SUNY Graduate Student Worker Fees Eliminated Across New York
More than 7,500 graduate student workers will no longer face mandatory SUNY fees that averaged about $2,000 a year.
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York has eliminated SUNY graduate student worker fees for more than 7,500 master’s and doctoral students who also work on State University of New York campuses. The change ends a four-year effort to phase out mandatory charges that had averaged about $2,000 per student each year.
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the completed phaseout Friday, Aug. 21, describing it as part of a broader effort to make public higher education more affordable.
The change matters because many graduate students are not simply attending classes. They are teaching undergraduate courses, conducting research, assisting professors and performing other jobs that help SUNY campuses operate.
Yet until now, thousands of those workers could receive a tuition waiver while still being charged mandatory university fees.
What Changed for SUNY Graduate Student Workers?
According to the governor’s office, mandatory fees for graduate student workers at SUNY’s state-operated campuses have now been completely eliminated.
The fees previously averaged approximately $2,000 per year. More than 7,500 graduate student workers are expected to benefit.
The phaseout did not happen overnight.
New York began directing state funding toward reducing the charges through enacted state budgets beginning in the 2023-24 fiscal year. SUNY said in 2025 that $9 million in recurring investment had already been committed toward mitigating graduate student worker fees, including another $3 million in the 2025-26 budget.
The 2026-27 state budget provided the support needed to complete the elimination. SUNY confirmed earlier this summer that the system would finish the multiyear process.
Why a $2,000 Fee Could Matter So Much
The financial burden was particularly significant because graduate student workers often live on relatively modest stipends.
State Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky, chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee, said graduate assistants could receive a tuition waiver but then be billed roughly $2,000 in mandatory fees while earning a stipend of approximately $20,000.
That meant the fees could represent roughly 10% of that example stipend before taxes and other living expenses.
“That is a barrier we can remove, and today we have removed it for more than 7,500 students,” Stavisky said.
For graduate students trying to pay for rent, groceries, transportation and other basic expenses, removing thousands of dollars in annual charges could provide meaningful financial relief.
Graduate Students Play a Major Role at SUNY
Graduate student workers are a significant part of university life.
According to the state, they perform duties that include:
- Conducting academic and scientific research
- Working as teaching assistants
- Supporting professors and academic departments
- Helping with regular campus operations
- Assisting students while completing their own advanced degrees
Hochul said those responsibilities were one reason the state acted.
“Our graduate student workers serve as teachers, researchers and other critical functions on our campuses while pursuing their degrees,” the governor said.
SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. called the elimination another step toward what he described as “affordable excellence” across the university system.
What It Could Mean for SUNY Polytechnic and the Mohawk Valley
The statewide affordability push has a direct connection to Central New York and the Mohawk Valley.
SUNY’s June regional budget announcement included $400,000 for SUNY Polytechnic Institute, part of approximately $4.47 million allocated to the institution since fiscal year 2023 under the state’s recent operating investments.
SUNY Polytechnic Institute, located in Marcy, is among the region’s key higher-education institutions and plays an important role in engineering, technology and workforce development.
SUNY’s Mohawk Valley announcement also included $900,000 for SUNY Oneonta and $300,000 for SUNY Cobleskill as part of broader state operating support.
The graduate-worker fee elimination should not be confused with those individual campus allocations, but both are part of New York’s larger effort to increase financial support for SUNY.
Part of a Broader SUNY Affordability Strategy
Graduate student fees are only one piece of the state’s higher-education affordability strategy.
SUNY’s Board of Trustees also approved a freeze on resident undergraduate tuition and broad-based resident undergraduate fees for the 2026-27 academic year. The state provided $54 million to 29 state-operated campuses, primarily to replace revenue that could otherwise have come from a tuition increase.
Recent state investments have also supported:
- Student mental-health programs
- Disability services
- Undergraduate internships
- Academic research
- Faculty and staff recruitment
- Programs addressing student food insecurity
That broader context is important. Eliminating one fee will not erase the financial challenges associated with pursuing a graduate degree. Housing, food, transportation, health care and other costs remain significant concerns for many students.
But eliminating a mandatory charge approaching $2,000 a year is a concrete reduction in the cost of earning an advanced degree while working for the university.
Labor Advocates Had Pushed for the Change
The Communications Workers of America, which represents graduate student workers, had advocated for eliminating the fees for years.
CWA Local 1104 President Michael Ippoliti said graduate workers should not have been required to return part of their earnings to the universities employing them through mandatory fees.
The union credited sustained advocacy by graduate workers, lawmakers and state officials for finally ending the charges.
That history illustrates an important distinction: the announcement represents the completion of a multiyear policy change rather than a sudden cancellation of fees created by a single executive action.
State budgets, SUNY policy decisions, legislative support and union advocacy all played roles.
SUNY’s Size Makes the Change Significant
SUNY describes itself as the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States.
The system has 64 colleges and universities, and more than 95% of New Yorkers live within 30 miles of a SUNY campus. SUNY says it serves about 1.7 million students through credit courses, non-credit programs, continuing education and community programs.
SUNY also reported nearly $1.5 billion in research expenditures during fiscal year 2025, work in which graduate researchers often play an important role.
For New York, keeping graduate students financially able to continue teaching and conducting research is therefore more than an issue of individual college affordability. It is tied to the state’s research universities, workforce pipeline and ability to recruit advanced students.
The Bottom Line
The elimination of SUNY graduate student worker fees removes a long-standing financial burden from more than 7,500 students who simultaneously study and work throughout New York’s public university system.
For students previously facing charges averaging about $2,000 annually, the savings are substantial.
The policy will not solve every affordability challenge facing graduate students. But it removes a particularly difficult arrangement in which students working for SUNY could still be required to pay thousands of dollars in mandatory fees to the institution employing them.
For students, families and taxpayers, the next question should be whether New York can continue making higher education more affordable while also providing SUNY campuses with enough operating support to maintain strong teaching, research and student services.
Residents can learn more about SUNY programs and campuses through the State University of New York.
