For Immediate Release

April 1, 2019

“While we are grateful to the Legislature for restoring proposed funding cuts to SUNY’s opportunity programs, United University Professions is disappointed with the new 2019-20 budget.

“This budget lacks funding for key UUP initiatives, such as addressing the TAP Gap and restoring the state subsidy for SUNY’s three public teaching hospitals in Brooklyn, Stony Brook and Syracuse.

“It is troubling that this is an essentially flat budget for SUNY at a time when cash-strapped campuses are hurting. This budget reflects a lack of commitment to public higher education.

“We thank the Legislature for restoring proposed Executive Budget cuts to the Educational Opportunity Program, the Educational Opportunity Centers, and the ATTAIN Labs. These life-changing programs provide a degree path for students who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford college.

“However, we are dismayed that this budget does not contain state funding to close the TAP Gap—the share of tuition that campuses must waive for students who participate in the Tuition Assistance Program. It will only continue to grow and make it harder for campuses to provide a quality education for students.

“We also welcome an increase in state Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) funding for the hospitals. Still, the hospitals will face significant funding challenges without the restoration of the SUNY hospitals subsidy, which was left unfunded in 2018-19.

“UUP will continue to press lawmakers to sufficiently fund these important programs and initiatives.”