Higher Education Committees Hold Public Hearings; Move Legislation

Posted on January 29, 2014 by jgarver

Today marked the first full day of public hearings in both the Senate and House Higher Education Committees. With the first deadline of the session nearing next week, both committees focused on public hearings and executive sessions to move bills through to the next step.

The deadline for policy bills in the House is next Wednesday followed by a deadline on Friday for the Senate.

This morning the House Higher Education Committee held several public hearings. The bills ranged from legislation focused on the promotion of mentoring and service learning (HB 2400) to changing provisions with regards to the opportunity scholarship (HB 2612)

Evergreen testified with concerns on legislation that would direct the Education Research and Data Center to publish employment and earnings data on its website for higher education program completers (HB 2443). Evergreen shared support for conversations that recognized the role of higher education in post-graduate success of students, but questioned the use of employment and wage data as the best metrics by which to measure institutional success. Many factors influence a graduate’s earning and employment that are beyond the control of the institution. Instead Evergreen proposed that degree attainment be the focus because there is a primary responsible by institutions to move students through to degree and connect students while they are attending a college/university to internship, mentoring, and advising opportunities to make the link between their academic studies and future employment.

The University of Washington also expressed concerns with regard to data definitions and proposed including data that extended beyond five years post-graduation as suggested in the bill. Evergreen concurred with these concerns. The State Board of Community Colleges also testified with concerns.

Evergreen also signed in as a member of the Council of Presidents in support of legislation that would address the implementation of inmate postsecondary education degree programs to reduce recidivism (HB 2486).

In the afternoon the Senate Higher Education Committee held a public hearing on the public baccalaureate’s efficiency legislation (SB 6362). This bill would make changes to business practices resulting in greater efficiency and effectiveness for Washington’s public baccalaureate institutions. Among the changes proposed is permissive authority to prorate paychecks for faculty on nine-month appointments, to change payroll frequency from semi-monthly to biweekly and changes to existing reporting requirements.

Evergreen signed-in support of this legislation.

The Committee also held an executive session in which several gubernatorial appointments were moved from committee to the full Senate for confirmation. However the Committee did take action on legislation to establish an incentive funding framework for Washington’s public baccalaureate institutions (SB 6042). The Council of Presidents testified on this bill earlier in the session citing support for performance funding and general support for the bill with the caveat that additional conversations with the institution was necessary to identify further details with regard to distribution of funds and metrics.

Both Committee are expected to continue their work on legislation the rest of this week.

House Higher Education Hears from Institutions on Incentive Funding

Posted on January 22, 2014 by jgarver

This afternoon Evergreen presented before the House Higher Education Committee. In a focused presentation before the Committee, John Carmichael, Deputy to the President and member of the Technical Incentive Funding Model Task Force and Laura Coghlan, Director of Institutional Research and Assessment addressed the question posed by the Committee – How will each institution respond to the goals identified in the public baccalaureate incentive funding model proposal?

In December the Office of Financial Management released a report from the Technical Incentive Funding Model Task Force. The Task Force was established in the 2013-15 biennial budget to propose an incentive funding model for the four-year institutions of higher education.

The Task Force identified three statewide goals for the public baccalaureate institutions in the report: (1) Increase overall degree production, (2) Increase degree production in STEM/high demand areas, and (3) Increase degree production for students from underrepresented groups.

In the presentation Evergreen spoke to how the College and its mission would strive to play a role in moving the public baccalaureate sector forward within the context of these three goals. Evergreen highlighted the College’s strengths recognizing that the institution make a strong contribution to the state in the areas of efficient degree production, STEM/High Demand degrees, and degree attainment for underrepresented students.

Within this context, Evergreen recognizes that the College could make additional contributions to the statewide goals identified in the report with additional resources.

In particular, Evergreen identified improvement in the areas of general degree production through investments in retention initiatives; STEM/High Demand degree production through investments in faculty and financial aid; and attainment of underrepresented students through investments in targeted outreach and support for underrepresented minority, non-traditional age, and veterans.

Evergreen was joined by colleagues from the other public baccalaureate institutions. On Thursday Evergreen will present on the institution’s response to the Task Force model before the Senate Higher Education Committee.

Morning on The Hill Busy for Higher Education

Posted on January 21, 2014 by jgarver

This morning higher education was busy on The Hill with a hearing in House Capital Budget and a work session before the House Higher Education Committee.

House Capital Budget

This morning began early with the House Capital Budget scheduled for a public hearing on Governor Inslee’s proposed 2014 supplemental capital budget.

Evergreen, along with other higher education stakeholders, testified to the impact of the supplemental budget on institutions and students.

Evergreen thanked the Legislature for providing the College with the authority to enter into a certificate of participation, through the Office of the State Treasurer, to purchase the building the College currently leases for Evergreen’s Tacoma program. Evergreen noted that the certificate of participation would allow the College to establish a permanent site for the program, which has been in existence for over 30 years, by redirecting the current lease rate toward the purchase of a permanent location for the program. The impact of this action would be to create equity in an owned existing building and provide Evergreen and its students with certainty with regard to the future of the program, benefiting not only the College but the State.

Evergreen also asked the Committee to work with the College to provide funds to meet a gap in resources to implement a microturbine project on campus. The project which is supported by the Washington Department of Commerce, Evergreen students, and Puget Sound Energy would replace existing failing infrastructure, deploy state of the art technology, generate energy savings, reduce the college’s carbon footprint and provide a great return on investment. The College is asking for $499,000

In mid-December Governor Inslee released his proposed 2014 Supplemental Capital budget.

The Governor provided funding for a small number of projects across higher education. This includes authority for Evergreen to enter into a certificate of participation to purchase the existing facility in Tacoma for the College’s Tacoma program; $2 million to remove, clean and dispose of two underground diesel oil tanks at Central Washington University; and $5 to renovate the Carver Academic Center at Western Washington University.

House Higher Education

The Council of Presidents along with representatives from the Office of Financial Management and the Education Research Data Center presented as a panel on the public, baccalaureate incentive funding model task force.

The panel provided an overview of the proviso language that established the task force in the biennial budget, the data used as the source for the metrics included in the report, and the task force’s eight recommendations if incentive funding (i.e. performance funding) were established in Washington for the public baccalaureate institutions.

The eight recommendations include:

Support “Washington-specific” statewide achievement goals based on college access and completion, which represent the state’s greatest need.
Identify institution-specific metrics based on institutional mission.
Provide new, up-front state performance funding investment in conjunction with the state budget processes.
Establish a simple, on-going system for monitoring and funding institution-specific metrics that aligns with the biennial budgeting process.
Start the timeline for performance funding now and renew on a biennial basis going forward.
Pursue baseline funding objectives through adequate maintenance level funding, institution-level policy investments, and performance incentive funding.
Use increased state funding over time to pursue a 50/50 balance between tuition and state support.
Repeal and replace other statutory statewide performance goals and processes.

The institutions will present on institutional metrics before the House Higher Education Committee tomorrow and in the Senate on Thursday.

Evergreen Presents Before House Higher Education on Expansion and Retention

Posted on January 15, 2014 by jgarver

This afternoon Evergreen presented before the House Higher Education. In a focused presentation before the Committee, Provost Michael Zimmerman and Vice President Wendy Endress addressed the question posed by the Committee – How will the College address the goals identified by the Washington Student Achievement Council in the Ten-Year Roadmap?

In December WASAC released a ten-year strategic plan for investing in and promoting access to higher education. The plan established two educational attainment goals for 2023.

All adults in Washington will have a high school diploma or equivalent.
At least 70 percent of Washington adults will have a postsecondary credential.

In the presentation Evergreen spoke to the College’s work to reach out to targeted populations to expand higher education enrollments and success. In particular Evergreen recognized the College’s work focused on expanding access to higher education to working adults and veterans, college-pipeline programs, and incarcerated youth.

In addition Evergreen highlighted specific retention initiatives that the College has implemented and show promising results, but will require additional state investment. Among the initiatives highlighted in the presentation included expansion of student orientation programming, reduced class size, the academic statement, and the Summer Undergraduate Research Program.

Evergreen was joined by colleagues from the other public baccalaureate institutions. On Friday, the Committee will hear from the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges and the independent colleges of Washington.

House Higher Education Committee Tours Eastside

Posted on September 23, 2013 by jgarver

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.

Higher Education Committees Continue Work

Posted on March 21, 2013 by jgarver

Last week the House and Senate passed the halfway mark in the session. All bills must have moved from their chamber of origin to the opposite chamber. Since then the Senate and House higher education committees have been focused on several major efforts.

Both the House and Senate are holding public hearings and executive sessions to move bills from the opposite chamber forward in the process. In addition both committees are holding work sessions on a variety of areas that impact higher education including tuition, performance, and financial aid. Finally, the Senate Committee is moving forward trustees and regents nominated by the Governor for confirmation by the full Senate.

This week in the House Higher Education committee the public four year institutions particiapted in a panel discussion with members regarding tuition and the institutional process by which factors such as student mix, programs, and missions are taken into account with stakeholders in making tuition related decisions. The largest factor of course being the level of state funding provided to institutions.

In addition the House Higher Education Committee and the Senate Higher Education Committe held a work session on performance.

Three national experts presented to each of the committees: David Longanecker of Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education, Julie Bell of National Council of State Legislatures, and Jimmy Clarke of the Lumina Foundation-supported Productivity Strategy Labs Network.

The presentation and conversation with the committee that followed highlighted both performance funding and other trends in higher education nationwide.

Washington Legislature Passes Halfway Point

Posted on March 17, 2013 by jgarver

This past week the Washington Legislature passed the halfway point in the 2013 legislative session. Bills, in both chambers, must have moved from their chamber of origin to the other chamber for consideration by 5:00 pm last Wednesday. The exception are any bills that are deemed by either chamber as Necessary to Implement the Budget (NTIB).

The next two and half weeks will be focused on moving bills through the opposite chamber and to the floor. The next major deadline is April 3, when all policy bills must have either been referred to the floor or to an appropriations committee for further consideration.

A number of higher education related bills are still in play. Among those pieces of legislation that will now be considered by the opposite chamber include:

Student Veterans

House Bill 1109 -Requires institutions of higher education that offer an early course registration period for any segment of the student population to offer early registration to students who are eligible veterans or National Guard members. The bill has been referred to Senate Higher Education.

House Bill 1858 – Requires each public institution of higher education to adopt a policy to award academic credit for military training courses or programs before December 31, 2014, and submit the policy to the Prior Learning Assessment work group for evaluation. The bill has been referred to Senate Higher Education.

House Bill 5318 – Removes the one-year waiting period for veterans or active members of the military for purposes of eligibility for resident tuition. The bill is scheduled for executive session in House Higher Education.

House Bill 5343 – Requires institutions of higher education to provide make-up classes, exams, or other make-up events to National Guard members or other military reservists called to active duty or training for 30 days or less without prejudice to the final course grade or evaluation. The bill was passed out of committee by House Higher Education.

Efficiencies

House Bill 1769 – Increases the threshold for minor works projects from $2 million to $5 million for higher education institutions. Increases the threshold for predesign requirements for major construction works from $5 million to $10 million for higher education institutions. The bill was referred to Senate Ways & Means.

House Bill 1736 – Requires comprehensive review of reporting requirements related to state energy code building standards, high-performance public buildings, motor vehicle transportation services, air contaminants, and greenhouse gas emissions. Allows institutions of higher education and state higher education agencies to use or accept secure electronic signatures for any human resource, benefits, or payroll process that requires a signature. Permits the Student Achievement Council (Council) to enter into interstate reciprocity agreements with other state or multistate entities if the agreements are consistent with Washington law concerning degree-granting institutions. The bill is scheduled for a public hearing in Senate Higher Education.

Other

House Bill 1043 – Removes the authority for public baccalaureate institutions to set differential tuition rates for resident, undergraduate programs. Removes the authority for the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges to pilot or institute differential tuition models for resident,undergraduate program. The bill was referred to Senate Higher Education.

House Bill 1331 – Permits a student association at public baccalaureate to form a student advisory committee to advise the administration at that institution on issues that affect student access and success, such as tuition and fee levels. Requires administrators at higher education institutions to make information available to the student advisory committee and allow the committee to present recommendations. Requires the student advi sory committee to solicit feedback from students and keep students informed of their meetings. The bill was referred to Senate Higher Education.

House Bill 1544/Senate Bill 5559 – Authorizes educational specialist degrees at Central Washington University, Western Washington University and The Evergreen State College. The house bill is scheduled for a public hearing in Senate Higher Education. The senate bill is scheduled for executive session in House Higher Education.

House Bill 1669- When a decision is being considered to change a degree program that is supported by state funding to a self-supporting, fee-based program, a public baccalaureate institution must: publicly notify prospective students, including notification in admission offers, with an estimate of tuition and fees; provide at least six months’ notification to enrolled students and undergraduate or graduate student government associations; and allow students currently enrolled in the program that is changing to a self-supportingprogram to continue in the state-supported program structure for a consecutive amount of time no greater than four years. Each public baccalaureate institution must establish or designate a committee comprised of administrators, faculty, and students to evaluate a proposed shift from a state-funded degree program to a self-supporting, fee-based program. A public hearing was held in Senate Higher Education on the bill.

House Bill 1817 (Dream Act) – Adds eligibility for the State Need Grant for individuals granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival status that meet a certain criteria. Adds eligibility for the State Need Grand for students who qualify under the fifth resident student definition. The bill was referred to Senate Higher Education.

House Bill 1843 – Requires the Office of Student Financial Assistance within the Washington Student Achievement Council to monitor compliance of institutions of higher education with financial aid program rules and regulations and evaluate continued participation based on performance. The bill was referred to Senate Higher Education.

Senate Bill 5180 – Creates a 29-member legislative task force charged with improving access to higher education for students with disabilities. Requires the task force to make recommendations to the Legislature each December from 2013 to 2015. The bill is scheduled for executive session in House Higher Education.

Senate Bill 5195 – Allows nonprofit institutions recognized by the state of Washington to be eligible to participate in the state need grant program. The bill was referred to House Higher Education.

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.

Office of Governmental Relations

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