Tag Archives: Senate Higher Education Committee

Evergreen Presents on Service to Veterans

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Serving veterans is a critical component of Evergreen’s outreach. This was the central message relayed by Randy Kelley, Director of the Veterans Resource Center before the Senate Higher Education Committee.

Kelley presented as part of panel focused on the work in Washington to ease the transition from military service to higher education. Kelley joined colleagues from the University of Washington and the State Board of Community and Technical Colleges to share the work at Washington’s public higher education institutions.

Higher Education Committees Continue Work

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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.

Senate Higher Education Committee Confirms Trustees

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Yesterday the Senate Higher Education Committee held a public hearing to meet and confirm trustees and regents for the public baccalaureate institutions.

The Senate Higher Education Committee is responsible for moving trustees and regents, nominated by the Governor for Washington higher education related boards, forward to the full Senate for consideration.  

Trustees and regents from all six public baccalaureates were present including David Nicandri and Erin Harms for Evergreen. The trustees and regents were asked to provide the committee with a brief summary of their background and to answer two questions – Why do you want to serve on the board? and What do you hope to accomplish as a board member?

Harms and Nicandri both talked about their passion for higher education and their commitment to the liberal arts.

The committee unanimously moved both Harms and Nicandri to the full Senate for confirmation.

Washington Legislature Passes Halfway Point

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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.

 

Workforce and Veterans Focus of Senate Higher Education

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The Senate Higher Education Committee met this afternoon, February 5, to talk about workforce and hear a number of bills.

The committee focused on a single topic for the work session, the Washington Workforce Board.   Eleni Papadakis, Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board provided an upate on the work of the Board.

The Committee then held a public hearing on several pieces of legislation.

Senate Bills 5179, 5318, 5343
This series of legislation focuses on increasing access for student veterans at Washington’s higher education institutions.

Senate Bills 5179 and 5318 removes the one-year waiting period for veterans or active members of the military for purposes of eligibility for resident tuition.

Senate Bill 5343 would allow a member of the Washington National Guard or any other military reserve component who is a student at an institution of higher education and who is ordered for a period of 30 days or less to either active or inactive state or federal service and as a result of that service or a follow-up medical treatment for injury incurred during that service misses any of the following: class, test, examination, laboratory, class day on which a written or oral assignment is due, or other event upon which a course grade or evaluation is based, is entitled to make up these events without prejudice to the final course grade or evaluation.

Evergreen supports this legislation.

Senate Bill 5131

Senate Bill 5131 provides a tax incentive for donations of modern laboratory equipment to higher education institutions and vocational skills centers.

Evergreen, along with the Council of Presidents, asked that the committee consider amending the bill to include the public, four-year institutions as eligible institutons under this legislation.

Committees Continue to Work to Move Bills

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Policy committees in both the House and Senate continued their work to move bills forward in the process. Today marks the last day for House policy bills to move out of committee followed by a February 3 deadline in the Senate.

This morning kicked-off with dualing committees in the House. The House Capital Budget Committee held a public hearing on legislation that would provide increased flexibility around minor works and predesign requirements for institutions of higher education. The Council of Presidents, which represents the six public baccalaureate institutions in Washington, testified in support of the bill. The Committee followed the public hearing with an executive session in which the bill was passed by the committee and moved forward in the process.

At the same time the House Education Appropriations & Oversight Committee held a public hearing on legislation that requires a model policy for open licensing of courseware developed with state funds at higher education institutions.  Higher education institutions, students, faculty, and others, while supportive of the intent of the legislation, expressed concerns about the scope of the legislation, the impact on innovation, and lack of resources -both fiscal and personnel – to undertake this initiative. In addition representatives from higher education testified to the work already being done at institutions to provide for low-cost textbook options for students and highlighted other successful programs across the nation that might serve as models for the development of such an effort in Washington.

In the Senate, the Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development held a marathon public hearing on legislation ranging from developing an open courseware policy at insitutions of higher education to creating a database of services provided to students with disabilities at institutions of higher education to putting into law that athletics not receive any state funding at WSU and UW.

Senate Higher Education Committee Holds Work Session on Academic and Structural Efficiencies

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This afternoon the Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development Committee convened a work session focused on academic and operational efficiency efforts at Washington’s higher education institutions.

Representatives from the six, public baccalaureate institutions and the community and technical colleges shared with the committee efficiency efforts ranging from increased partnerships to ease transfer among sectors to increased automation to minimize costs associated with printing, mailing, and supplies.

Through the College’s presentation to the Committee, Evergreen shared academic and operational efficiencies the College has undertaken in recent years as well as the opportunities Evergreen’s unique delivery of higher education provides for an efficient and effective degree path.

Among the efficiencies highlighted in Evergreen’s presentation to the Committee was the College’s transfer friendly structure. Specifically, Evergreen’s student-focused credit transfer policy and the 354 articulation agreements with 29 of the state’s 32 community and technical colleges.

In addition, Evergreen noted its leadership among Washington’s public, four-year institutions in time to degree and talked about the lean administrative structure at the College.

On the operational side Evergreen noted the dramatic reduction in utility costs the College has experienced and the virtualization of the College’s server environment reducing electrical and hardware costs.

The Senate Committee will convene again on Thursday, December 15 for a work session focused on higher education graduation and post-college employment.

Senate Higher Education Committee Focuses on Impacts to Degrees and Programs

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This morning the Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development Committee convened a work session focused on the ebb and flow of curriculum at Washington’s higher education institutions.

Academic leaders from the six, public baccalaureate institutions and the community and technical colleges shared with the committee the degrees and courses universities and colleges have eliminated, added, or modified over the last five years.

Evergreen shared the dynamic nature of the College’s curriculum. Specifically the College spoke to what degrees have been eliminated and the significant modifications of existing degree programs over the last five years. Evergreen has not added any degree programs.

Evergreen also spoke to the impact of state funding reductions on academics. Evergreen highlighted that though the College’s dynamic curriculum has allowed the institution to respond as best it could, access, quality, flexibility, and time to degree all have been impacted significantly.

The Senate Committee will convene again on Tuesday, December 13 for a work session focused on efficiencies in higher education.

Senate Committee Tackles Student Financial Aid

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This afternoon the Senate Higher Education and Workforce Development Committee held a work session focused on student financial aid.

Committee members received an overview of Washington’s State Need Grant and State Work Study programs. In particular the Committee heard from the Higher Education Coordinating Board about who is served, how students are served, and the impact of budgetary and policy changes on students

In addition the HECB presented information to the Committee about student loan debt in Washington.

The work session concluded with dialogue between students and committee members regarding the impact of financial aid on students in Washington.

The next meeting of the Senate Committee is scheduled for Thursday, December 8. The Committee will focus on academic programs that have been eliminated, added or modified.

Evergreen Testifies in Support of Vet Friendly Bill

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This afternoon the Washington Senate Higher Education and Workforce Development Committee held a public hearing on legislation referred to committee.

Among the legislation heard, was HB 1221, regarding the rights of certain higher education students involved in military service. In particular the bill would allow a student at an institution of higher education who is a member of the Washington National Guard or other military reserve component and is ordered for 30 days or less into active or inactive service is entitled to make up any missed class, test, exam, lab, or event without affecting the final course grade or evaluation.

Students currently called for active service are able to make up any assignments without affecting the final course grade or evaluation.

The Evergreen State College testified in support of HB 1221, advocating for the predictability and stability this bill would offer veterans attending higher education institutions in Washington.