When out-of-state residents attend SUNY schools, they pay a higher tuition ”“ but the difference does not remain with the school they attend.
Rather, that difference goes into the state coffers. Researchers at the Rockefeller Institute of New York speculate reversing the policy may bring relief to SUNY school finances across the state. ?Craig W. Abbey, assistant vice president for academic planning and budget at SUNY Buffalo, and Allison Armor-Garb, chief of staff to the state commissioner of education, prepared the 26-page report titled “Higher Education-Nonresident Tuition and Fees at SUNY: Rates, Policies and Consequences” released by the Rockefeller Institute on Feb. 22.
New York ranks sixth in the nation for non-resident students, with 8.8 percent of the SUNY population coming from other states or countries, doubling the number of students enrolled since 1998.
According to the research report, New York law pertaining to SUNY tuition is unusual in that it is required to set a single tuition rate for all nonresident bachelor”™s degree students, regardless of the type of institution they attend or its location. Researchers say that, on average, doctoral institutions nationwide charged undergraduate an average of approximately $6,500 more than those offering only bachelor”™s degrees. In New York, this difference was just $102.
The report questions if New York is subsidizing nonresident students. “One way of addressing that is to look at the average state support per student and compare that to the difference between non-resident and resident tuition. If the difference between non-president and resident tuition is less than the state support per student, it”™s likely a subsidy exists,” say Abbey and Armour-Gard.
According to the report, nonresidents are not moving to upstate New York and Long Island fast enough to make up for the out-migration of young workers.
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Indicators point to nonresident graduates creating increased competition for a limited number of jobs, making existing residents worse off in terms of employment.
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Using data obtained from the Federal Reserve, which conducted a report in 2005 comparing the 1990 and 2000 Census figures, it showed upstate New York”™s population in the 25-34 age cohort dropped by more than 272,000 residents, or 24 percent.
The Federal Reserve report continued, “As baby-boomers reach retirement age, the trend will tend to reduce the availability of labor ”“ especially in high-skill occupations ”“ as fewer workers will be on hand to replace retirees,” pointing to New York”™s lost ground due to low rates of in-migration. “If upstate were a state (with upstate defined as being north and west of Westchester, Putnam and Rockland counties), its net outflow of college-educated workers reflects a lack of ”˜brain gain”™ rather than usually large ”˜brain drain.”™”
Rockefeller Institute researchers recommended the state university system re-examine its tuition policies and perform campus-specific analyses to get a better estimation of the impact an increase would have. Abbey and Armour-Garb say if state leaders want to maximize revenue from nonresident tuition, “SUNY would need to take market forces into account in setting rates,” a step currently prohibited, and would need amending by the state Legislature.
“Since SUNY currently sets a single nonresident tuition price for all campuses, it cannot maximize revenue,” the report concluded. “Tuition increases disproportionately impact some campuses, making it difficult to aid campuses that could charge higher rates without harming other campuses.
“In fact,” the report adds, “some campuses might find that charging a lower rate might maximize revenue. This was the case for the technology colleges when a lower associate”™s degree rate was approved for the 1997-1998 revenue year.”
Changing the financial structure for out-of-state students may bring better balance to schools and make attractive the less popular SUNY schools that offer the same programs at a less expensive out-of-state tuition rate. Since schools generate income for the towns and regions where they are located, it could potentially be a win-win for all SUNY colleges, bringing needed revenue and business to less fortunate areas of the state and helping “in-demand” schools keep up with costs.