The students, faculty, alumni and board of The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art are anxiously waiting for a judge to rule on whether the school can legally begin charging tuition this semester.

Since its founding by Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union has never charged its undergraduates tuition. But with the school’s net assets approaching zero in recent years, the board of trustees voted in April 2013 to begin charging some freshmen up to half tuition (about $19,800) in 2014.

The decision caused considerable controversy, and in May a group of students, faculty and alumni filed a petition in civil court, hoping to have a judge rule that tuition must be kept free for all in accordance with the terms of Cooper’s charter.

“The goal of the lawsuit is to enforce the terms of Peter Cooper’s first trust and charter, which he founded the school with, and to bring the trustees back to those founding documents,” said Zoe Salzman, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, who include the Committee to Save Cooper Union as well as individual students, faculty and alumni.

The trustees responded by filing a cross motion to dismiss the suit based on lack of standing. Judge Nancy Bannon of New York held a hearing on Aug. 15, and both sides are now awaiting her decision. She could dismiss the CSCU’s suit based on lack of standing, rule in favor of the plaintiffs, reach some intermediate solution of her own or order more hearings.

Historically, the school has survived financially, largely thanks to owning the land under the Chrysler building, which New York state has granted a tax exemption because the Cooper Union’s free tuition model makes it comparable to public education.

Several times throughout the 2000s, investment returns were negative due to crises including 9/11, the tech bubble crash and the 2008 recession. Despite loans and property sales, expenses were exceeding revenue.

But many of the plaintiffs in the current lawsuit believe there’s more to the story than bad markets and rising costs.

“We believe the question is not just how do we preserve free tuition, the question is also how did we get here,” said Karen Imas, the media contact for CSCU.

She questioned several of the trustees’ financial decisions, including building an “extravagant” new engineering building without arranging full funding in advance and investing in hedge funds that underperformed. She also claims some board members had outside interests in some of the school’s real estate deals.

But Justin Harmon, vice president for communications at the Cooper Union, says those accusations are groundless.

“It’s a specious argument that has been thrown out to try to cast doubt on the management of the institution,” he said. “It’s very scattershot.”

The plaintiffs also want Judge Bannon to mandate the creation of the Associates of Cooper Union, an oversight body described in Cooper’s charter that would be able to oversee, and even remove, trustees.

“There are extensive provisions in both the trust and the charter that detail in great length (the Associates’ duties),” Salzman said. “That doesn’t currently exist and the board of trustees has refused to create it.”

But Harmon says that failing to create the Associates does not reflect badly on the board. “(The board) never refused to do it, they just never did it,” he said. He claimed the charter allows for, but does not require, an oversight group and that most of the purposes of the Associates were undertaken by the board itself.

As both sides await a decision, the school year is moving forward: tuition bills have gone out to freshmen and classes will begin on Sept. 2.

Harmon said this year represents an exciting time for the Cooper Union, because the new financial model makes the school sustainable and allows the school to give even more financial aid to students with the greatest need.

But many, including Salzman, believe that if tuition continues to be charged it will spell the end of an era for the Cooper Union.

“As a tuition-free school, it truly is a meritocracy, based purely on merit, and as a result has been able to attract the highest-caliber students,” Salzman said. “And we think all of that would be lost if the school were to impose tuition.”

Correction: In the Sept. 28 article “Pay Up: The Cooper Union prepares for possibility of charging tuition for first time since 1902″ Karen Imas was misquoted. In her first quote, she said “preserve,” not “prosecute.”  The headline and second paragraph were also inaccurate. The Cooper Union has never charged its undergraduates tuition, but has charged students for some non-degree programs. 

 

Published on August 28, 2014 at 12:01 am

Contact Maggie: mmcregan@syr.edu