MCC Daily Tribune
ICYMI: SUNY Chancellor King Writes Op-Ed for the USA Today Network
Albany, NY – In an op-ed published Thursday by the USA Today network of newspapers, State University of New York Chancellor John B. King Jr. addresses higher education offerings that make the institution America’s greatest driver of upward mobility and economic growth for generations.
SUNY investments in students today will lead to a stronger New York tomorrow | Opinion
John B. King Jr.
Special to the USA TODAY Network
Higher education has been America’s greatest driver of upward mobility and economic growth for generations. Yet millions who start postsecondary education don’t finish and, worse still, are left with debt but no degree. The barriers are many for students across the country: skyrocketing costs of tuition and living, caregiving responsibilities and the challenges navigating degree requirements and campus cultures — particularly for students who are the first generation in their families to attend college.
While at SUNY, the governor and Legislature have partnered to keep tuition affordable (just $7,070 for the year at our four-year campuses) and to ensure generous state financial aid which helps 52% of our in-state undergraduates to attend tuition-free, we know tackling barriers beyond the cost of tuition is essential to helping students graduate. Additionally, SUNY has multiple opportunity programs designed to support students from all walks of life as they navigate the higher education system.
As our region seeks to capitalize on a manufacturing renaissance in the midst of economic disruptions and misguided attacks on the value of higher education at the national level, easing paths to a college degree and into the workforce with more earning potential is more critical than ever. SUNY and New York state are showing that affordability and excellence go hand in hand.
More than two years ago, Gov. Kathy Hochul championed the SUNY Transformation Fund, which 25 SUNY campuses used to expand the nation’s leading evidence-based retention and completion model — known as ASAP|ACE. Advancing Success in Associate Pathways, or ASAP, targets students pursuing associate degrees at our community colleges, while Advancing Completion through Engagement, or ACE, targets baccalaureate students.
Participating students are more likely to earn more credits towards graduation, stay in school and complete their programs. Already, thousands of SUNY students who joined this program received access to personalized advising, financial support, flexible course schedules and a more connected campus community.
Last month, Hochul and the Legislature passed a budget that invests $12 million for SUNY to expand this proven model to more than 7,000 students at 34 SUNY campuses in fall 2025, on the path to reach 10,000 students by fall 2026.
These programs combine everything we know about what helps students thrive. Robust financial aid support — including assistance applying for aid and registering for classes — is essential. But we also know that integrating into the broader campus culture feeds academic success and promotes greater wellbeing. Forming one-on-one relationships with trusted advisors can especially help those who are the first generation in their families to pursue postsecondary education.
SUNY students enrolled in this successful support program have someone who knows whether they are trying to juggle courses with caregiving responsibilities or multiple jobs to help pay the bills, if they are struggling with their coursework or with connecting with their peers. We know how often and how easily life can get in the way. For many students, a $200 car repair can mean the difference between taking the final exam and finishing a course on time or falling behind. ASAP and ACE advisors can make sure students can get what they need in these crucial moments of crisis — whether it’s campus emergency funds or counseling services. And they make sure challenges are addressed quickly — before they become roadblocks to credit completion.
Under this effort, student data is gathered in real time, so campuses can assess their progress and improve in real time. At SUNY, we’ve seen signs of early success. After one semester, participating students had taken and earned more credits and returned for the next semester at higher rates than similar students not involved in the program. ASAP students pursuing associate degrees had a 20% higher credit completion rate than non-ASAP students at partner campuses. ACE students pursuing bachelor’s degrees had a nine-percent higher credit completion rate than similar, non-ACE students.
We’ve also seen some promising evidence of sustainable economic gains for students, too. An analysis from a leading national research and policy organization, MRDC, which looked at ASAP results at three Ohio community colleges, found that ASAP participants earned 14% more than a control group of non-ASAP students eight years after completing the program.
In a time of economic upheaval, technological transformation, and heated debates about where to invest in higher education and workforce development, you might say SUNY is working to scale the most time-tested, simplest support our society knows: a human connection that guides and uplifts.
Fred Rogers once famously exhorted us to “look for the helpers;” ASAP|ACE provides them in spades. But these initiatives only help if our leaders do their part by making sure they provide continued investment — and our educators, community members, and campuses make sure students know this level of support is out there.
If we do that, we can fulfill public higher education’s highest promises throughout New York — and show the rest of the country what’s possible.
John B. King Jr. is the chancellor of the State University of New York and, under President Barack Obama, served as the 10th U.S. Secretary of Education.
About The State University of New York
The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY’s 64 colleges and universities. Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers, five hospitals, four medical schools, two dental schools, a law school, the country’s oldest school of maritime, the state’s only college of optometry, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.4 million students amongst its entire portfolio of credit- and non-credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures system-wide are nearly $1.16 billion in fiscal year 2024, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and one in three New Yorkers with a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunities, visit the SUNY website (www.suny.edu).
Veronica Chiesi Brown
Community Relations
07/11/2025