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CUNY Board of Trustees Approves Tuition Increase

To preserve academic programs and meet high enrollment demands in the face of continuing state and city budget cuts and a difficult economy, the CUNY Board of Trustees on November 22 approved a tuition schedule including a 5% increase effective Spring 2011. Full-time senior college resident undergraduates will be charged an additional $115 for the 2011 Spring semester and full-time resident masters students will pay an additional $185 for the same period. The Board also authorized a 2% increase across-the-board, effective Fall 2011.

CUNY is the most affordable quality undergraduate choice in the New York metropolitan area. Tuition rates — $4,600 per year for state residents enrolled at the senior colleges and $3,150 at the community colleges — are lower than The State University of New York, $4,970 annually, and most local and regional public and private colleges, many of which are planning tuition hikes in the coming year. (Review tuition charts below).

CUNY tuition will continue to be modest for the majority of CUNY students, including its neediest students who receive federal Pell grants and New York State Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) awards, among other public and private financial aid support. Pell and TAP help insulate low-income students from tuition increases and other economic fluctuations, leveling the economic playing field for access to a college education.

Chancellor Matthew Goldstein said the increases are necessary to stabilize college operations, protect new faculty hired over the last several years and maintain the University’s widely regarded progress in enhancing academic quality and the value of its degrees. He said CUNY will aggressively work to assure that low-income students eligible for financial aid will be assisted from both public and private sources.

“These tuition increases are unfortunate but necessary for the University to continue to provide the high quality educational opportunity our students deserve,” Chancellor Goldstein said.