<div id="a46ae" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="CF45OR1574878787"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="850765332348317696" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Another New York first.
This is a national model for access to higher education. https://t.co/1USDqVAAJU</div> — Andrew Cuomo (@Andrew Cuomo)<a href="https://twitter.com/NYGovCuomo/statuses/850765332348317696">1491673236.0</a></blockquote></div><p></p><p>About 80% of New York's families will be eligible for the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/new-york-to-become-the-largest-state-to-offer-tuition-free-public-higher-education/2017/04/08/3fe0563a-1c8b-11e7-9887-1a5314b56a08_story.html?tid=sm_fb&utm_term=.4cbd5177bd42">program</a> by 2019. The current plan is phased-in over the next three years. When the program begins this fall, it will include families earning up to $100,000. The threshold moves to $110,000 in 2018 and will reach the full $125,000 in 2019.</p><p><div data-conversation-spotlight=""></div></p><p>Tuition at SUNY's four-year schools is currently $6,470, while the community colleges average $4,366 a year. The scholarship will cover any amount of that total that is not covered by</p><p></p><p>Pell Grants and current income-based tuition assistance. It is estimated to cost the state $163 million dollars in the first year.</p><p>The <a href="https://www.suny.edu/smarttrack/types-of-financial-aid/scholarships/excelsior/">Excelsior Scholarship</a> has the highest income eligibility threshold of any similar state-wide proposal. It requires students to attend college full-time to earn a two-, four-, or five-year degree from any of the State Universities of New York (SUNY) or the Fashion Institute of Technology. Students with disabilities are not required to attend full-time.</p><p>Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed the plan in January. It was part of the budget passed by the New York State Assembly yesterday and will become law when the New York state Senate passes the budget later this week. The biggest change from the initial proposal is the requirement that graduates who use the program stay in the state after graduation. The condition has upset some education advocates.</p><p></p><div id="6abf0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="VLEC2A1574878787"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="851241070348435456" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">I am truly supportive of New York's move to #FreeCollege - an approach aligned with students' needs. But this issue… https://t.co/kADgjPvlu2</div> — Dr. Sara Goldrick-Rab (@Dr. Sara Goldrick-Rab)<a href="https://twitter.com/saragoldrickrab/statuses/851241070348435456">1491786661.0</a></blockquote></div><p></p><p></p><p>Students are to remain as residents for the same amount of time that they had the scholarships—two years for community college students, four to five years for those earning bachelor's degrees. If they move out of state, the scholarship amount is converted to a student loan. The provisions will allow exceptions for graduate school and financial hardship.</p>
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