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Take Action on the SUNY, CUNY and Community Colleges Higher Education Budget

Level of Government: State

As an educator and constituent, I am writing for your support for public higher education. I applaud both the Senate and Assembly for restoring funding for public higher education in their respective one-house budget proposals. I also support the call for public education to be held harmless from funding reductions in this year's state budget. Moreover, I strongly believe that K-12 and higher education are so intrinsically linked that they should not be looked at separately; rather, it is important for the state to view public education as a K-18 program. To that end, I urge you to hold the line on your one-house budget proposal and to hold public higher education harmless from funding cuts in the 2008-09 enacted state budget.

The New York State Commission on Higher Education recently reported that public higher education in New York has suffered from severe under-funding, and now lags behind many comparable state university systems. As the Commission's report points out, "measured on a revenue-per-student basis, public peer institutions have 17 percent to 120 percent more resources than SUNY or CUNY." In fact, over the past two decades, New York State cut funding for public higher education by 28 percent - the largest decrease of any of the 50 states (source: Economic Policy Institute). As a result of this decreased funding, our public institutions have lost thousands of full-time faculty and professional staff; students have endured increasing class sizes and student access has been limited.

There is no doubt that the loss of full-time faculty and professional staff and the over-reliance on part-time faculty and staff has had an adverse impact on the quality of a SUNY, CUNY and community college education. And with enrollments steadily rising, due in large part to today's increasing necessity for a higher education, now is not the time to cut funding these institutions. In the fall of 2007, SUNY admitted its largest freshman class ever, totaling 73,302 students. Enrollment at CUNY is now at its highest level in 35 years. Large class sizes at both these institutions have a negative effect on quality. With further cuts in funding, SUNY, CUNY and the community colleges would not be able to address enrollment growth and full-time faculty needs.

Other state university systems have made full-time faculty a priority. For example, at the University of Texas almost 80 percent of the faculty is full-time. In Pennsylvania, 76 percent of the faculty is full-time. In Illinois, 73 percent of the faculty is full-time and in Massachusetts, 70 percent of the faculty is full-time. In New York, the average for both public higher education systems is below 54 percent. The part-time faculty in New York State's public universities are exceptional; CUNY and SUNY would not have survived without their commitment to our students - even while receiving a fraction of the pay of their full-time colleagues. But the institution suffers when more than half of the faculty work without research support, without adequate pay and often without even an office.

SUNY, CUNY and the community colleges simply cannot afford to take another step backwards and fall further behind other states. In tough economic times, there is an understandable inclination to cut back on investment, but this is precisely when we need to move steadily forward, investing in public higher education as the engine of our state's economy, the promise of its future.

I urge you to hold firm on the restorations and budget increases you have already passed, and to support holding public higher education harmless in this year's enacted state budget. Please raise this vitally important issue in your conference.

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