Last week Gubernatorial Candidate Rob McKenna released his plan to take higher education in a “new direction” in Washington if elected Governor. McKenna, currently Washington’s Attorney General and the Republican front-runner for the office, declared on his campaign website “It is time to end the  cuts, rebuild state support for our schools, and give Washington families an affordable path to college graduation.”

McKenna notes the discrepancy between the “rhetoric from our state capitol” and “leaders’ actions” when it comes to funding higher education. As Governor, McKenna argues he will be the “champion” needed in Olympia.

He lays out several goals, challenges, opportunities and reforms needed in the higher education sector. Among his goals for the four year public baccalaureate sector, McKenna asks to:

• End the erosion of state support for higher education and restore funding levels to their historical average.
• Return to a 50/50 deal with our university students, where the state covers half the cost of a college education while students and their families pick up the other half.
• Enroll more in-state students in our universities, produce more college graduates, and increase the number of graduates attaining higher levels of post-secondary education.
• Emphasize degree programs that align with our future job needs, such as science, technology, engineering, math, math education, business management, accounting, and health science.

When it comes to challenges he sees an increased demand for a college-educated workforce in the state and an acknowledgment that higher education has “borne the brunt of state budget reductions.” He also notes that inconsistent funding has lead to tuition increases and a recognition that Washington is struggling with enrolling students per capita compared to other states in the nation.

In terms of opportunities McKenna sees the need for higher education growing. With this in mind, he argues “we can improve our higher education system and address access, funding, degree attainment, workforce needs, and reforms,” and as a candidate that recognizes these facts, he can get us there if elected Governor. Among them are:

• “Education at all levels as the state’s top responsibility” – a budget devoted to higher education and K-12 as the economy and state budget grow.
• More meaningful government reforms to find savings in current spending levels, including using performance management to increase productivity and connecting compensation to performance.
• A 50/50 breakdown of state support and tuition. As state support increases, the ratio of state support to tuition should be stabilized.  
• Increasing access to financial aid by establishing a Washington Pledge Scholarship Program –  a voluntary program with an endowment fund goal of $1 billion, funded by private donations from individuals and businesses. This fund would help families that cannot afford college but don’t qualify for state or federal need-based grants.
• Financial aid for all who qualify.

Finally, McKenna argues that reforms will need to be made. Among these he asks for:

• Every part of state government  performs at a higher level, including higher education.
• Greater use of online courses to increase course access and contain costs.
• A significant share of increased state resources for our universities to be focused on the branch campuses, such as UW-Tacoma and WSU-TriCities, as well as on the programs offered away from their main campuses by the regional comprehensive universities, such as EWU at Bellevue College.
• Expanded University Centers and applied baccalaureate programs at the community colleges.
• For new hires, move from a tenure system to a long-term contract system. Instead of guaranteeing lifetime tenure, giving new professors a rolling five year contract that can be renewed. Such a system would protect academic freedom without tying universities down to lifetime tenure.
• Using technology to reduce costs. Look for opportunities, especially in large introductory courses, to utilize technology to save money on instruction, facilities, testing, and textbooks.