Res. No. 131 Title Resolution calling upon the Governor to withdraw, or in the alternative the State Legislature to disapprove, the Governor's recent proposal to change the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) by deferring one-third of eligible students' grants until they have finished their degrees. Body By the Speaker (Council Members Miller) and Council Members Barron, Baez, Avella, Brewer, Comrie, Davis, Diaz, Fidler, Foster, Jackson, Martinez, Quinn, Reed, Rivera, Sanders, Seabrook, Serrano, Stewart, Weprin and Perkins; also Council Members Gennaro, Koppell, Lopez and Vann Whereas, In 1969 the State Legislature adopted a needs-based scholarship program for students seeking to attain higher education in New York State, which program in the 1970s became the Tuition Assistance Program; and Whereas, The Tuition Assistance Program was originally designed to help the State's lower income students pay for higher education, and was subsequently enlarged to provide assistance to middle income students; and Whereas, TAP currently provides grants ranging from $500 to $5,000 per year to eligible students, depending upon their incomes, with a maximum income limit of $80,000, with the grants payable each year; and Whereas, In his Executive Budget, the Governor has proposed changing the program to defer payment of one third of each eligible student's yearly TAP grants until the student has completed his or her degree; and Whereas, A recent study by the New York Public Interest Research Group shows that community college tuition and fees in New York State are the fifth highest in the nation, and that these costs have increased 80% since 1990; and Whereas, TAP is an important tool enabling students in New York State to afford both community colleges as well as four-year and graduate degree programs, assisting 25,000 New York City students at CUNY Community Colleges and 46,000 students at CUNY senior colleges; and Whereas, According to the March 2001 Current Population Survey data, every student who might have completed college but was denied the opportunity to do so due to the lack of financial support for tuition could potentially cost the State a minimum of between $15,000 to $60,000 in tax revenues for each such student; and Whereas, Education experts argue that the Governor's proposed changes could cause fewer students to seek higher education, disproportionately affect minority students, and cause financial hardship to those students who are forced to take on additional debt to complete their education; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the Governor to withdraw, or in the alternative the State Legislature to disapprove, the Governor's recent proposal to change the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) by deferring one-third of eligible students' grants until they have finished their degrees.