UUP Press Releases

CONTACT: Denyce Duncan Lacy or Don Feldstein at (518) 640-6600
Lacy’s cell number is (518) 265-3114

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

SUNY budget proposal needs reinforcement

Albany, Jan. 17, 2003 - The SUNY budget proposal adopted today is insufficient to meet the needs of the University's state-operated campuses but it -- at least -- recognized that funding is required for increased operating expenses, according to United University Professions (UUP).
"The SUNY trustees should be better advocates, seeking the strongest budget possible for the University," said UUP President William E. Scheuerman. "We wish they followed the lead of their CUNY counterparts and the state Board of Regents, who submitted timely budget requests seeking increases for their systems," he said.

"Instead, they asked SUNY students and their families to bear the brunt of the burden by proposing a huge tuition hike," he said. If a tuition increase is approved, the revenues it generates must be used "to continue providing the quality education students deserve, or they will get less for more," Scheuerman said. "How can the board propose an increase in tuition and not give SUNY students what they need?"

The trustees' 2003-04 budget request maintained last year's core instructional budget of $1.8 billion. It also defined priorities for collective bargaining, inflation, enrollment growth and campus development funds -- without an outright request to meet them. "In light of the board's request for a tuition increase, if additional revenues become available there will be sufficient funds for the trustees' priorities," Scheuerman said.

Years of flat budgets have left University campuses without enough full-time faculty needed to teach required courses and many students are now finding it impossible to graduate in four years, Scheuerman said. Meanwhile, enrollments are up while course offerings are dwindling.

"If tuition goes up, the University must bolster full-time faculty lines to meet growing demands," Scheuerman said. "New Yorkers need a strong SUNY now more than ever."

UUP represents more then 34,000 academic and professional faculty on 29 New York State-operated campuses, and is an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO and New York State United Teachers (NYSUT).    

-30-