A new report is calling the Excelsior Scholarship an "illusion" and "deeply flawed." It says the state's tuition assistance program is better suited to helping students.

Empire Center for Public Policy, a conservative think tank based in Albany, is criticizing the scholarship, saying the excelsior program is limited to SUNY and CUNY students even though it says private schools educate more students.

The watchdog group also says "TAP" is more widely available to New York students, calling it a "time-tested, well-funded program."

The College at Brockport, which has 1,000 students using the excelsior program, has responded to the report saying:

"The Excelsior Scholarship program, with its annual 30 credit requirement, has also done an outstanding job of keeping our students on track to graduate in four years, which helps lower student debt even further."