Meet Dan...
Dan Fernandez is a junior majoring in accounting. Backed by a strong support system, Daniel feels blessed to be attending Le Moyne. But he admits he couldn't do it without the $1,400 he receives each semester through New York's Tuition Assistance Program. "TAP support is very important to me. It is instrumental in my ability to go to college."
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It's no secret that the challenges facing today's college students are growing. In an economic climate that is impacting virtually every aspect of society, students and their families are finding it more and more difficult to pay for a college education.
Entering 2009, New York state's budget situation is tenuous at best. The preliminary spending plan outlined on Dec. 16, 2008, by Gov. David Paterson, while promising in some areas, calls for cuts to
New York's Tuition Assistance Program (TAP), a state program that provides grants for nearly 400,000 undergrad students enrolled full-time in a New York state college or university.
For Le Moyne students, TAP has historically been an important component of paying for tuition. During the 2007-08 academic year, more than 1,400 Le Moyne students -- 61% of our full-time students -- received approximately $3.2 million in TAP assistance. Based on our calculations, under the new proposed requirements, it is estimated Le Moyne students would lose over $400,000 in TAP funding -- or more than 12% -- if the proposed cuts were enacted. This would be a significant setback to Le Moyne students who rely on these funds.
Working with the New York Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities (cIcu), Le Moyne is assisting in a grassroots campaign to help restore any cuts in TAP for the 2009-2010 budget. We are asking students, parents, faculty, staff, administrators, alumni and other stakeholders to write to their elected officials to voice their support for keeping TAP funding in place at its current level.
If you would like to help us with this effort,
visit the cIcu Web site for instructions on what you can do to help.
Thank you, on behalf of those Le Moyne students who rely on TAP.