Free Community College: Governor Hochul Unveils Plan to Make Higher Education More Affordable and Bolster New York State’s Workforce

New York State Opportunity Promise
Governor Hochul is steadfast in her commitment to making higher education more affordable and building the workforce that New York needs. The FY 2025 Enacted Budget included an historic expansion of the Tuition Assistance Program to help more New Yorkers cover the cost of college. Additionally, the Governor has continued to expand workforce development, apprenticeship, and microcredential programs to prepare New Yorkers for in-demand jobs. The Governor’s free community college proposal, NYS Opportunity Promise, is the next level of this commitment by making an associate degree more affordable and obtainable.
Across New York State, there are more than four million working-age adults who do not have a college degree or credential. The Governor’s proposal would cover tuition, fees, and books at any SUNY or CUNY community college for these adult learners who have never earned a degree and are pursuing an associate degree in a high demand field, including nursing, teaching, technology, and engineering.
SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. said, “SUNY’s community colleges are incredible engines of upward mobility, and Governor Hochul’s Free Community College plan will literally change the lives of New Yorkers seeking a degree in a high-demand field. SUNY campuses like Onondaga Community College are leading the way in meeting the needs of our adult learners and regional employers.”
New York as a National Workforce Hub
Upstate New York has been designated as a National Workforce Hub to dramatically expand domestic memory chip manufacturing in the United States. Federal and state incentives played a key role in securing Micron’s $100 billion investment in the White Pine Industrial Park in the town of Clay in Onondaga County – one of the largest economic development projects in U.S. history.
In total, the project is expected to create nearly 50,000 jobs statewide, including an average of 5,600 construction jobs per year paying federal prevailing wage. When complete, the complex will include the nation’s largest clean room space at approximately 2.4 million square feet, grow domestic semiconductor manufacturing, and enhance our national security by expanding the United States’ chipmaking capacity.
Additionally, Governor Hochul announced earlier this month that GlobalFoundries, a semiconductor manufacturer in Saratoga County, will invest $575 million to build a new center for advanced packaging and testing, along with $186 million for research and development at its Malta facility over the next decade.
State University of New York Chancellor John B. King Jr. joined as Onondaga Community College President Warren Hilton updated the Governor on the campus’s readiness to expand enrollment in academic programs tied to in-demand jobs. Included in the tour was the construction site for the $15 million, 5,000 square-foot Micron Simulation Lab at the campus, which is critical to help train students. The clean room is expected to be fully operational during the summer of 2026.
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