By Forum Staff
Governor Kathy Hochul on Friday celebrated the expansion of the Tuition Assistance Program included in the Fiscal Year 2025 Enacted Budget.
Hochul also released the State TAP Difference Report, which, she said, highlights the significant role the State Tuition Assistance Program plays in broadening college access, boosting completion rates, and fostering educational equity particularly among low-income families and first-generation college students.
The Tuition Assistance Program is one of the nation’s largest need-based college financial aid grant programs. Since its inception in 1974, it was provided nearly $30 billion to help more than 6 million New Yorkers attend college.
The FY 2025 Enacted Budget increases the minimum TAP award from $500 to $1,000. Additionally, the Budget increases the dependent student net taxable income (NTI) limit for TAP eligibility from $80,000 to $125,000, the independent married student NTI limit from $40,000 to $60,000, and the independent single student NTI limit from $10,000 to $30,000. These changes are estimated to benefit roughly 93,000 students in public and private colleges and universities, including 48,000 students newly eligible for TAP.
“Higher education can transform New Yorkers’ lives, helping students develop the skills they need to pursue their dreams,” Hochul said. “We are taking significant steps to ensure all New York students have access to the financial support they need to continue their education and become the next generation of leaders in our state.”
The New York State TAP Difference Report is the first study that examines the six-year outcomes for students who have benefited from TAP. Highlights of the report include:
- TAP recipients were more likely to graduate, earning a bachelor’s degree within six years, compared to students who did not receive TAP.
- TAP recipients were found to be twice as likely to begin their college education at a four-year institution, and two times more likely to complete their education at a four-year institution.
- More TAP recipients stayed at New York State schools, with the greatest difference among upward transfers from a two-year to a four-year school. TAP: 89 percent; non-TAP: 62 percent.
- TAP recipients saw reductions in the gap in six-year completion rates between disadvantaged and advantaged subgroups.
- 60 percent of TAP recipients for the academic years 2013 and 2014 completed their four-year degrees in six years, as compared to 26 percent who did not receive TAP.
“New York’s Tuition Assistance Program, along with help from federal and institutional aid, has made it possible for 52 percent of SUNY’s resident students to attend college tuition free,” SUNY Chancellor John B. King, Jr. “This report shows how vital TAP is for student success and upward mobility, and now that Gov. Hochul and the Legislature have doubled the minimum TAP award from $500 to $1,000, and increased income thresholds, we are looking forward to writing the next chapter of student success for New Yorkers.”
City Schools Chancellor David Banks added, “The New York State Tuition Assistance Program is an invaluable resource to many New York City Public School students who dream of higher education. By helping put college within reach, New York State is working alongside us to create bold futures for our young people.”
