State spending on higher education was on the agenda Monday as budget hearings continued in Albany.
Testifying during the hearing, Monroe Community College President Anne Kress addressed lawmakers on the need for more base aid for MCC and other schools.
She joined SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher in requesting more funding.
Kress it's a simple and straight forward request to increase the base aid by $285 dollars per full time equivalent student.
"That will keep our colleges whole, it will help us keep pace, if nothing else, with the cost of benefits we give our valued employees and faculty."
Kress says because funding for community colleges from the state has not kept pace with costs, they struggle to fulfill the promise the system has made to their students.
SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher refers to this request for increased base aid as an "enhancement of their support and restoration request."
Overall, it's a $37.3 million dollar request for community colleges.
Zimpher made the case for continued support for ongoing and new SUNY programs, a restoration of funding levels that were cut and for the state to invest in the system by enhancing funding levels.
She also called for the renewal of the SUNY 2020 plan, which would allow for tuition increases up to $300 dollars a year.
That tuition provision has been included in the Governor's executive budget.
