State of the Union Highlights Higher Education

Posted on February 16, 2013 by jgarver

In his 2013 State of the Union address, President Obama outlined a series of proposals to increase access to a high-quality education.

Among them were initiatives to make quality early education accessible to every child, to redesign the country’s high schools to meet the needs of the real world, and to tackle the spiraling cost of college.

President Obama stated, “Now, even with better high schools, most young people will need some higher education. It’s a simple fact that the more education you have, the more likely you are to have a job and work your way into the middle class. But, today, skyrocketing costs price too many young people out of a higher education, or saddle them with unsustainable debt. Through tax credits, grants, and better loans, we’ve made college more affordable for millions of students and families over the last few years, but taxpayers can’t keep on subsidizing higher and higher costs for higher education. Colleges must do their part to keep costs down, and it’s our job to make sure that they do. So, tonight, I ask Congress to change the Higher Education Act so affordability and value are included in determining which colleges receive certain types of federal aid. And, tomorrow, my Administration will release a new College Scorecard (see below) that students and parents can use to compare schools based on a simple criteria: where you can get the most bang for your educational buck.”

A day after the State of the Union address, the Department released an interactive College Scorecard, supplying students and families the critical information they need to make smart decisions about where to enroll for higher education.

The scorecard — part of the President’s continued efforts to hold colleges accountable for cost, value, and quality — includes five basic pieces of data about an institution: costs, graduation rate, loan default rate, average amount borrowed, and employment. The data will be updated periodically, and the agency plans to publish information on earnings potential in the coming year.

Policy Committees Ramp Up Work on Bills as First Deadline Nears

Posted on February 14, 2013 by jgarver

A week from Friday marks the deadline for policy bills to pass out of their respective policy committees. As such committees in both chambers are holding packed public hearings and executive sessions to hear and act on bills.

Last week and this week the House and Senate higher education policy committees held several public hearings focusing on a range of topics from tuition and financial aid policy to efficiencies at institutions of higher education and veterans’ access to higher education.

This week both committees continued their work in moving bills from the policy committee either to their respective chamber floors or to an appropriations committee.

This work will continue next week as the deadline for policy bills nears. In the House legislators will hear bills related to academic credit for military training and financial aid policy. In the Senate policymakers will hold public hearings on legislation focused on self-supporting, fee based programs, and financial aid and tuition policy.

Governor Inslee Announces a Jobs Package

Posted on February 14, 2013 by jgarver

Yesterday, Governor Jay Inslee announced a multifaceted $120 million jobs package for Washington.

The package would:

Provide tax breaks for new companies in certain fields
Create 500 new slots in aerospace-training programs
Assemble a commission to ensure that the state’s colleges and universities are turning out students with math- and science-based skills relevant to the economy’s needs.

The commission identified as part of Inslee’s package is the STEM Education Innovation Alliance. The Alliance would be responsible for advising the Governor in the development of a vision, guidance, assistance and advice to support STEM initiatives across the education spectrum to increase learning opportunities and improve educational outcomes in STEM.

The Governor’s Office, in consultation with the Superintendent of Public Instruction, is also responsible for inviting representatives of STEM businesses, business and labor organizations with expertise in STEM fields, one or more nonprofit organizations with a mission to enhance STEM education from early learning through postsecondary education, school districts and institutions of higher education that have demonstrated leadership and innovation in STEM education, and STEM educators to participate in the alliance.

The primary focus of the Alliance’s work is to align and combine previous STEM education strategic plans into a single, cohesive, and comprehensive STEM framework for action and accountability. The framework must concentrate on a limited number of selected and specific measures that are meaningful indicators of progress in increasing STEM learning opportunities and in achieving the intended longer-term outcomes of such efforts. The framework must also use measures that are quantifiable and based on data that are regularly and reliably collected statewide.

The package is part of the ongoing efforts by the Governor to drive collaboration between institutions and businesses to prepare students and workers for today’s jobs and the jobs of the future.

Governor Inslee’s Working Washington Agenda has five major components.

Educationg a 21st centry workforce. Expanding and enhancing STEM education. Preventing and reengaging high school dropouts. Increasing workplace-based training opportunities for students.
Improving the business climate & expanding our workforce. Promoting job growth and encouraging innovation through targeted tax relief. Modernizing state regulatory systems.
Advancing Washington’s aerospace leadership. New investments in aerospace education and training programs across the state. Helping Washington compete for new aerospace business.
Clean energy, climate action and plentiful water. Tapping state capital funds to develop clean energy solutions. Supporting more biofuel production. Making transportation and other investments good for climate.
Health care reform: healhty people, healthy economy. Fully embracing federal health care reform. Improving people’s health, saving taxpayer dollars and creating thousands of jobs.

The legislation to create the STEM Education Innovation Alliance will be heard next week in both chambers. On Wednesday evening in the House Education Committee and on Thursday evening in the Senate Early Learning & K12 Committee.

Performance and Data Top Work of House Higher Education Committee

Posted on February 5, 2013 by jgarver

The House Higher Education Committee met this morning, February 5, to talk about performance and accountability for Washington’s public baccalaureate institutions.

To begin the work session Melissa Beard, Education Research and Data Center and Jane Sherman, Council of Presidents provided an overview of the newly released Public Baccalaureate Dashboard and talked about how the dashboard was established and the metrics provided for the public, four-year sector.

Following the presentation, the committee heard from Jane Sherman regarding the state negotiated performance plans for the public baccalaureates.

The Committee then held a public hearing on two pieces of legislation, House Bill 1320 and House Bill 1453.

House Bill 1320

House Bill 1320 requires the Washington Student Achievement Council to establish and maintain a statewide Online Transfer and Student Advising system by September 1, 2014, in conjunction with other state agencies and higher education institutions.

The purpose of the Online Transfer and Student Advising system is to assist students to access higher education programs quickly and speed completion oftheir educational programs by clarifying and simplifying the process for exploring programs, resources, and transferability of courses.

Overall testimony was in support of the legislation. Some concerns were raised regarding the potential for additional costs and resources if the development of the online system were to require additional data and crosswalking between institutions and the advising system.

Evergreen testified in support with the caveat that the proposed substitute reflects changes in the bill to recognize the dynamic nature of the College’s curriculum and the need for translation for students that transfer from Evergreen to other institutions.

House Bill 1453

House Bill 1453 reduces the minimum number of required credits from six to three quarter credits for State Need Grant eligibility.

The legislation would make students who attend less than full-time to be permanently eligible for the grant. The bill does not speak to the fiscal impact but focuses on the policy change regarding eligibility.

Higher Education Talks 2013 Session with Committees

Posted on January 17, 2013 by jgarver

This week Washington’s four-year public institutions shared with legislators the impact of Governor Gregoire’s proposed budget on higher education and invited legislators to partner with the institutions in prioritizing higher education in policy and funding discussions.

On Tuesday the public baccalaureate institutions testified on Governor Gregoire’s proposed biennial budget for higher education.

Members of the House Appropriations Committee heard appreciation from the institutions for the acknowledgment Gregoire gave to the dramatic reductions in state funding the public four-year institutions have experienced since the begining of the recession. In particular, the shift in the cost of education from the state to Washington students and families.

Institutions also expressed that the proposal challenges Washington’s public universities and college because the proposed funding levels are insufficient to meet the basic operating needs of the institutions and does not respond to institutional requests for enhancements to sustain current performance and build capacity for access.

The public baccalaureate institutions asked legislators to partner with the institutions to support a biennial investment of $225 in state funding for the institutions. In return, the institutions would freeze resident undergraduate tution for the biennium as well as use the much needed investment to continue to sustain and build capacity for meeting critical state goals for higher education.

On Wednesday the public baccalaureates shared a similar message with the House Higher Education Committee. The Council of Presidents presented an overview of the impact of the last five years on Washington’s public four-year institutions followed by presentations from each of the universities and college.

The work session provided the opportunity for the institutions to share with legislators, many of which are new to the Legislature, about their institutions as well as highlight institutional policy priorities for the session.

2013 Legislative Session Kicks-Off

Posted on January 14, 2013 by jgarver

Today the Washington Legislature convened the 2013 legislative session. The session will focus on several large issues including the budget, K-12 funding, and healthcare. The session starts with a new governor and a Senate led by 23 Republicans and two Democrats.

This Week

This week will focus on organization of the Legislature, work sessions, and some bill hearings. Both the House and Senate will likely spend a good deal of time over the next few weeks in learning mode.

Here is a snapshot of the week ahead as it relates to higher education:

January 15

8 a.m. – House Higher Education Committee, which will hear about the newly formed Washington Student Achievement Council (which replaced the Higher Education Coordinating Board).
11:30 a.m.- Gov. Gregoire will deliver her final State of the State Address to a joint session of the House and Senate.
3:30 p.m. – House Appropriations. Public hearing on Gov. Gregoire’s operating budget proposals focused on K-12 and higher education.

January 16

Noon – Governor Inslee’s Inaugural Address will begin; look for a Republican response to immediately follow.
1:30 p.m. – House Higher Education will hold a work session on the Higher Education Policy Priorities for 2013 of the Council of Presidents and the public, baccalaureate institutions.
3:30 p.m.- Senate Ways & Means Committee will discuss the state’s operating and capital budgets.

January 17

9:00 a.m. – House Education will get an update on the K-12 Student Longitudinal Data System and hear from the Education Research and Data Center on current projects.
10:00 a.m. – House Higher Education hold a work session on the higher education priorities of stakeholders for the 2013 session

Legislature

Today the House and Senate will formally organize the leaders for each chamber and swear in new members.

All eyes will be on the Senate Monday when it convenes at noon for what is expected to be a historic moment . Senate “rules” state that the party with the most seats is the majority; with the power shifting to Republicans, look for procedural floor motions to name Tom as majority leader and Sheldon as President Pro Tem, cementing the new Majority Coalition.

On the first day of session, typical business is to officially approve committee chairs, ranking members and committee membership, committee schedules, cutoff dates, and other operating procedures. This year’s opening events may also see the election of six (or more) committee chairs and vice chairs led by Republicans. It is also possible there may be votes for committees to be led by Democrats or co-chaired between the two parties.

In the House, the Democrats have a clear majority (55-43). Not unlike the Senate, the House will experience the addition of several new members to the chamber. In the House 20 new members have joined the chamber (9 Democrats and 11 Republicans).

Seattle-based Frank Chopp is expected to continue as Speaker of the House. In addition, Rep. Larry Seaquist (D-Gig Harbor) will lead the House Higher Education Committee and will be joined by Rep. Gerry Pollett (D-Seattle) as vice chair. The ranking republican members will be Rep. Larry Haler (R-Richland) joined by Rep. Hans Zeiger (R-Puyallup).

Rep. Ross Hunter (D-Medina) will continue as chair of the House operating budget committee, which has been renamed as the Appropriations Committee. Republican Gary Alexander (R-Olympia) has been named the ranking member.

New this year is a true subcommittee on education appropriations that will be chaired by former school director Kathy Haigh (D-Shelton). The subcommittee will meet once during the week and will be comprised solely of legislators who are members of the larger Appropriations Committee.

Executive Branch

Tomorrow Governor Gregoire will give her departing speech. On Wednesday Governor- Elect Jay Inslee will outline his vision for the state in his inaugural address before a joint session of the House and Senate at noon.

Washington Legislative Session Kicks Off Next Week

Posted on January 10, 2013 by jgarver

The 2013 biennial session will begin on Monday in Olympia. A quick “101” regarding the Washington Legislature. Each odd-numbered year the Washington State Legislature meets for 105-days to pass biennial operating, capital and transportation budgets and enact policy bills.

In addition to these tasks, the Washington Legislature will also tackle a response to the K-12 McCleary decision and implementation of Obamacare at the state level. All of which are the focus of next week’s committee hearings in both the Senate and the House.

Next week the focus of the appropriations committees will be a review of the Governor’s proposed 2013-15 biennial budget, released in mid-December. Higher education will have an opportunity to testify with regard to the proposed budget on January 15 in House Appropriations.

In addition, the higher education policy committees plan to focus on the higher education priorities of stakeholders. On January 16 the Council of Presidents and the six public baccalaureate institutions will present their priorities to the Committee. Other stakeholders including students, faculty, and the Washington Achievement Council will present on Tuesday and Thursday.

Stay tune for the latest news from The Hill…..

Washington’s Public Four Year Institutions Release Proposal for Investment in Higher Education

Posted on January 8, 2013 by jgarver

Today Washington’s public four-year universities are asking the Legislature to bolster sagging state investment in higher education in order to freeze resident undergraduate tuition for the first time in a quarter century.

The proposal asks for a $225 million investment in state funding for the 2013-15 biennium to sustain current enrollment levels and build capacity to expand access in the state’s public baccalaureate system. In exchange the institutions would implement a tuition freeze for resident undergraduate tuition for the next two years.

This investment would support Evergreen’s basic needs and make an initial investment in sustaining and building capacity for student success. This would also provide Evergreen the necessary funds to build upon the quality of academic programs and improve student success, sustain and improve student recruitment and retention efforts through improved research capacity and investments in academic advising and financial aid as well as targeted support for entering students. In addition these funds would provide support to establish a dedicated Veterans Center at the College and increase support for the College’s science curriculum.

The investment by the state would be disbursed to the institutions on a pro-rata basis. Evergreen’s portionwould be $8.3 million.

Governor Gregoire’s Proposed 2013-15 Biennial Budgets

Posted on December 20, 2012 by jgarver

On Tuesday Governor Gregoire released her proposed 2013-15 Operating and Capital budgets. As required by law, Governor Gregoire submitted an all-cuts budget that reflects existing revenues.

The all-cuts budget would reduce levy equalization by $100 million and eliminate the State Food Assistance Program and other services. In addition, higher education would receive a $52 million across-the-board cut to public universities and colleges. For Evergreen this is a reduction of $836,000 for the two-year budget.

Governor Gregoire in releasing the all-cuts budget stated it “would have unacceptable consequences for our state and its people”. Given the drastic nature of an all-cuts budget the Governor also proposed a new revenue budget.

The new revenue operating budget proposed by the Governor relies on a combination of new revenues, program reductions, reform savings, and one-time transfers to address an anticipated $900 million shortfall in the next biennium and to take the first step towards meeting the state’s basic education needs identified by the state Supreme Court in the McCleary decision.

Governor’s Proposed Biennial Operating Budget

The Governor’s proposed new revenue budget addresses the anticipated $900 million shortfall in 2013-15 through a combination of spending reductions, reform savings, and revenue.

The new revenue budget is balanced in large part by spending reductions and reform savings. The budget:

Suspends teacher cost-of-living pay raises required under Initiative 732 – $360 million
Delays implementation of the state’s paid family leave law – $14 million
Reduces funds to dozens of state programs
Trims funding for local government programs – $57 million
Assumes savings from the consolidation of “back office” functions via the consolidation of five agencies into a single agency – Department of Enterprise Services – $20 million
Assumes savings under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) $140 million

In addition the budget assumes new revenue. This includes new or increased user fees, the repeal of a use tax exemption for fuel produced and used internally by extractors and manufacturers, and extends the Hospital Safety Net Assessment which is an inpatient fee that leverages increased Medicaid matching funds. Finally, the budget assumes $172 million in one-time transfers to the General Fund from a variety of accounts.

Though the new revenue budget holds the line on spending for state agencies, the budget does include some targeted investments. Among the investments is $50 million to add enrollment slots to the state’s early childhood education system, $20 million to expand STEM opportunities in higher education, and $8 million to improve prison safety.

The largest investment, however, is in K-12. The Governor’s budget represents a 12.3% increase to K-12 over the current biennium. This investment includes $1 billion – a first installment- to phase in legislation that will meet the requirements for basic education identified through the McCleary decision.

Under this legislation (HB 2776 passed in 2010) funding for K-12 would be provided to:

Reduce class sizes in grades K-2
Continue the phase-in of full-day kindergarten programs
Improve instructional practice through improved teacher and principal evaluations
Increase funding for maintenance, supplies, and operating costs
Fund 100% of the state’s new pupil transportation funding formula

To fund the investment in K-12, Gregoire proposes a balance between reductions in other services combined with new revenue. This would include a wholesale excise tax on gasoline and diesel fuel dedicated to pay the costs of pupil transportation services for the next three biennia and the extension of two temporary tax surcharges: (1) A 0.3% increase to the B&O tax paid by professionals (i.e. doctors, lawyers, accountants) and (2) a 50 cent per gallon beer tax.

Higher Education

The new revenue budget proposed by the Governor Gregoire provides a good starting point for budget discussions this session. Her budget builds on the momentum of the Washington Legislature in the 2012 supplemental session to stop any further erosion of state funding for higher education. The budget does not reduce funding for higher education and prohibits tuition increases for Washington’s universities and colleges. In addition the proposed budget maintains funding for the State Need Grant program.

The budget also makes a handful of investments in higher education. Among these investments is the creation of a competitive STEM enrollment pool for the public baccalaureates to compete for enrollment funds in STEM fields – $11 million; expansion of aerospace and STEM offerings at the community and technical colleges – $5 million; support for the colleges of engineering at WSU and UW – $4 million; and an increase in funding for the College Bound Scholarship program – $35 million.

The challenge for higher education under the Governor’s proposed new revenue budget is the total level of funding that is provided. While the budget proposes no reductions or ability to raise tuition, the level of funding for Washington’s public baccalaureate institutions does not meet the basic maintenance funding levels.

Evergreen

Although the Governor fully restores the temporary 3% compensation base reduction, there are no new resources provided to support increases in costs.

Under the new revenue budget, Evergreen is funded at a level that is below the maintenance level needed for the 2013-15 biennium. This means while the budget reflects the restoration of one-time transfers and reductions taken in the 2011-13 biennium, it does not reflect increases in operating costs (i.e. utility rates and collective bargaining agreements).

In addition the Governor’s proposed budget does not provide any funds to support investments requested by the College for IT and business infrastructure; student recruitment, retention and success; and faculty and staff recruitment and retention.

Capital Budget
Governor Gregoire also proposed a biennial capital budget for higher education. The Governor provided funding for a small number of projects across higher education. This includes funding for two projects at Evergreen – the renovation of the Science Lab 1 Basement and the Science Lab 2 second floor.

In addition the budget includes funding for minor works preservation and preventative maintenance.

Though the Governor’s budget does provide some funding for minor works preservation it does not fully fund the College’s request. In addition, the proposed budget does not fund the design phase of the Lecture Hall Renovation, the predesign for the renovation of Seminar I, and the acquisition of land and design for the Tacoma Campus.

Next Steps

The Governor’s budget is the first of many budgets that will be released to address the 2013-15 biennium. While the Governor’s budget is the first step in the budget development process, there will be at least four more legislative budgets to review as the legislative session progresses.

The next budget is expected to be proposed by Governor-Elect Jay Inslee after he takes office in mid-January.

The Washington Legislature will convene on January 14 to begin its work to develop a biennial budget. Over the next 105 days, the House and Senate will hold work sessions and public hearings on the gubernatorial proposed budgets as well as the budgets put forth by each chamber before finalizing a conference budget in late-April.

Governor Names Members to Washington Student Achievement Council

Posted on August 8, 2012 by jgarver

This week Governor Gregoire named the citizen members to the Washington Student Achievement Council.

On July 1 the Washington Student Achievement Council (WASAC) was established to replace the Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board. The Council, established in House Bill 2483 during the 2012 session, will focus on raising educational attainment in Washington state.

Under the legislation, the council is charged with the following duties:

Proposing goals for increasing educational attainment, securing resources to support those goals and monitoring progress;
Developing a two-year strategic action plan and 10-year roadmap; and
Facilitating the development and expansion of innovative practices, developing policy recommendations based upon data and collaborating with other organizations to set minimum college admission standards.

Additionally, the council has been tasked with helping students prepare for and access postsecondary education and training, improving transitions, administering financial aid programs and approving private degree institutions.

The council will be composed of nine members. Four members are selected by four educational entities. The governor’s five appointees are:

Brian Baird, former U.S. representative for Washington’s 3rd Congressional District;
José Gaitán, managing member of The Gaitán Group, PLLC, and past president of the Hispanic National Bar Association;
Jay Reich, attorney at Pacifica Law Group and former deputy chief of staff to former Commerce Secretary Gary Locke;
Dr. Constance Rice, managing director for Knowledge Management for Casey Family Programs; and
Student trustee Lindsey Jahn, a student at Washington State University earning a bachelor of arts degree in business administration.

Other members of the council are:

Jane Sherman, interim executive director of the Council of Presidents, selected by the presidents of the public baccalaureate institutions;
Charlie Earl, director of the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, selected by the SBCTC;
Ray Lawton, director and chairman of Lawton Printing in Spokane, selected by the Independent Colleges of Washington; and
Scott Brittain, former principal in the Puyallup School District now working in the assessment office at the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, selected by OSPI in consultation with the Department of Early Learning and the State Board of Education.

Office of Governmental Relations

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