This article introduces New York's complex postsecondary sector. It then turns to the question of state financial support, and the broader character of the structure of higher education in New York State. It also discusses the two sectors and argues that the conceptualization of two distinct sectors—one “public” and one “private”—should be framed quite differently. A major goal of the State University of New York (SUNY) and the City University of New York (CUNY) is an assurance that any future tuition increases be used for the campuses and not to help close a state budget gap. The increase in tuition to fill budget gaps produces a paradoxical situation: as tuition rises, student aid provided by the state increases per student. As New York's three major higher education sectors faced the future, they were acutely aware that hard times would continue well into the future.