News and Updates About Federal Financial Aid & the FAFSA: Students | Practitioners
Policy
uAspire Statement on FY2027 NYS Budget
June 3, 2026
By Melissa Clarke
.png)
The FY2027 New York State budget includes important investments intended to address affordability and student success across New York's higher education system. We applaud Governor Hochul and the Legislature for supporting SUNY and CUNY students by freezing tuition for the upcoming year.
We are excited that Governor Hochul and the Legislature included New York's first direct state investment of $1 million in emergency financial aid for SUNY and CUNY students. The budget directs SUNY and CUNY to develop standardized, system-wide emergency aid policies for students navigating housing insecurity, food insecurity, transportation barriers, childcare responsibilities, and financial emergencies that too often force them to pause or abandon their education altogether. We know that small financial disruptions can derail a student’s path to completion, and we are committed to continuing to advocate for sustained, targeted, and expanded investments in emergency aid to support persistence, retention, and long-term economic mobility.
A true commitment to affordability means ensuring students can remain enrolled, meet their basic needs, and complete their education with dignity and stability. It means building systems that are responsive to the lived realities of today’s students and their families, who continue to face systemic inequities within higher education. Students who stop out to handle adverse circumstances often must overcome repaying their debt to their institution to enroll. We are pleased to see meaningful steps forward in supporting students in repayment and re-enrollment by Governor Hochul directing SUNY to reform tuition refund policies.
We look forward to working alongside Governor Hochul, members of the legislature, institutions of higher education, students, philanthropy, and coalition partners to continue to advance a higher education system where every student, regardless of income or background, has the resources and support needed not only to access college, but to persist, thrive, and graduate because access alone is not enough. We must build a higher education system that allows every student across New York State the opportunity to complete their education and build a stable future.
We are excited that Governor Hochul and the Legislature included New York's first direct state investment of $1 million in emergency financial aid for SUNY and CUNY students. The budget directs SUNY and CUNY to develop standardized, system-wide emergency aid policies for students navigating housing insecurity, food insecurity, transportation barriers, childcare responsibilities, and financial emergencies that too often force them to pause or abandon their education altogether. We know that small financial disruptions can derail a student’s path to completion, and we are committed to continuing to advocate for sustained, targeted, and expanded investments in emergency aid to support persistence, retention, and long-term economic mobility.
A true commitment to affordability means ensuring students can remain enrolled, meet their basic needs, and complete their education with dignity and stability. It means building systems that are responsive to the lived realities of today’s students and their families, who continue to face systemic inequities within higher education. Students who stop out to handle adverse circumstances often must overcome repaying their debt to their institution to enroll. We are pleased to see meaningful steps forward in supporting students in repayment and re-enrollment by Governor Hochul directing SUNY to reform tuition refund policies.
We look forward to working alongside Governor Hochul, members of the legislature, institutions of higher education, students, philanthropy, and coalition partners to continue to advance a higher education system where every student, regardless of income or background, has the resources and support needed not only to access college, but to persist, thrive, and graduate because access alone is not enough. We must build a higher education system that allows every student across New York State the opportunity to complete their education and build a stable future.