Publications
A Path Toward Educational Equity: Reforming New York State's Tuition Assistance Program
January 22, 2026
Higher education should be a clear pathway to economic mobility. Yet for too many low-income students and students of color in New York, the cost of college remains a significant barrier. These disparities discussed in the report underscore how the cost of college compounds systemic inequities and why strengthening TAP is essential to ensuring higher education can truly serve as a pathway to economic mobility. Simply increasing student loans is not the answer, as it often leads to burdensome debt that undermines long-term financial stability. Instead, expanding grant-based aid, such as New York’s Tuition Assistance Program (TAP), is essential to help students, particularly those from historically marginalized backgrounds, afford college and leverage higher education as a true engine of upward mobility. To fulfill this promise, TAP must evolve to better meet the financial realities and needs of today’s students.
