Sen. Derek Kilmer is now testifying to the House Higher Education Committee on his bill to allow WSU, UW and Western to set their own tuition. Kilmer said the bill will help provide a quality education for Washington students, and has limits that will prevent exorbitant tuition increases.

“Right now, there’s not predictability,” he said, for universities when creating budgets: They never know how much they’ll get from the state and they can’t set their own tuition.

The bill has already passed the Senate. Watch live on TVW.

Steve Mullin, president of the Washington Roundtable said his organization is in favor of the bill. “I’ve spent a lot of time on this issue … This notion that we’re switching suddenly from a tuition based funding model for higher ed … that somehow this is a recent phenomenon is absolutely not the case.”

But Bob Braden, who said he’s here testifying on behalf of his grandchildren who are worried about paying for college, said tuition is rising too fast. “I know we are in the midst of a terrible downturn economically,” he said, but “I am against tuition caps that go out six years in advance and I believe that the Legislature should keep their accountability.” He said the bill would be much better if the tuition caps were projected two years out.

Tags: tuition

The Senate Ways & Means Committee is live on TVW now. They’re discussing the bill to allow the UW, WSU and Western to set their own tuition, so long as it didn’t exceed 14 percent in any one year or 9 percent compounded over 15 years.

Tune in now or check back here for updates on the testimony.

Under the proposal, Guaranteed Education Tuition credits would increase in cost, meaning fewer people would buy them, according to the state actuary.

Mark Emmert, president of UW, is now speaking. He said the schools are trying to figure out the best, most efficient and most fair way to charge tuition. “Overall (this is) a bill that we find supportive,” he said, though there are areas they would like to “discuss further.”

“We think it provides the appropriate limits” for setting tuition, said Elson Floyd, president of WSU. He kept his comments brief.

Charlie Earl, director of the board of community and technical colleges, said they support the bill. Why? Universities have to be affordable and accessible in order for students from community and technical colleges to be able to transfer in. “Robust financial aid needs to be continued … and (that is ) necessary to make this tuition proposal work well.”

Sam Shaddox, a student lobbyist:  “Anytime we have a supposed ceiling on tuition increases,” he said, it eventually becomes “the basement.” He said WSU and WSA — the Washington Student Association — are against the bill.

Peter Sterr, a student lobbyist with WSU Vancouver, said the 9 percent tuition cap over 15 years could double tuition within the decade. He said the increase is so far above inflation, it will quickly leave middle-class students in the dust.

That hearing is now over. Sen. Margarita Prentice noted that it took 55 minutes — and it’s one of 27 bills on their public hearing schedule today. Up now: Education reform.

Tags: tuition

Right now, the Senate Higher Ed and Workforce Development Committee is discussing who should have the authority to set university tuition.

Mark Emmert, UW president: “Every year, funding for higher education in constant dollars has gone down, year in and year out. We’re here because the model is broken and we’re trying to fix it.”

He said each of the bills under consideration has pros and cons. “But we have to have a solution. I would love to have one of you ensure me that the funding pattern we’ve had for the last 25 years is going to turn around,” he said. “I’ve never had anyone say that to me and I’ve certainly never had anyone say it convincingly.”

He said he’s there testifying because “we don’t have a whole lot of other options” aside from charging students more.

Elson Floyd, WSU president: “I want to applaud our students for their testimony… it was illuminating to hear them. The reality is, our financial system within our state is broken … and all of us need the courage to try something fundamentally different and fundamentally new to get us through this financial circumstance.”

Floyd said the focus needs to be on the partnership between the state and the public institutions. “Last year, for me as president, it was painful to tell my students and faculty and staff and alums and others that we were going to increase tuition 14 percent. But the reality is that when you built this budget, you did it with the presupposition that we would increase tuition 14 percent,” he said. And if they didn’t? They’d be giving themselves a budget cut.

Floyd said the bill is the right call for the state. But: “Sometimes one size doesn’t fit all,” he said — so maybe some institutions should get to set their own tuition and not others.

Tags: tuition

Tonight on Inside Olympia, host Austin Jenkins interviews Ann Daley, Higher Education Coordinating Board executive director.

Here’s some of what she had to say, courtesy of Mike Bay, TVW’s VP of Programming:

- Community and Technical Colleges, unlike the 4 years, didn’t get their budgeted enrollments cut with this budget; however, the community and technical colleges are seeing enrollment demands rising 10-20% because of the recession.

- One good piece of news: The Legislature fully funded the state need grant, which helps the neediest of students — those from families at 70% or less of the median family income

- Rising tuition and lower investment returns will mean higher prices for GET units – currently at $76 per unit (or about $7,600 per year), Ann didn’t say exactly how much they’ll increase but said “significantly.”

- Ann said higher education “is the state’s rainy day fund:” It gets cut disproportionately during bad times. She said two years ago we were celebrating the best higher ed budget in 20 years, today we’re looking at the worst higher ed budget in 30 years – “something’s wrong with that picture”

- Should colleges look at a new tuition pricing scheme, where people who can pay more do pay more? “That has to be looked at.”

All that and more at 7 and 10 p.m. on Inside Olympia — tonight on TVW or tvw.org.

Update: Watch right now…

Tags: tuition, universities

Tune into TVW to see the House debate the bill to allow undergraduate tuition to be increased by up to 14 percent.

In the past, tuition increases have been limited to 7 percent per year. This year, because of cuts to higher education, university presidents have asked for a higher rate.

They argue that with the increased federal Hope tax credit, the net effect will be zero for most families. But students don’t see things that way — they say the Hope credit was increased to address already escalated tuition, not to zero out future increases.

Check back — I’ll update with some debate.

Tags: tuition

The bill to allow universities to raise undergraduate tuition by more than 7 percent is getting a hearing in the House Ways & Means Committee now.

The Washington Student Lobby is against it — they say students have been hit by the recession, too, and that the 14 percent increase over two years would amount to about 30 percent. The university presidents are for it — they say it could help prevent budget cuts and be less costly than an extra term.

Here’s the bill report. The hearing is live on TVW now.

Tags: tuition

Here it is. She also talks about lifting the levy.

Tags: Budget, Governor, tuition

Rich Roesler at the Spokesman-Review reports that Gov. Chris Gregoire may be in favor of allowing four-year state universities to bump tuition by 14 percent.

The idea has been floated by the universities. They say most students wouldn’t have to pay more, since federal aid for students is increasing. And, they say, it’s cheaper than staying in school an extra quarter.

Here’s Roesler’s blog post. Check back for more today.

Tags: Budget, Higher Education, tuition