Category Archives: Uncategorized

Revenue Forecast Released in the Black with Little Wiggle Room

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This morning the Washington Economic & Revenue Forecast Council approved a November forecast that increased slightly by $368 million for 2013-15. The increase is the result of a slow-recovering economy and tax changes approved by the Legislature.

Overall the increase gives the state about $862.7 million in total general-fund reserves for the current budget. Though good news given the deep declines in revenue over the past few years, the positive forecast does not change course, in many policymaker’s minds,  for the upcoming supplemental session. In other words a session geared towards technical changes and not new major investments.

This cautious approach may well be supported given pending litigation on state employee pensions that in the worst case could hit the state with a$1.3 billion price tag.

Changes in Leadership in Olympia

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This week Governor Inslee announced the appointment of a new chief of staff. Inslee named senior advisor Joby Shimomura as his new chief of staff.

Shimomura is a longtime aide of the Governor’s who has served on the governor’s executive team since January. She is a veteran Congressional staffer and campaign manager, working as Inslee’s Congressional chief of staff for six years and managing several of his campaigns.

Shimomura replaces Mary Alice Heuschel who has served in this role since January. Heuschel will lead state efforts on an interm basis to implement the Governor’s accountability framework “Results Washington”.

In other news, Senator Ed Murray resigned his position as Senate Democratic Leader.  Murray successfully won election as the Mayor of Seattle this week. Murray cited the need to focus on the transition of becoming mayor. However, he plans to remain in the Legislature through the special session, setting a date later for resignation from the Legislature.

Senator David Frockt will take over as interim leader of the Senate Democratic caucus.

Happenings on The Hill

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Yesterday the Washington Legislature convened for the third special session since the adjournment of the 2013 regular session in April. Governor Inslee called lawmakers back to Olympia, with 48 hours notice, to move through legislation designed to retain Boeing in Washington.

The legislation would continue current tax incentives for the airplane manufacturer through 2040 at a cost to the state of approximately $8.7 billion in loss revenue and a second bill would make additional investments in the community and technical college system for aerospace related training and education.  The state would also agree to fast-tracking aircraft-factory permits and working to find a balanced plan for more stringent water quality standards under consideration by the Washington Department of Ecology.

In return Boeing has agreed to keep the manufacturer of the 777x in Washington from which the state hopes to gain jobs and additional economic benefit.

The announcement of another special session also gave new life to the potential consideration of a transportation package. The proposed transportation package in the regular session ultimately was a casualty as lawmakers sought to strike a deal in the second special session and adjourn a very long session.  However the chances of a transportation package moving this special session is increasingly unlikely as the Senate is expected to vote on the Boeing related legislation and then adjourn tomorrow without considering a transportation package.

U.S. Department of Education Announces Series of Public Hearings on College Rating System

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This week the U.S. Department of Education announced a series of regional public hearings to gather feedback from the public and stakeholders about the Administration’s proposal to create a federal college ratings system.

Next month representatives from the Department will travel to four campuses across the country to solicit feedback on the proposal. The Department will hold hearings throughout November at California State University Dominguez Hills campus, Los Angeles CA; George Mason University, Fairfax, VA; the University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA; and Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA.

Washington House Republicans Name New Ranking Member on Appropriations

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The Washington House Republicans named Representative Bruce Chandler as the next person to lead the caucus in budget discussions. Chandler replaces Representative Gary Alexander who served as the ranking member on the House Appropriations Committee for eight years.

Chandler is a 13-year veteran of the Legislature who has served on the House Appropriations Committee seven years. He represents the 15th Legislative District which includes eastern Yakima County.

Alexander announced earlier this year that he will resign from is House seat later this year. He is currently running for the position of Thurston County auditor.

Update on Obama Administration’s College Rating System

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More and more details are emerging from D.C. about the college rating system that the Obama Administration has made a primary focus of their higher education policy agenda.

In August President Obama issued an agenda focused on affordability and access to higher education. The President’s plan included paying for performance, promoting innovation and competition, and ensuring that student debt remains limited. The President directed the U.S. Department of Education to develop a rating system as part of his agenda to better inform students and encourage higher education institutions to improve.

The intention of the system is to compare colleges with similar missions and identify those that do the most to help students from disadvantaged backgrounds and those improving their performance. The goal being that the rating system would direct where future federal funds would go.

As part of the development of the system the Department is asking for the best ideas and creative thinking around three primary themes:

  • College access, such as the percentage of students receiving Pell Grants;
  • College affordability, such as average tuition, scholarships, and loan debt; and
  • Outcomes, such as students’ graduation and transfer rates, graduate earnings, and advanced degrees of college graduates

To facilitate feedback in mid-September the Department began a series of nationwide public discussions with student advocates and leaders. It is the intention of the Department in the coming months to travel across the country to host open forums, roundtable discussions, and town halls to gather suggestions. The public is encouraged to send suggestions as well via collegefeedback@ed.gov

 

 

 

 

The Impact to Higher Education if the Government Shuts Down

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Those in the other Washington and higher education experts believe that if the federal government shuts down the impact to higher education will be modest.  That is in the short-term.

The federal government may shutdown on October 1 if Congress does not agree to a stopgap spending measure to keep the government going. It is unclear on October 1 what federal programs related to higher education would be impacted. Last week the White House directed federal agencies including the U.S. Department of Education to update their plans for operation during a government shutdown. The documents have yet to be released.

Looking back at the last close call in 2011, the Education Department estimated that it would furlough almost all of its staff and would rely on a limited number of people on a limited basis if the shutdown was prolonged longer than a week. At this time the Department said that the administration of federal student aid programs would largely be unaffected at least for the first week. A shutdown beyond a week would have a more severe impact on financial aid.

Beyond the potential shutdown next week, higher education is looking ahead to the multiple federal fiscal fights likely this fall. Even if the shutdown does not occur Congress is expected to pass a stopgap measure. This will be a temporary fix and will leave in place the sequester cuts to campus-based financial aid programs and scientific research.  Making the problem further complex are the looming negotiations over the debt ceiling – October 17. If the federal government were to run out of money higher education is concerned about the impact on federal student aid and research funding.

Movement in Washington D.C. on Higher Education

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Last week marked some movement for higher education in Washington D.C.

Higher Education Act

The U.S. Senate committee on education formally began the process to reauthorize the Higher Education Act. The Higher Education Act is the primary federal legislation which governs federal student aid and higher education.

Senator Harkin – Chairman of the Committee – identified his plan for reauthorization. The Committee will hold a total of twelve hearings – eleven more to come – focused on fact-finding over the next several months with the intention of producing draft legislation by early 2014.

On Thursday of last week the Committee held the first of the twelve hearings. The hearing focused on the complex system oversight for higher education in the United States which consists of regulations from the U.S. Department of Education, state regulators, and accrediting bodies.

The plan to produce draft legislation by early 2014 is optimistic given that it took five years longer to complete the last reauthorization in 2008. In addition Senator Alexander – the senior Republican on the Committee – has asked staff to consider drafting a new Act from the beginning potentially complicating the proposed timeline.

U.S. Department of Education Begins Process for Additional Accountability for Institutions

Last week the Department announced it had begun the process for gathering feedback and input on how to develop metrics for the institutional rating system announced by the Obama Administration earlier this year.

The Department is expected to produce a draft rating system by mid-2014 with a final version out by December of the same year. The long-term goal is to develop a rating system by the 2015 academic year and persuade Congress to link that system to federal student aid dollars by 2018.

The head of the Department – Arne Duncan- provided a small preview into what the rating system may look like.  Duncan promised that the system would take a holistic approach to judging institutions on areas of access, affordability and student performance. With the broad goal being to determine “how many students at an institution graduate, at a reasonable cost, without a lot of debt, and get a job that enables them to support themselves and their families.”

Potential metrics that may be considered include the percentage of students receiving Pell grants, the average amount of tuition, scholarships and loan debt; graduation and transfer rates; the salaries of graduates; and the extent to which graduates pursue advanced degrees.

Duncan also shared that the Department will begin with metrics that have data that already exists.

The Department has already begun the feedback process meeting with student advocacy groups last week which kick-off what the Department refers to as a series of discussions with higher education stakeholders in the coming year.

New Leader at the U.S. Department of Education

Late last week the U.S. Department of Education announced that Jamienne Studley will join the Department as a deputy under secretary of education.

Studley will oversee the Department’s second-term higher education agenda.  She is expected to focus on a range of issues including accreditation and college pricing and play a key role in the Obama Administration’s proposed rating system.

Studley is the former president of Skidmore College and a one-time Education Department general counsel. She comes to the Department from Public Advocates Inc a consumer law and advocacy group. She has served since 2010 on the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity which advises the education secretary on accreditation issues.

House Higher Education Committee Tours Eastside

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Last week the House Higher Education Committee spent three days touring institutions and hearing from educators, students, and stakeholders about a range of issues facing higher education including alignment with K-12 and the workforce and serving underrepresented students in higher education.

On Friday the Committee ended its three day tour in Yakima. The focus of the early morning meeting was to hear from institutions and the Washington Student Achievement Council about serving underrepresented student populations in higher education in Washington.

This included a presentation on diversity from the Council and Washington’s two research institutions  as well as specific institutional initiatives such as the Press for Completion Grant at Yakima Valley Community College and the College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP).

Those sharing their experience and ideas with the Committee emphasized the need for the Legislature to be more aware of the changing and increasing minority population among college-ready students.

The Council also unveiled results of a survey sent to the baccalaureate institutions and community colleges. The survey asked the institutions to describe the funding, capacity and challenges for their diversity programs. According to the survey, the primary challenge to getting minority groups over barriers to success is scarce financial resources, followed by insufficient staff to help students.

The House Higher Education Committee is not expected to meet again until late November when the Legislature convenes for Assembly Days.

September Revenue Forecast Up

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This morning the Washington Economic and Revenue Forecast Council met to hear the latest revenue projections for the state.

According to State Economist Steve Lerch the combined effect of a recovering economy and tax changes approved by the Legislature this past session are expected to generate $368 million in additional revenue for the biennium. Approximately $123 million is due to actions taken by the Legislature with regard to tax breaks and tax reforms.

In addition the forecast predicts an additional $342 million in new revenue for 2015-17, the majority of which ($249 million) is due to legislative and other non-economic factors.

Lerch stated “There has been little dramatic change in the economy since our last forecast and we continue to expect a slowly improving economy…While we still anticipate an expanding housing market, higher mortgage rates and home prices will slow activity relative to our June forecast.”