January\u00a027,\u00a02010<\/p>\n
Good morning, Chairman Kruger, Vice Chairwoman Krueger, Chairman Farrell, Senator Stavisky, Assemblywoman Glick, members of the Finance, Ways and Means, and Higher Education committees, staff, and guests.\u00a0 Thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today about The City University of New York and the 2010-11 State Executive Budget Proposal.\u00a0 I will ask the senior officers of the University accompanying me to introduce themselves, starting on my left.<\/p>\n
I come to you at an unprecedented moment in CUNY\u2019s history, when we are experiencing our highest enrollment to date: more than 260,000 degree-credit students, including more high-achieving students than ever before.\u00a0 While we know that economic hardships have driven many New Yorkers to college to acquire new skills and attain additional certification, our decade-long growth is also a manifestation of two ongoing factors.\u00a0 First, the University continues to be recognized for its academic quality and has become a destination for students seeking an exemplary education.\u00a0 Second, students are coming to CUNY better prepared for college-level work, and we are therefore seeing better retention across the University.<\/p>\n
We take great pride in the increased interest in CUNY and the improved performance by CUNY students.\u00a0 However, our explosion in enrollment\u2014an additional 65,000 students since 1999\u2014poses serious challenges.\u00a0 The need for faculty and the demands on space are also at unprecedented levels.\u00a0 With our freshman applications for fall 2010 also showing a double-digit increase, we expect these demands to grow even more urgent.<\/p>\n
At the same time, the University\u2019s commitment to quality is unwavering.\u00a0 The Macaulay Honors College\u2019s class of 2013 has an average SAT score of close to 1400.\u00a0 A recent Macaulay graduate, Ryan Merola, was just named one of nine scholars nationally to be a 2011 Mitchell Scholar.\u00a0 Students across the CUNY campuses are also winning competitive national awards; most recently, five CUNY students were awarded National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowships for 2009.<\/p>\n
Hunter College was named the nation\u2019s No. 2 \u201cBest Value Public College for 2010\u201d by the Princeton Review and USA Today.\u00a0 Queens College and Baruch College were named to the Princeton Review\u2019s \u201cBest Northeastern Colleges\u201d list.\u00a0 In November, Hunter College Distinguished Lecturer Colum McCann won the 2009 National Book Award in fiction, the top American prize for literature. \u00a0And three outstanding educators joined the University in 2009: Karen Gould, president of Brooklyn College, F\u00e9lix Matos Rodriguez, president of Hostos Community College, and William Pollard, president of Medgar Evers College.<\/p>\n
We are also very pleased to announce that based on recent actions by the national accrediting agency, we anticipate that the new CUNY School of Public Health will soon be fully accredited.\u00a0 It is the first public school of public health in New York City and the only one in the country to focus on urban health.\u00a0 Two prominent scholars and medical doctors from Harvard Medical School, David Himmelstein and Steffie Woolhandler, recently accepted offers to join the CUNY School of Public Health.<\/p>\n
These are only a few of the countless ways that the entire University community is working diligently to give students the best educational experience possible.\u00a0 Just as our citizens turn to public higher education to help them prepare for an uncertain future, so, too, does the state depend on CUNY and SUNY to build the workforce and innovation capacity of New York.\u00a0 I know that Chancellor Nancy Zimpher shares our deep commitment to serving our state and its students, and she and I will continue to work together\u2014and in partnership with the governor and the legislature\u2014to advance this critical goal.<\/p>\n
Our 2010-11 budget request, adopted unanimously by the CUNY Board of Trustees, reflects that commitment.\u00a0 It marks the fifth year of the CUNY Compact, our multiyear financing approach that offers an economically efficient way to finance the University by delineating shared responsibility among partners and creating opportunities to leverage funds.\u00a0 It prioritizes the University\u2019s needs in meeting the demands of a rapidly growing student body, including additional full-time faculty, expanded student services, facility improvements, and educational technology.\u00a0 These are requests that address the very core of the University\u2019s mission to ensure that students have the academic grounding they need to compete in an unforgiving marketplace.<\/p>\n
All of us at CUNY appreciate that the State Executive Budget calls for full funding of the University\u2019s mandatory costs, consistent with the CUNY Compact.<\/p>\n
For our senior colleges, the Executive Budget recommends a total of $1.8 billion, which reflects a decrease of state support of about $84 million, offset by additional funding of $91 million for mandatory costs and collective bargaining and $11 million from the FY 2010 tuition increase.\u00a0 The $11 million reflects an increase from 20 percent to 30 percent in the amount of the FY 2010 tuition increase retained by the University.\u00a0 A portion of the $84 million reduction, about $21 million, is related to across-the-board proposals to reduce salary and fringe benefits costs, to be negotiated with the unions.<\/p>\n
The proposed reduction will have a very real effect on the work of our senior colleges.\u00a0 Since 1999, these colleges have together welcomed almost 38,000 additional students to their campuses\u2014nearly an entire NYU.\u00a0 Our colleges remain uncompromising in their commitment to academic quality.\u00a0 But the fact remains that continued budget cuts combined with growing enrollments means a serious strain on resources and an acute need to add full-time faculty and academic support personnel.<\/p>\n
Let me discuss the Executive Budget\u2019s proposed Public Higher Education Empowerment and Innovation Act, which recommends a number of adjustments related to tuition and regulatory provisions.\u00a0 The act would allow CUNY and SUNY to receive and disburse revenues from tuition and self-supporting program activities without an appropriation.\u00a0 It would also authorize the CUNY Board of Trustees to raise tuition incrementally up to an annual cap of two and one-half times the five-year rolling average of the Higher Education Price Index.\u00a0 I would note that the Board of Trustees recently approved our budget request proposal to increase tuition rates by 2 percent for fall 2010.\u00a0 The act also permits differential tuition rates by campus and program.\u00a0 As we indicated through meetings and recommendations of the New York State Commission on Higher Education, CUNY has long supported differential tuition by program, informed by market competition and price elasticity.\u00a0 The act would also allow for greater flexibility in procurement procedures, and we fully support this effort to improve the efficiency of our purchasing.<\/p>\n
The State Executive Budget also recommends a reduction in community-college base aid of $285 per FTE for next year, which would be a decrease of $21.8 million.\u00a0 The proposed reduction follows this year\u2019s base-aid cut of $130 per FTE, bringing the total reduction, if enacted, to a $415-per-FTE cut. \u00a0The proposed base-aid cuts would reduce the rate to $2,260 per FTE\u2014the lowest rate since 2005.<\/p>\n
Members of the committees, all of us at the University are deeply concerned about the proposed community-college reduction.\u00a0 Community colleges are the largest and fastest-growing sector of higher education and enroll almost half of our country\u2019s undergraduates.\u00a0 They are essential to our nation\u2019s recovery effort, a pipeline to jobs.\u00a0 In New York City, where the jobless rate just rose to 10.6 percent, CUNY\u2019s six community colleges are leading the way toward recovery, serving more than 88,000 students.<\/p>\n
More than ever, New Yorkers rely on our community colleges for their professional advancement, through job training, professional development, and career-ladder opportunities.\u00a0 Our six community colleges are obligated to meet an extraordinary array of academic needs for the most diverse group of students, whether that\u2019s state-of-the-art training programs for emerging industries, specialized cohorts to improve academic performance and graduation rates, or additional advisement to assist returning students.\u00a0 Their work on behalf of our students continues to be nationally recognized.\u00a0 What\u2019s more, almost 97 percent of our most recent associate-degree recipients reside in the state, contributing to its progress.<\/p>\n
Today, however, our community colleges are bursting at the seams, in serious need of faculty and classrooms to meet unprecedented demand.\u00a0 In order to meet that demand, as well as the workforce needs of the state, they must have appropriate support and the full restoration of their funding.<\/p>\n
The 2010-11 Executive Budget also recommends several changes to the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP).\u00a0 In the 2008-09 academic year, 75,000 CUNY students received $178 million in TAP awards.\u00a0 This financial assistance makes it possible for many of our students to pursue and attain a college degree.\u00a0 We are concerned that the recommendations include an across-the-board reduction of $75 to TAP awards.\u00a0 CUNY accounts for about 20 percent of students statewide who receive TAP, students who are among the poorest in the state.\u00a0 The University\u2019s priority will always be to assist the neediest students.\u00a0 Financial aid is most equitable when it is aimed at students with the greatest need and those in the hard-pressed middle class.<\/p>\n
Let me introduce the subject of the capital budget by returning to a point I made earlier.\u00a0 CUNY\u2019s unprecedented enrollment growth, while a welcome indication of New Yorkers\u2019 confidence in the University to help them prepare for the workplace and compete for fewer jobs, has also created a pressing demand for space and a pronounced strain on our facilities.\u00a0 Our campuses are open seven days a week, and classes are scheduled throughout the day, increasing the wear and tear on classrooms and common areas.\u00a0 As you know, CUNY does not have land to build additional facilities; we must maintain and upgrade our existing buildings.\u00a0 As a result, our facilities program remains a high priority for the University.<\/p>\n
We are very grateful for the generous appropriations allocated over the last few budget cycles.\u00a0 Recent events at our campuses demonstrate the progress that has been made to increase space and meet educational needs.\u00a0 These include the groundbreaking for the Lois V. and Samuel J. Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College, which will include the CUNY School of Public Health, in East Harlem, the new Fiterman Hall at Borough of Manhattan Community College, and the topping out of both the building expansion at John Jay College and the North Instructional Building at Bronx Community College.\u00a0 We have also selected an appropriate new site for the CUNY School of Law in Long Island City, Queens, and are moving forward with facility plans.\u00a0 I appreciate your support of these important efforts, all of which are alleviating space pressures caused by increased demand for the nationally recognized programs at these colleges and schools.<\/p>\n
These projects also illustrate the ways that CUNY has been leveraging its capital funding through public-private partnerships.\u00a0 These much-needed buildings\u2014whether the School of Social Work, the law school, or our residential halls at CCNY and Queens College\u2014were made possible through innovative collaborations with private developers.\u00a0 Anything that can be done to expedite such efforts in the future is greatly appreciated.<\/p>\n
Still, many of our campuses are in disrepair and badly in need of modernization. \u00a0Over 65 percent of CUNY\u2019s buildings are more than 30 years old, and some of the University\u2019s buildings are more than 100 years old.\u00a0 In 2007, CUNY, in partnership with SUNY, completed a facilities analysis that showed that CUNY has a backlog of more than $1.7 billion in critical maintenance needs.\u00a0 With the support of the legislature, for the last two years CUNY has received funding for critical maintenance projects, including those at our community colleges, to be matched by the city.\u00a0 I am very pleased that this year the Executive Budget recommends another $284 million allocation for our senior colleges and almost $35 million for community-college projects, including urgent needs such as LaGuardia Community College\u2019s Center 3 Building fa\u00e7ade replacement, continued utility upgrades at Bronx Community College, and electrical upgrades at Queensborough Community College.\u00a0 We are grateful for this attention to our maintenance needs.\u00a0 Ongoing maintenance allows us to prevent the greater, long-term expenses that inevitably result from deferrals.<\/p>\n
The Executive Budget also includes a $256 million dollar reduction in the CUNY capital disbursements cap over the next five years, limiting the University\u2019s ability to fit new projects into its plan.\u00a0 I must point out that, in this economy, spending on construction makes sense.\u00a0 Costs are now lower, and much-needed jobs can be created.\u00a0 For every $10 million spent in construction, it is estimated that 60 jobs are created at the job site and 30 jobs are created offsite in materials fabrication on an annual basis.<\/p>\n
CUNY\u2019s capital program has also benefited from the compact approach to financing, which relies not only on public funding but on the University\u2019s ability to raise considerable private funds.\u00a0 A public-private partnership, which leverages all funds, often provides an incentive to those wishing to support public higher education.\u00a0 Reductions to facilities funding could impede private fund-raising efforts.<\/p>\n
Chairman Kruger, Vice Chairwoman Krueger, Chairman Farrell, Senator Stavisky, Assemblywoman Glick, and members of the Senate and Assembly, all of us at CUNY are grateful for your longtime support of CUNY and public higher education in New York.\u00a0 These are undoubtedly challenging times, but we are confident that by working in partnership with you, CUNY can continue to be a powerful vehicle for New York\u2019s economic and social revitalization.\u00a0 Thank you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
January\u00a027,\u00a02010 Good morning, Chairman Kruger, Vice Chairwoman Krueger, Chairman Farrell, Senator Stavisky, Assemblywoman Glick, members of the Finance, Ways and Means, and Higher Education committees, staff, and guests.\u00a0 Thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today about The City University of New York and the 2010-11 State Executive Budget Proposal.\u00a0 I will ask […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4035,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-236587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4035"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236587"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236587\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}