Orange County taxpayers and students are set to shoulder a bigger share in financing their community college in the fall as state aid stays flat for the third time in a row.
In the $65 million budget proposed by SUNY Orange, direct county support will rise by $1 million to nearly $22 million, and student tuition rates will go up by about 2.5 percent.
That means that for an average full-time college student, tuition will increase by $144 to just more than $5,800 in the coming school year.
On the contrary, basic state aid for two-year community colleges will remain flat at $12.7 million next year.
Though an old New York state law espouses an equal share in financing community colleges among the three major stakeholders—the state, the local sponsor, and students—the scale at SUNY Orange has increasingly tilted toward the latter two over the past years.
Kristine Young, president of SUNY Orange, told The Epoch Times in an email that it was a difficult decision for the college board of trustees to raise tuition, but known budget pressures—especially rising costs for utilities, services, and personnel—necessitated the move.
The college’s sister entity, SUNY Orange Foundation, offers students various scholarships to cover education costs.
Ms. Young also appreciated the increased financial support from county taxpayers. Over the past 10 years, annual county contributions to the college have steadily risen by $4 million.
“We continue to enjoy the very strong backing of our county leadership and Legislature,” Ms. Young wrote in an email. “I know that they appreciate the impact SUNY Orange has upon the region.”
Four in five SUNY Orange students hail from local school districts in the county.
The last state budget passed in April provided the State University of New York system, or SUNY, with an additional $114 million in state funding. Still, the bulk of it went to state-operated campuses—not community colleges—to fund staff salaries and benefits.
The SUNY system consists of 29 state-operated campuses, 30 community colleges, and five statutory colleges, including research universities and liberal arts colleges.
SUNY Orange, along with the rest of the community colleges, will receive additional state funding for mental health services next year.
However, as to the basic operating aid from the state, which is largely a function of student credit hours, it has remained unchanged for SUNY Orange for the past three years.
For the college to see more funding under the current state aid formula, it must increase its full-time equivalents to 4,200, about 700 more than projected for next year, according to a representative of the accounting firm PKF O’Connor Davies at a recent Ways and Means legislative committee meeting.
Enrollment
Following a significant dip during the COVID-19 pandemic, student enrollments at the college increased in each of the past six academic sessions.For the coming school year, SUNY Orange projects north of 2,000 full-time students, an increase of more than 360 from the historic low logged in the 2021–22 school year.
“The return of students to the classroom since the pandemic has been steady,” Ms. Young said in an email. “We have never stopped working hard to recruit students, and we have intentionally crafted or expanded our strategies to retain them.”
She cited continued efforts such as undertaking targeted marketing at high schools, adjusting programs to changing student needs, and seeking governmental grants to enhance the college experience.
The college recently expanded the nursing program on the Newburgh campus by half and added a new degree in health care administration in response to the job market shifts.
In addition to degree programs, the college has expanded workforce training opportunities in professions such as health care, advanced manufacturing, food, hospitality, and logistics.
“We recognize that not all students want, or have time, to commit to a two-year degree; they need something quicker, more accessible that fits their needs now,” Ms. Young said.
The college proposes to use $800,000 in its fund balance to balance next year’s budget. Its fund balance is projected to be $9 million at the beginning of the fall semester.
Its 2024–25 budget is set for a public hearing and legislative vote on Aug. 1.
