Senate Bill S4215

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S4215

SPONSOR: STAVISKY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the education law, in relation to authorizing the board
of trustees of the state university of New York to offer certain non-re-
sident undergraduate students separate tuition rates for attendance at
selected state-operated institutions; and providing for the repeal of
such provisions upon the expiration thereof

 
PURPOSE:

To authorize the SUNY Board of Trustees to develop a pilot program
expected to be used by selected universities facing significant out of
state competition for students to more effectively market these univer-
sities to residents of surrounding states.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

This bill adds new subparagraphs 4(a) to section 355 of the Education
              

law. Section (4-a) directs that beginning in the 2020-2021 academic
year, the SUNY Board of Trustees is authorized to designate selected
state operated institutions of SUNY to allow eligible non-resident
undergraduate students to pay separate tuition rates for attendance at
those selected institutions,. Those regulations shall provide that
eligible out of state residents would pay tuition and fees at a rate
which is not less than 1.5 times the in state tuition and fee rate.  No
more than 10k of the enrollment openings at each eligible campus could
be filled by out of state students who receive this rate. The program
would run for a four year period. The State University Board of Trustees
would be directed to select institutions based upon considerations to
include out-of-state competition, current or projected levels of high
school graduates within an institution's recruitment region, and the
enrollment capacity and physical location of the institutions. The sepa-
rate tuition rates would be available to out of state students from
Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and
the Canadian providences of Ontario and Quebec.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

This bill would grant authority to the SUNY Board of Trustees to craft a
program to assist in state institutions who face significant out of
state competition to more effectively market their campuses. For exam-
ple, SUNY Fredonia, SUNY Potsdam and SUNY Alfred all have campuses which
are located near New York's border. They would make an attractive desti-
nation for students who reside in nearby urban areas in states such as
Pennsylvania, Ohio, and even Ontario. The current in-state tuition rate
does little to attract students from out of state communities to these
campuses. A tuition rate that is one and one half times the in-state
rate would make these colleges a more affordable choice to the pool of
nearby out of state students.

Many colleges in Pennsylvania and Ohio currently offer5;414 in-state
rates to students in New York and actively market these rates to New
York residents. Examples of this marketing include Youngstown State
University where under the "tuition advantage program" non-residents
from New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia pay only $210 more than
Ohio in-state tuition. In 2011 Edinborough University, which enrolled
13.8% of their students from out of state, offers tuition at 5% greater
than the in state tuition rate. Another example is the University of
Pittsburgh at Bradford which operates a Go Beyond New York" program and
specifically targets New York students from Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, and
Allegheny counties who are offered the Pennsylvania in-state tuition. In
2011, 21.4% of Bradford's students came from out-of-state.

Creating a temporary pilot program will help to increase out of state
enrollment for the largest public system of higher education. This will
develop brand awareness of the SUNY system for out-of- state students,
families and guidance counselors. The program will bring additional
housing, food and discretionary spending dollars into New York's economy
and would further benefit the local economies surrounding these campus-
es.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

Introduced in a previous legislative session.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

Undetermined, but likely to be neutral in that marketing is occurring to
a previously unavailable target population. Minimal to the State

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately, and this act shall expire and be deemed repealed on August
31, 2025.