Private Colleges Facing Enrollment, Budget Woes Following Excelsior Scholarship Announcement

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s reputed tipping of the scale in favor of state colleges may be detrimental to the budgets of private universities.  For some, survival may even be at stake.  Last month, as part of his executive budget, Gov. Cuomo announced the controversial Excelsior Scholarship — a proposed program allowing free tuition for middle-class families looking to attend a two-year or four-year state college. Separate from the free-tuition proposal, but related to it, is essentially a tuition cap where Gov. Cuomo would limit “Bundy Aid” to institutions with annual tuition increases below $500 or the Higher Education Price Index (HEPI), whichever is greater.