This afternoon the Washington House passed legislation – with a vote of 59-28 – to eliminate the Higher Education Coordinating Board and create the Office of Student Financial Assistance and the Council for Higher Education by July 1, 2012.

Senate Bill 5182 eliminates the Higher Education Coordinating Board on July 1, 2012, and establishes a Council for Higher Education subject to recommendations of a Steering Committee on Higher Education and legislation enacted in 2012.

The Steering Committee on Higher Education will be chaired by the Governor or her designee and include four legislators and equal representation from higher education sectors in the state.

Between now and July 1, 2012 the Higher Education Coordinating Board will continue several of its current responsibilities but not all. Senate Bill 5182 eliminates several Higher Education Coordinating Board functions to reflect the reduction in state funding for the agency. The areas eliminated include reporting on state support received by students, the costs of higher education, gender equity, capital budget prioritization, technology degree production, costs and benefits of tuition and fee reciprocity with Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia, and transmitting undergraduate and graduate educational costs to boards of regents.

The bill now goes back to the Senate for concurrence.