BUFFALO, N.Y. — On Tuesday, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that the State University of New York Board of Trustees ended the practice of withholding transcripts from students who had outstanding balances.
This goes into effect immediately.
"Education is key to unlocking opportunity and to help New Yorkers succeed, we need to eliminate punitive barriers to opportunity like transcript withholding," Hochul said. "This is a matter of common sense. New Yorkers will not be able to climb the ladder of success and get out of debt if their financial challenges prevent them from accessing those opportunities.
"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."
Although about half of the students do graduate debt free, as of 2020 about 19,000 students still owed their campuses. Having their transcripts will allow them to re-enroll in a campus, transfer credits, complete their degree, and obtain jobs that could help pay down their unpaid balance.
"Students come to SUNY for an excellent and affordable college education, often making personal sacrifices along the way in order to reach the career of their dreams. To come so far only to be held back by unpaid fees and fines is simply unfair to our students. My thanks for Governor Hochul for shining light on this oversight that has been commonplace throughout higher education, and for bringing further equity to our economically disadvantaged students, who have worked hard to earn their degree," SUNY Interim Chancellor Deborah F. Stanley said.
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