A Deeper Dive into the House’s Proposed Budget for Higher Education

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The proposed budget, released by the House, is expected to move out of committee tomorrow (April 6 ).

The proposed biennial operating budget reduces state funding for higher education by $482 million. In addition to these reductions the budget also makes several changes to higher education in Washington with regard to funding for high demand fields, underrepresented students, and financial aid.

The Higher Education Sector
The majority of the total reduction to higher education  came in the form of straight-up cuts to the four-year and two-year sector- $353.8 million. In addition, the across-the-board reductions taken during the December supplemental budget by all public higher education institiutions were biennalized and included in the 2011-13 budget – $102.2 million. Finally, the baccalaureate institutions and the community and technical colleges were reduced one-time to reflect the fact that enrollment levels may be temporary – $26.3 million.

Though not represented as a cut in the budget, all public higher education institutions are required to put a specified amount of state fund dollars into reserve for each year of the biennium. The Office of Financial Management may release these funds to the institution only after each institution has demonstrated improvement in metrics which measure academic progress and completion rates as determined by the Governor. The metrics will be chosen by the Governor from the National Governor’s Association’s Complete to Compete initiative.   

Finally, state funding levels were  reduced to reflect a funding cap on higher education retirement plans (HERPs) of 6% – $57.1 million. This is recognized as savings in the proposed budget.

These reductions were offset in part by tuition increases at all public higher education institutions. The proposed budget authorizes tuition increases of 13 percent per year for the University of Washington, Washington State University, and Western Washington University; 11.5% per year for Central Washington University, The Evergreen Staate College, and Eastern Washington University; and 11% per year for the community and technical colleges – $379 million.

Despite the dramatic reductions in state funding and the tuition increases, the four-year public higher education institutions received some additional funding. This funding came in two forms:

  • $1.5 million was allocated to Eastern Washington University, Central Washington University, and The Evergreen State College to provide, wrap-around services for low-income students.
  • $1.4 million was allocated to each four-year, public institutiono to support 25 full-time enrollments in the STEM fields.

The Evergreen State College

Under this proposed budget state funding for Evergreen is reduced by $16.3 million over the biennium.   This includes a combination of reductions in state funds and policy additions:

  • -$10.38 million in reduced state funding
  • -$1.97 million to reflect a proposed 3% salary reduction
  • -$1.55 million for biennialized across-the-board reductions in December supplemental
  • -$1.49 million to hold-back in reserves based upon future performance on academic progress
  • -$1.024 million as a result of the 6% funding cap on HERPs
  • -$940,000 in one-time reductions
  • $500,000 to provide for wrap-around services for low-income students
  • $250,000 to provide for 25 full-time enrollments in the STEM fields (10 enrollments in FY12 and 15 additional enrollments in FY13).
  • $225,000 in various studies for the Washington State Institute for Public Policy

The reductions to Evergreen’s state funding were offset in part by tuition increases for the 2011-13 biennium as stated in the budget. As a result, the net cut state funding for Evergreen is $9.02 million (-8.6%) (total state funding reduction minus tuition revenue).

Financial Aid
The primary victory for higher education was increased funding for the State Need Grant ($103.1 million). The increase in funding from the $91 million proposed in the Governor’s budget will accomodate the proposed budgeted tuition increases at  two-year and four-year higher education institutions. It is unclear at this time how this will impact the 22,000 current students who are eligible for the grant but do not receive it due to a lack of funds.

In addition the budget proposes two major policy changes to the State Need Grant. First, award amounts are reduced for students at private institutions. The award amount is no longer linked to tuition and fees at the UW but rather to tuition and fees at the comprehensive institutions. Second, awards are eliminated to future students who attend for-profit institutions. 

Despite the increased financial support for the State Need Grant, financial aid took a large hit in the House’s proposed budget. Several state financial aid programs are suspended for the 2011-13 biennium.  These programs include:

  • Washington’s Work Study program
  • Health Professionals program
  • Washington Scholars
  • Washington Award for Vocational Excellence
  • College Assistance Migrant Program
  • Community Scholarship Matching Grant Program
  • Leadership 1000
  • Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education student exchange
  • Foster Care Endowed Scholarship
  • Child Care matching grant
  • Educational Opportunity Grants