Colleagues,
Many of you have asked how you can connect into the New York State budget process for FY 2021 that is in full gear now and in particular, how you can help our students.
In addition to teams working on advancing several research priorities that fund our centers and other academic enterprises, your personal support is particularly poignant this month for efforts to secure an increase in the state’s Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) which provides financial aid to students from low- and moderate-incomes. More than 650 Clarkson students access this aid that gives them the gateway to launch great careers from the education we provide.
The family income limits have not changed in 20 years and award levels have been adjusted only once (by $165) during that same period. As a consequence, over the past five years, funding for TAP has decreased 13 percent and the number of beneficiaries has declined by 9 percent. This trend will continue until the Legislature acts to expand TAP. See below for proposals that are on the table now.
Now that budget negotiations are in earnest, there is an opportunity to get involved. CICU has created an E-advocacy letter platform, which can be personalized and used by any member of our campus community. If you would like to write you own letter, I’ve attached the list of elected officials for each of our campuses and a URL if you do not know who represents you. I’ve also attached several more background items on TAP to familiarize you with the issues as interested.
If you have any questions about how to lend your voice to this issue or want more background materials, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at kchezum@clarkson.edu or ext. 4483.
Kelly O. Chezum ’04
VP for External Relations
Tuition Assistance Program (TAP)
The Commission for Independent Colleges & Universities is asking for a three-year phase-in to increase the income eligibility to $110,000, increase the maximum award to $6,000, and increase the minimum award to $1,000.
1. TAP is a key source of aid for more than 330,000 New Yorkers at public, private, and proprietary colleges and universities.
2. The program is 50 years old and needs to be modernized.
3. The maximum income threshold has not been increased from $80,000 since 2000, even though average family incomes in New York increased 7% from 2005 to 2017. That means fewer families are eligible for TAP each year.
4. The maximum award amount, $5,165, and minimum award amount, $500, have also been stagnant for many years.
Kelly O. Chezum, MBA '04, DLP
Vice President for Marketing & External Relations
Assistant Secretary of the Board of Trustees
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