 year old has his shit together. He wants nothing to do with a four year college. He wants to go out and get real world experience, educate on the side and "find himself" while getting paid at the same time.
That's a badass plan. See, people are afraid of this option for some reason. I see absolutely nothing wrong with this idea.
 

boozeman

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That's a badass plan. See, people are afraid of this option for some reason. I see absolutely nothing wrong with this idea.
A lot of people don't understand what companies look for anymore and how the workforce is.

There is still the old idea, you graduate high school, go to college and then just find a good job.

Then these kids do that, then they are bitter because that is simply not the case. Most were also told how fucking awesome they are, so that just makes it worse.

It is a little scary the number of college grads I get resumes from. Tons. Most are underemployed. But the truly sick thing is, they would rather sit on their asses rather than take something "below" what they think they earned by going to school.
 
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A lot of people don't understand what companies look for anymore and how the workforce is.

There is still the old idea, you graduate high school, go to college and then just find a good job.

Then these kids do that, then they are bitter because that is simply not the case. Most were also told how fucking awesome they are, so that just makes it worse.

It is a little scary the number of college grads I get resumes from. Tons. Most are underemployed. But the truly sick thing is, they would rather sit on their asses rather than take something "below" what they think they earned by going to school.
It depends on what type of work they want to do.

In my field, I can't consider you unless you have a state license to work. Can't get that license without a Masters degree. So college is worthwhile for them as I can't hire them without it.

Same for lawyers, doctors, etc.

But that just means kids have to be smart from the start and make big boy decisions instead of going to college to F off for a few years while being "undecided".
 

skidadl

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It depends on what type of work they want to do.

In my field, I can't consider you unless you have a state license to work. Can't get that license without a Masters degree. So college is worthwhile for them as I can't hire them without it.

Same for lawyers, doctors, etc.

But that just means kids have to be smart from the start and make big boy decisions instead of going to college to F off for a few years while being "undecided".
I wish I could find the interview that I saw from a prominent economist that said his kids will take off for a year to pursue art, start a business or something like that before going to college. Starting a business with 25k and failing is more educational than than spending 40k in a year at an expensive university.

I don't think that booze is saying that his kid is gonna skip college entirely or anything. He's just going to work his way up and go to college.

You are right, lots of fields have a career track but many don't. Half of these kids have no idea what they're doing anyway.

My son 18 year told me he was going to major in communications. Not on my dime you aren't.
 

townsend

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College isn't education for half the people who go.

Maybe more than half.

It should be free if you are going into science, math or medicine, maybe.
Actually raw sciences don't necessarily pay all that well either. Especially at the baccalaureate level.
Physics and chemistry have some industrial applications but geology, biology seem to be tied at the hip to academia.

Engineering can be a fruitful profession, but unfortunately it mostly serves the manufacturing industry, which is not a growing industry. One of the reasons I went into biomedical engineering is that it's one of the few engineering professions with a lot of expected growth.

I think states should start offering free education for people willing to commit to 6 years of being a science or math teacher though. That's a program that would yield quick dividends.
 
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I wish I could find the interview that I saw from a prominent economist that said his kids will take off for a year to pursue art, start a business or something like that before going to college. Starting a business with 25k and failing is more educational than than spending 40k in a year at an expensive university.

I don't think that booze is saying that his kid is gonna skip college entirely or anything. He's just going to work his way up and go to college.

You are right, lots of fields have a career track but many don't. Half of these kids have no idea what they're doing anyway.

My son 18 year told me he was going to major in communications. Not on my dime you aren't.
I can't tell you how many people I went to college with who were Criminal Justice majors. It blew my mind. So you pay for a degree that won't land you being a cop, lawyer or judge. What exactly are you going to do with that degree? Prison guard is the only thing that we could come up with.
 

boozeman

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It depends on what type of work they want to do.

In my field, I can't consider you unless you have a state license to work. Can't get that license without a Masters degree. So college is worthwhile for them as I can't hire them without it.

Same for lawyers, doctors, etc.

But that just means kids have to be smart from the start and make big boy decisions instead of going to college to F off for a few years while being "undecided".
Let's be honest. Most kids that go to college go because they think that is what you do.

Focused education is not encouraged.

I think college "advisors" are even more shitty than their equivalents in high school.
 

boozeman

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I can't tell you how many people I went to college with who were Criminal Justice majors. It blew my mind. So you pay for a degree that won't land you being a cop, lawyer or judge. What exactly are you going to do with that degree? Prison guard is the only thing that we could come up with.
Hey, it seemed cool, like CSI.
 
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