New York boosts Tuition Assistance Program funding for first time since 2000

New York state will increase funding for the maximum Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) award for the first time in 14 years.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo made the announcement Tuesday.

The maximum TAP award is now $5,165, available to New York residents who attend any public or private college or university in the state. That’s up $165 from a maximum award of $5,000 per student in effect since 2000, Cuomo’s office said.

With this “dramatic” increase in the Tuition Assistance Program, New York is helping hundreds of thousands of students pursue college educational opportunities, Cuomo said in a news release.

Additionally, state government will now consider students who qualify as an orphan, foster child, or ward of the court for the purposes of federal student financial-aid programs as dependent students for the purpose of determining their TAP awards.

Such a determination would make them eligible for the maximum award, meaning some of the highest-need students will receive an additional $2,140 per year, Cuomo’s office said.

“The state tuition awards our students receive support them in their pursuit of a postsecondary education and position them to be active and skilled members of our state’s workforce,” Elsa Magee, acting president of the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC), said in the governor’s news release.

HESC is the administrating agency of New York’s grants and scholarships.

In 2012-2013, the state awarded $931 million in TAP funds to more than 372,000 New Yorkers attending college to help pay their college tuition costs, averaging $3,049 per student, the release stated.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com