SUNY chancellor, OCC president discuss Excelsior-scholarship program

The office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo describes the Excelsior scholarship as providing tuition-free college at New York’s public colleges and universities to families making up to $125,000 a year.

When asked her thoughts on the Excelsior-scholarship program, Johnson said she was “very excited” to be starting her new role as the program was getting started.

She also indicated that the SUNY system is seeing a “positive impact” from the program, but didn’t elaborate.

“We’ll learn more and I’m sure that we’ll modify as we understand how the tools in the tool box work together,” Johnson told reporters.

She joined OCC president Casey Crabill in answering reporters’ questions in the Whitney Applied Technology Center.

When asked if OCC had seen an impact from Excelsior, Crabill noted that the school has about 239 students who are “receiving some support” from the Excelsior program.

The figure is “not a huge proportion of our students,” in part, because “a lot” of OCC students qualify for Tuition Assistance Program, or TAP, funding, which Crabill said “was already a very generous scholarship program.”

What OCC thinks is “so important” about the program, Crabill contends, is that it “really helps” families think about how they can help their students get the education they need for a “successful life” and where they should pursue that education.

Crabill noted that OCC has students enrolled who want to stay close to home; others who live in the school’s residence halls who wanted to live away from home; and others who enroll at OCC for its programs.

The Excelsior program “doesn’t change” any of those reasons for enrolling but does give students a “broad range of choices” for enrolling in the SUNY system.

“Instead of choosing by money, you can choose by program,” Crabill said.

Prior to answering questions from local reporters, Crabill explained the reason for Johnson’s visit to campus.

“We’re using the day to familiarize her with our college, as part of the SUNY system, to learn a little about Central New York, and to ask us all the questions that a chancellor has at this point in her tenure,” said Crabill.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com