Governor Cuomo’s Executive Budget announcement yesterday including several proposals to amend the way community colleges are funded. This is from the Governor’s news release:
Higher Education: To ensure New York’s students are prepared for the jobs of today and tomorrow, the Executive Budget changes the approach to funding community college workforce and vocational programs. Instead of funding based solely on enrollment, in order to receive State support for these programs, community colleges will be expected to partner with local employers and the Regional Economic Development Councils to identify job training needs. In addition, the Budget provides new funding to community colleges based on performance in measures of student success, including job placement.
Here’s a statement from Chancellor Nancy Zimpher, which was released shortly after the budget presentation:
“Today’s Executive Budget address puts forth a clear plan of action for Governor Cuomo’s ambitious agenda to revitalize New York’s economy, and SUNY is honored to play an intricate role in the Governor’s plan to improve the quality of life for all New Yorkers.
“We thank the Governor for honoring the maintenance of effort agreement that goes hand-in-glove with our rational tuition plan. This stability allows our students and their families, as well as our campuses, to plan ahead.
“We also thank the Governor for yet again expanding the NYSUNY 2020 Challenge Grant program, which will allow our campuses to boost academic quality and collaborate with the state’s Regional Economic Development Councils to create jobs and innovation throughout the communities we serve.
“The $3 million in performance based funding provided for community colleges will also benefit our efforts across the system to enhance workforce development. By both adding new funds and tying dollars to our community colleges’ ability to train citizens for the jobs our state needs, Governor Cuomo has further incentivized at a local level a philosophy for meeting high-need workforce demands that SUNY is looking to implement across all of its campuses.
“We are also pleased with the inclusion of full re-appropriation of existing SUNY capital funds to allow continuation of existing projects, a residence hall proposal that provides access to funding to build new residence hall facilities and rehabilitate existing facilities, and new support for transformational projects and programs through REDC process. Given the age, size, and number of building assets SUNY is responsible for, we look forward to working with the Governor and Legislature to address ongoing critical maintenance needs.”
Published: Wed, 23 Jan 2013 13:11:13 +0000 by e.bryant
