Tag Archives: financial aid

Boeing and Microsoft Make Endowment Real

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Yesterday two of Washington’s major private employers – Microsoft and Boeing – each gave $25 million to start the Washinton Opportunity Scholarship program.

The program was established under legislation signed by Governor Gregoire on Monday.

House Bill 2088 creates an endowment for students pursuing a baccalaureate degree in a high demand field.

The Opportunity Scholarship Program and the Opportunity Expansion Program to mitigate the impact of tuition increases, increase the number of baccalaureate degrees in high employer demand and other programs, and invest in programs and students to meet market demand fields of study while filling middle-income jobs with a sufficient supply of skilled workers.

The Opportunity Scholarship Board is established to identify eligible education and training programs for purposes of the opportunity scholarship, select institutions of higher education to receive opportunity expansion awards, set fundraising goals, and solicit funds. 

The Opportunity Scholarship Program will be funded by a combination of private and state moneys. The state match, which must be appropriated by the Legislature, is earned for private contributions made after the effective date and must be paid beginning the later of January 1, 2014, or the first year with state revenues 10 percent higher than those received in fiscal year 2008. The state match payments are capped at $50 million annually.

The Opportunity Expansion Program will be funded with voluntary contributions of high technology research and development tax credits.

 

Senate Passes Endowment Bill; Heads to Governor

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Late this afternoon the Washington Senate passed legislation that would establish an endowment for students studying in high-demand fields.

HB 2088 creates the Opportunity Scholarship Program and the Opportunity Expansion Program to mitigate the impact of tuition increases, increase the number of baccalaureate degrees in high employer demand and other programs, and invest in programs and students to meet market demand fields of study while filling middleincome jobs with a sufficient supply of skilled workers. 

 House Bill 2088 now goes to the Governor.

Senate Concurs on Bill to Eliminate HECB

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This afternoon the Washington Senate concurred on legislation – with a vote of 47-0 – 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 to the Governor for her consideration.

House Passes Legislation to Eliminate the HECB

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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.

GET Bill Moves Out of Senate

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The Washington Senate passed a bill – with a vote of 41 to 3- that would make changes to Washington’s current Guaranteed Education Tuition (GET) program, in particular changes to the Committee on Advanced Tuition Payment.

Senate Bill 5749, as passed by the Senate, would:

  • Retain the provision that specifies the length of term for the members on the Committee on Advanced Tuition Payment appointed by the Governor for four-year terms instead of an unspecified period of time and adds two additional representatives of private business appointed by the Governor, who must consider names from a list provided by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
  • Add that the Committee on Advanced Tuition Payment utilize the State Actuary in reviewing the Guaranteed Education Tuition Program rather than a national recognized actuary, but the Committee may, at its discretion, obtain an assessment by a national recognized actuary.
  • Add that the Committee on Advanced Tuition Payment utilize the State Actuary in planning and devising a college savings program, but the Committee may, at its discretion, obtain an evaluation from a lified actuarial consulting firm.
  • Require the Committee on Advanced Tuition Payment, with the State Actuary, to review the program in light of passage of E2SHB 1795 (higher education opportunity act) and to make any necessary changes to the program for units purchased on or after September 1, 2011.
  • Establish a Legislative Advisory Committee to the Committee on Advanced Tuition Payment to provide advice regarding the administration of the program.
  • Remove all other provisions pertaining to new requirements after August 1, 2011.

 The bill now goes to the House for further consideration.

House Committee Moves Forward Bill to Restructure Higher Education at the State-Level

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This afternoon the House Ways & Means Committee passed legislation that would eliminate the Higher Education Coordinating Board (HECB) and restructure higher education at the state level.

Senate Bill 5182, as amended in committee, would eliminate the HECB and establish the Council of Higher Education and the Office of Student Financial Assistance.

The Office of Student Financial Assistance will be created as of July 1, 2011. The current fnancial aid program management under the Higher Education Coordinating Board (HECB) will be transferred to the Office.

The Higher Education Council will be established on July 1, 2012. Between now and the July 2012 date the HECB will continue and bridge the one-year delay before the new Council is in place.

The membership of the Council includes the president of the UW or her/his designee, the president of WSU or her/his designee, a president from the comprehensive institutions or Evergreen, the director of the state board for community and technical colleges, the superintendent of public instruction or her/his designee, one president from a non-profit, private institution, and five representatives of the public, of which one will be a current student.

The role and scope of the Council will be determined by a Joint Legislative Task Force on Higher Education.  The Joint Legislative Task Force will include eight legislators – four from each chamber, of which two will be Democratic legislators and two will be Republican legislators.

The Task Force is charged with reviewing coordination, planning, and communication for higher education in the state and establishing the purpose and functions of the new Council. The Task Force will report its findings and recommendaitons to the governor and the appropriate legislative committees by December 1, 2011.

Among the options to be considered include:

  • Creating an effective and efficient higher education system and coordinating key sectors including K-12
  • Improving the coordination of higher education institutions and sectors with specific attention to strategic planning, system design, and transfer and articulation
  • Improving structures and functions related to administration and regulation of the state’s higher education institutions and programs, including but not limited to financial aid, the GET program, federal grant administration, new degree program approval, authorization to offer degrees in the state, reporting performance data, and minimum admission standards.

The Task Force is required to consider input from all higher education stakeholders (i.e. institutions, Governor, HECB, K-12, Workforce Board, students, faculty, business, labor organizaitons, and the public).

The bill that passed out of the House committee is very close to the bill the Senate passed last week. The differences between SB 5182 as passed by the committee and the Senate are primarily with regard to the membership of the Council, the scope of the Council’s work, and the implementation date.

The bill now goes to the House floor for further consideration.

House Passes Key Higher Education Legislation

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This afternoon the Washington House passed legislation that would alter current policies focused on tuition, accountability, and financial aid.  House Bill 1795 passed with a vote of 79-17.

The bill is a comprehensive piece of legislation that leaves little alone with regard to higher education policy. The key provision in the bill for many is the ability for four-year public baccalaureate institutions to set tuition for all students through 2014-2015 and modifies this authority based on a state funding baseline and funding for higher education institutions in the Global Challenge States through 2018-2019.

The ability for the four-year public baccalaureate institutions to set their own tuition levels is mitigated by strengthening current institutional financial aid requirements and funding the State Need Grant at the proposed increased tuition rates in the budget.  All institutions are required to remit at least 4% of operating fees back to students in the form of financial aid. This is an increase from 3.5%.

Institutions that exceed the tuition levels appropriated in the budget are required to remit 5% of operating fees back to students in the form of financial aid and provide financial assistance to students up to 125% of the Median Family Income (MFI) via a specific formula that is based on tuition price as a percentage of MFI in various income brackets up to 125% of MFI.  Finally all instititutions are required to make every effort to encourage eligible students to take advantage of federal tax credits.

The bill also requires higehr education institutions to report by December 1 on performance data that aligns with the National Governor’s Association Complete to Compete metrics with additions that include graduate and professional degrees;Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) participation; student debt load; and disaggregation of measures based on various student demographics, including socio-economic status and income levels. In addition institutions must develop a performance plan which must include a set of expected outcomes (i.e. time to degree, baccalureate degree production).

Finally the bills makes changes to dual enrollment policies, transfer and prior credit policies, and provides regulatory relief for institutions of higher education.

The bill now goes to the Senate for further consideration.

Legislation to Alter Higher Education Structure at the State Level Moves Forward

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This morning the Senate passed legislation to eliminate the Higher Education Coordinating Board (HECB) and restructure higher education with a vote of 34-9.

Senate Bill 5182 would eliminate the HECB and establish the Council of Higher Education and the Office of Student Financial Assistance. 

The  Council membership would include the six four-year institution presidents, one private nonprofit president, the Executive Director of the SBCTC, and a representative from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, or their designees. The purpose of the Council would be to develop performance-based measures and goals for each four-year institution and a strategic plan for the institutions of higher education benchmarks.

In addition the Council would perform essential state governance functions previously assigned to the HECB, including approving new programs, mission changes, new colleges, recognizing accreditation, and provides the interface to meet federal requirements.

The Office of Student Financial Assistance would administer all state and federal financial aid and the advanced college tuition payment program. The Office is created as a separate agency of the state.

Senate Bill 5182 is scheduled for a public hearing by the House Ways & Means Committee on Thursday. In addition, the Committee is also scheduled to take executive action on legislation that would not eliminate the HECB but would narrow the scope of their work.

House Bill 2074 retains the administration of the state’s financial aid programs, some functions for collecting and collating data from institutions, and other functions, such as some transfer and articulation provisions and strategic planning.

Congress Passes FY 11 Spending Bill

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Yesterday the U.S. Senate and House passed a long-term continuing resolution that will fund the federal government through the end of the current fiscal year. The House passed the resolution with a vote of 260-167 and the Senate passed the same legislation with a vote of 81-19.

The resolution prevented a shut-down of the federal government last week. Congress had previously passed a series of short-term resolutions in lieu of a consensus on a final spending package. The most recent short-term continuing resolution expired today.

The resolution will preserve the $5,550 maximum Pell Grant for the 2011-12 award year and delay elimination of second Pell awards until after this summer. The reductions in the resolution also affect others student financial aid programs, including the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) and federal work study for the 2011-12 academic year. 

Overall the resolution reduces state spending by $38.5 million from non-defense, discretionary FY10 spending levels.  The President is expected to sign the bill.