Just as postsecondary education is becoming increasingly vital to getting a good job and entering the middle class, college costs are rising beyond the reach of many New Yorkers. State policy decisions have played a significant role in this rise by shifting costs onto students and families though declining state support. New York’s investment in higher education has decreased considerably over the past twenty years, and its financial aid programs, though still some of the country’s most expansive, fail to reach many students with financial need. Students and their families now pay—or borrow—much more than they can afford to get a higher education, a trend which will have grave consequences for New York’s future economy.
THE GREAT COST SHIFT: HOW HIGHER EDUCATION CUTS UNDERMINE THE FUTURE MIDDLE CLASS.
This brief is based on the Demos report “The Great Cost Shift”, which examines how nationwide disinvestment in public higher education over the past two decades has shifted costs to students and their families. The report outlines how such disinvestment is magnified by rapidly rising enrollments, and its effects are felt particularly acutely as student bodies become more economically, racially, and ethnically diverse.
This fact sheet focuses on New York, highlighting the trends in the state’s higher education funding over the last twenty years.
STATE HIGHER EDUCATION FUNDING IS DRAMATICALLY DECLINING
New York’s overall funding for higher education has declined precipitously since its recent peak in 2007.1 Funding per student has fallen even more dramatically, since enrollments have risen significantly even as total funding fell.
- Overall, New York’s higher education funding fell from its peak of $5.43 billion in 2007 to $4.72 billion in 2011, a 13 percent decline.2
- Funding per full-time equivalent (FTE) student has fallen 17 percent since 2007.
- Despite this significant decline, New York’s funding per FTE student—$8,532 in 2011—remains the 8th highest level in the nation.

GRANT AID HAS BECOME MUCH LESS GENEROUS