Education Highlights from the 2025-26 New York State Budget

Dear Colleagues:

The 2025-26 enacted State Budget continues to prioritize programs that empower New York's students to achieve their educational goals. This year’s budget builds on previous funding commitments with significant new investments and policy enhancements.

Below are the financial aid highlights of the 2025-26 enacted Budget, supporting higher education through programs provided by HESC to hundreds of thousands of students each year.

Full Support for Over $1B for HESC Financial Aid Programs
The 2025-26 enacted State Budget maintains New Yorkers' access to affordable higher education by funding over $1 billion in HESC-administered financial aid programs. Governor Kathy Hochul has championed provisions to expand financial aid access, improve timeframes for eligibility processing, and encourage greater participation in higher education.

$47M Investment to Make Community College Free for Adult Learners
The 2025-26 Budget includes a $47 million investment to make community college tuition-free for New Yorkers aged 25 to 55 who pursue associate degrees in high-demand fields. This transformative program, administered by SUNY and CUNY, expands access to higher education for adult learners and supports workforce development across the state.

Part-Time Financial Aid Programs
The 2025-26 Budget consolidates three existing state financial aid programs for part-time students – Aid for Part-Time Study, the Part-Time Scholarship award program, and Part-Time TAP into Part-Time TAP, thereby simplifying the application process and ensuring greater accessibility. The minimum required credit hours for Part-Time TAP eligibility will also be reduced from six to three credits per semester, an initiative supported with an additional $6.9 million in funding.

This effort builds on enhancements to TAP made last year to improve access to financial aid for thousands of part-time students who may have been ineligible under previous policies.

Streamline Excelsior Scholarship Payments
The 2025-26 Budget combines the Excelsior Scholarship award and the Excelsior Tuition Credit payments, simplifying administration of the Excelsior Scholarship program for HESC and students.

The Excelsior Scholarship continues to enable students whose families make up to $125,000 to attend SUNY and CUNY institutions tuition-free.

Additional Funding for the Scholarship & Loan Forgiveness Programs
For 2025-26, the enacted Budget continues the additional funding allocated last year for the following scholarships & loan forgiveness programs:

$1.0M for the Patricia K. McGee Scholarship for a total of $4.9M
$50,000 for the NYS Young Farmers Loan Forgiveness Program for a total of $200,000
$100,000 for the NYS Child Welfare Scholarship for a total of $150,000

Specific details about each of these programs will be provided as they become available.

Thank you for your continued partnership.

Regards,
New York State Higher Education Services Corporation