Governor Kathy Hochul has announced that the State University of New York Board of Trustees has ended the practice of withholding transcripts from students with outstanding balances, effective immediately.
Hochul said, “While I am proud that SUNY students will no longer have their transcripts held hostage, all students deserve the same protections. We must pass legislation to end this unjust practice for all New York students once and for all.”
Each year, about 50% of SUNY students graduate from college debt-free. However, other students graduate with an outstanding balance of about $3,500, on average, and as of 2020 about 19,000 students still owed their SUNY campus. With the Board action, those students may now receive their transcript, thereby enabling them to re-enroll in a campus, transfer credits, complete their degree, and obtain jobs that could help pay down their unpaid balance. CUNY announced a temporary hold on the practice last August.
As part of the resolution, the Board of Trustees also authorized the SUNY Chancellor, or a designee, to review all debt collection practices and make any appropriate policy changes, rulemaking, and other modifications in line with the action. SUNY follows State Finance Law, as well as State Division of the Budget guidance, SUNY Regulations and Policy, and a Memorandum of Understanding between SUNY and the New York Attorney General.
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