Download: Complete Bulletin. PDF file.

Although community colleges are supposed to receive 40% of their net operating costs from state aid, 33.3% from student tuition revenue, and 26.7% from the local sponsor, the average state support for community colleges, based on the 2005-06 budgeted net costs, was only 29.8%, a slight increase over the 2004-05 share of 29.0%. The state share at individual campuses for 2005-06 ranged from 17.4% to 37.8%.

Community colleges receive most of their state support in the form of Base Aid, which is equal to a flat dollar amount multiplied by the full-time equivalent (FTE) students. In 2003, Base Aid for community colleges was equal to $2,300 per full-time equivalent (FTE). In 2004, Governor Pataki proposed cutting Base Aid from $2,300 to $2,185 per full-time equivalent (FTE), a reduction of $115 per FTE. In the budget that the Legislature adopted in August 2004, the Legislature restored the $115 per FTE cut in Base Aid and added an additional $50 per FTE. Governor Pataki vetoed the $115 per FTE restoration made by the Legislature. However, the $50 per FTE increase was enacted, resulting in a net $65 per FTE reduction in Base Aid from $2,300 to $2,235. In 2005, the Governor and the Legislature agreed to increase Base Aid from $2,235 to $2,350.

For 2006, both SUNY and CUNY have requested a $250 increase in Base Aid for community colleges, from $2,350 to $2,600. This would require a $40.4 million increase in state support for SUNY (based on enrollment of nearly 165,000 full-time equivalent students) and a $17.4 million increase in state support for CUNY. The SUNY budget request also contained a proposal designed to "ensure that community colleges can meet the demand from students and host communities for graduates of nursing, allied health and other resource-intensive technical programs." This proposal would require an additional $3.6 million in state support, which is based upon an additional $200 per student in these programs.

Download: Complete Bulletin. PDF file.