Advocacy Day

Legislative visits – or Lobby Days – are held at select times throughout the year. During a typical Lobby Day, students, administrators, faculty members, employers and other stakeholders travel to Albany to meet with elected officials to discuss the benefits of an APC education and remind lawmakers about the economic benefits that the proprietary sector brings to the state economy.

Students share their stories, including how financial aid such as the state’s Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) has made the difference between not attending college and earning a degree and becoming productive, tax-paying members of their communities. An added benefit for students is learning that they have a right to be heard in Albany - that they can arrange meetings with their elected officials and help shape governmental policy and laws. Administrators discuss the programs and services they provide to give students a rewarding college experience. Faculty members share their comprehensive, real-world work experiences. Employers remind decision-makers that graduates of APC member colleges are in great demand because they enter the work force with tremendous experience and ambition.

Students Visit Albany and Tell Lawmakers that TAP Increases Access to College, is a Sound Investment in New York’s Future

On Tuesday, March 6, more than 100 students, faculty and administrators from New York’s degree-granting proprietary colleges reminded lawmakers that TAP is both a smart investment in the state’s future and a vehicle that allows New Yorkers to maintain access to higher education. In highlighting their message, delegates representing New York’s Association of Proprietary Colleges (APC) thanked lawmakers for rejecting deep cuts to TAP in recent years, and acknowledged their support of the governor’s proposed 2012-13 budget, which maintains TAP at current levels. However, APC delegates reminded lawmakers that in 2010, students enrolled in colleges that only offer two-year degrees had their TAP awards slashed by 20 percent. As a result the maximum award went from $5,000 to $4,000. The reduction impacted thousands of students, some of whom need TAP the most.