Today Senator Rodney Tom, the Chair of the Senate Higher Education & Workforce Committee provided constituents with an update regarding the 2011 session and the issues facing policymakers as they move forward.
Sen. Tom provides a glimpse into some of the issues that he will focus on as Chair of Higher Education in the Senate including governance and funding.
This afternoon the House Education Appropriations Committee completed a work session on education funding and held a public hearing.
The Governor’s Office completed its presentation of the proposed supplemental budget for the current biennium and the 2011-13 biennial budget.
Following the presentation organizations, institutions, teachers/faculty, students, parents, and other concerned citizens testified before the Committee with recommendations and requests to minimize the impacts proposed under the Governor’s budget.
Higher education’s public baccalaureate sector was represented by students, faculty, and institutions. Each institutions testified to the major impacts of the Governor’s proposed 211-13 proposed biennial budget.
This morning the House Higher Education Committee held a work session on higher education funding and budget priorities.
The Committee heard several overviews regarding the recent history of higher education funding in Washington and the impact of the Governor’s proposed 2011-13 biennial budget. Presentations were provided by Legislative staff, the Governor’s Office, and the Council of Presidents.
Following this overview, each four-year, public institution of higher education provided a brief presentation regarding the impacts of the Governor’s proposed budget and the impact of state funding reductions over the last few years. Due to time constraints, Evergreen will provide their presentation on Monday, January 17.
The Committee wrapped-up their discussion with a student panel of representatives from the Washington Student Association to share their perspectives.
Note: All committee presentations can be found on the House Higher Education Committee’s website by clicking on Committee Meeting Documents, selecting the date and work session, and then selecting the presentation
This week, U.S. Representative Kevin Brady (R-TX) introduced the Cut Unsustainable and Top-heavy Spending (CUTS) Act to reduce federal spending by $153 billion over the next five years. The bill includes several provisions that would affect student aid, including:
The Act is among several that have already been introduced in the U.S. House. Further action on this bill has yet to be scheduled.
This afternoon the House Higher Education Committee began the 2011 legislative session with a work session focused on the contributions of higher education to society.
The work session was anchored by two substantial reports focused on the contributions higher education makes to both the economy and citizenship.
Dr. Zumeta, UW School of Public Affairs and Educational Leadership & Policy Studies focused on higher education’s impact on society. His presentation focused on the impact of higher education on the economy and on several subgroups within society, including low-income individuals and underrepresented communities.
Dr. O’Mara, University of Washington History Department, provided a historical examination of the impact of higher education on society with an emphasis on Washington.
The Committee also received an overview of the state’s economic and revenue forecast and the health of the state’s labor market.
The next scheduled meeting of the House Higher Education is Wednesday, January 12.
* Note: All committee presentations can be found on the House Higher Education Committee’s website by clicking on Committee Meeting Documents, selecting the date and work session, and then selecting the presentation
This morning Governor Gregoire announced her plans to create a new Department of Education.
The creation of this Department will allow for the construction of a cohesive system that will provide a seamless, state-level education system for early learning through career training.
The plan would create a Cabinet-level Department of Education to:
Led by a Secretary of Education, the Department will have the authority to run the entire Washington state education system.
The plan would also abolish the Office of the Superintendnet of Public Instruction, Department of Early Learning, and the Higher Education Coordinating Board.
Yesterday, U.S. Representative Virginia Foxx (R-NC) announced that she will chair the higher education subcommittee.
Representative Foxx stated she was “excited to roll up my sleeves and work toward making our higher-education system even better while carefully stewarding taxpayer dollars.”
Representative Foxx also shared that she does not have an agenda yet but suggested she would not shield higher education prograrms from spending cuts and raised doubts regarding the need for community colleges to produce 5 million more graduates with degrees or certificates by 2020.
Representative Foxx was elected to Congress in 2004 after spending 10 years in the North Carolina Senate and several years as a professor and administrator at several North Carolina colleges. She also served as president of Mayland Community College in 1987. She joined the education committee in Congress in 2005 and left in 2008 to serve on the rules committee.
On Monday, Governor Gregoire’s Higher Education Task Force released its recommendations.
The Governor asked sixteen business, government and education leaders this past summer to come up with ideas to increase college degree production by 30 percent over the next decade, while dealing with budget deficits.
In addition, she asked the Task Force to sugget long-range budget plans, recommend ways to improve accountability and performance of the state’s colleges and universities, and consider whether changes should be made in the way the state governs its higher education system.
The task force proposed a set of interdependent recommendations. The recommendations include the following:
To achieve these objectives, the Task Force recommends:
The Task Force’s recommendations now go to the Washington Legislature via legislation sponsored by the Governor for further consideration.
Yesterday, U.S. Representative George Miller (D-CA) was named as the ranking minority member on the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee for the next Congress.
Representative Miller currently serves as the Chairman of the committee.
The latter half of last week was dominated by committee hearings in the Washington House. Several of the committees heard updates and outlooks regarding the budget and issues facing higher education.
On Thursday three House committees met: (1) House Education Appropriations, (2) House Ways & Means, and (3) House Capital Budget. On Friday the House Higher Education met.
The House Education Appropriations Committee heard several presentations including a 2011-13 budget outlook and a report on the Joint Legislative and Audit Review Committee’s (JLARC) Study on Transparency in Higher Education Data.
The House Ways & Means Committee received an outlook for the 2011-13 budget and an update on the collective bargaining for 2011-13. In addition, the Commission discussed solutions to the budget problem.
The House Capital Budget Committee heard updates from grant recipients of the Jobs Act for K-12 School Construction and Higher Education and K-12 Energy Efficiency Program. Representatives from The Evergreen State College – John Hurley, Vice President of Finance and Administration and Paul Smith, Director of Facilities – provided the Committee with information regarding the grants the College received under this program. Hurley and Smith were joined by representatives from the community colleges and K-12.
The Committee also received a preview of the capital budget for 201 1-13 session.
On Friday, the House Higher Education Committee met. The Committee received several major reports and updates. Among the reports and updates was the Study on Transparency in Higher Education Data and reports on dual credit, running start, and the industry skill panel.