State should boost TAP funding for college

For a half-century, the Tuition Assistance Plan, known simply as “TAP” to countless Long Island parents and students, has been New York's great gift to those pursuing higher education in-state.

Created in 1974, TAP was hailed for providing relatively generous grants to eligible students from working class families. At a time when college costs in New York were generally under $5,000 a year, TAP grants could range from $100 to $1,500 a year depending on family income level. But within three years, then-Gov. Hugh Carey called for a 10% cut in awards because of the program’s escalating costs. Since then, the TAP grant program, despite its helping hand, has been losing ground comparatively to the burgeoning costs of college tuition, room and board.

Now state legislators are proposing a long-overdue increase to TAP awards given to students. The State Senate and Assembly are contemplating somewhat different proposals, but they are close enough in scope that Gov. Kathy Hochul should agree to include a boost in TAP grants in the upcoming 2024-25 budget.

Both legislative proposals would raise the eligibility income thresholds to $125,000 from the current $80,000, recognizing the financial stress that many families incur sending their children to college. Under both plans, the minimum TAP award would increase from $500 to $1,000. A Senate proposal raises the maximum award from $5,665 to $6,165. Advocates say these increases would particularly help those living in high-cost areas like Long Island. They say the income threshold change would be the first in a quarter-century. In the 2021-22 academic year, 235,000 students received more than $718 million in TAP money.

Overall, the estimated cost of expanding TAP’s eligibility guidelines and grant sizes would cost between $118 million and $138 million. But it is a wise investment for the future, especially in preparing a well-educated workforce.

Direct aid like TAP as well as merit-based awards like the Regents Scholarships have paid economic dividends for years, often allowing students to attend the college of their choice within New York State. For many, this meant attending public colleges, where overall tuition costs are generally lower. But TAP also helped those attending higher-cost schools. Of the nearly 320,000 TAP recipients in the 2018-2019 academic year, an estimated 20% attended a private, nonprofit, four-year institution, according to a 2020 review.

Of all the competing demands for state dollars, investing in the future of young people seeking to improve their opportunities will deliver the most rewards. While state lawmakers must craft a fresh formula that takes into account rising costs, they must be careful that TAP's costs to taxpayers don't escalate too quickly as they did in the 1970s. But money spent on education is generally a wise thing for us all.