Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Judge Says Cooper Union Can Keep Charging Tuition... For Now
By
Emma Whitford
Published Dec 17, 2015
Modified Dec 17, 2015
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Emma Whitford/Gothamist
By
Emma Whitford
Published Dec 17, 2015
Modified Dec 17, 2015
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Cooper Union, the historically-free college of art, architecture and engineering in Cooper Square, will continue to charge tuition in the short term but will transition back to a tuition-free model "as soon as practical," following a supreme court judge's decision on Wednesday.
"[The trustees] may have lost sight of Peter Cooper's ideals, including that of free education," Justice Nancy Bannon wrote in her 25-page opinion.
However, "If the Cooper Union is unable to charge tuition in the short term, the school's viability would be significantly jeopardized."
Peter Cooper, a self-taught industrialist, inventor, and philanthropist, founded Cooper Union in 1859. He never had formal schooling, and believed that education should be "as free as air and water." Since the fall of last year, new students matriculating at Cooper Union have paid $20,000 per year—the equivalent of a 50% scholarship. This fall, according to the school, about 25% of the freshman class got full scholarships because of financial need.
Bannon's opinion solidifies a September settlement between Cooper Union's Board of Trustees and the Committee To Save Cooper Union (CSCU), a group of alumni and faculty that sued the historically-free school last fall over alleged mismanagement and its decision to charge.
Cooper Union's tuition decision also prompted Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to investigate the school's finances.
In 1999, Cooper Union had a $10 million deficit, exacerbated by the construction of $100 million 41 Cooper Square and alleged mismanagement of the land underneath the Chrysler building, the school's largest asset. By 2011, the deficit had ballooned 60% to $16 million—a development that former-president Jamshed Bharucha disclosed three months after his arrival that summer.
This spring, as details of the school's financial trouble spread, Bharucha and five board members who had long been his vocal supporters stepped down.
"The view is that the board is changing," Scott Lerman, '81, a strategic advisor for CSCU said in September. "Some of the most vocal anti-free-tuition people are gone. Others don't really believe it's possible to be free, but they've agreed to something that we never thought they would agree to."
A new Free Education Committee of students and alumni was established last month, and two voting students and two voting alumni were added to the board. Following yesterday's decision, an independent financial monitor will be instated to oversee the board's spending. Schneiderman will reassess the school's finances in the spring of 2018.
Cooper Union spokesman Justin Harmon told us this fall that the board supports returning to a tuition free model. However, the financial "hurdles" are still "large."
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Board Chair Richard Lincer wrote, "We are pleased to have the court’s formal approval on an agreement that... establishes a formal mechanism to evaluate the feasibility of returning The Cooper Union to a full-tuition scholarship model."
Tagged
college
cooper union
free tuition
Emma Whitford
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Retired NYPD detective charged in George Washington Bridge killing out on $1M bail
Victor Romero, who retired from the police department in 2001
By
Michael Sol Warren
Published Oct 25, 2026 at 10:25 a.m. ET
Suicides decline in NYC, but inequities persist across groups
New data shows suicide taking an outsize toll among Latino New Yorkers, even as overall deaths fell.
By
Jill Webb
News
Suicides decline in NYC, but inequities persist across groups
New data shows suicide taking an outsize toll among Latino New Yorkers, even as overall deaths fell.
By
Jill Webb
Cuts to rural healthcare become key issue for upstate votes in race for NY governor
By
Samuel King
NY Archdiocese will soon settle $800M clergy sexual abuse claims
By
Arya Sundaram
Chinatown residents file lawsuit against after-hours construction on new 'mega jail'
By
Arya Sundaram
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .