by John Stafford
Washington State is characterized by an interesting paradox: it is 46th in the nation in the percentage of its graduating high school seniors that go directly to college; yet it is 12th in the nation in the percentage of its residents that have earned a college degree. One explanation (there are several) for this seeming-inconsistency is that Washington employers hire a considerable number of college degree holders from outside the state. If more of our state's high school students earned college degrees, they would presumably be able to compete for these jobs.
One factor that influences student decisions on whether to attend college is tuition rates. The funding for Washington State's higher education system comes largely from two sources — state support and tuition, meaning that when state funding is decreased, tuition is usually increased. During the recent recession and its aftermath (2008-2013), Washington's budget situation deteriorated dramatically. The state reduced higher education funding per student at its four year institutions by 38% (9th most in the nation), and increased tuition by 61%, or $4,190 per student (2nd most in the nation). Washington now has the 10th highest average tuition for in-state students at four-year public schools in the nation (and is in the top 15 for two-year public schools as well). Obviously, huge tuition increases on an already higher-than average tuition base is exactly the wrong policy for a state plagued with low college participation rates.
In the 2014 legislative session, state funding for higher education was finally stabilized. With an economy that continues to improve and generate additional state revenues, many are calling for increased funding for higher education in the 2015 legislative session. Unfortunately, this will not be easy to do. The reason, of course, is that there are a variety of competing proposals for increased funding — McCleary funding for K-12 education, I-1351 spending for class size reduction, state employee cost of living pay increases, mental health capacity additions, transportation expenditures, etc. In all likelihood, higher education will again be shortchanged in the 2015 session. This is presaged by Governor Inslee's initial budget proposal, which, by calling for a portion of college employee pay hikes to be financed by higher education tuition, adds to the financial stress on higher education. Regarding Inslee's proposed budget, Randy Hodgins, Vice President of External Affairs at the University of Washington, stated, "There is no other way to describe it than we are disappointed."
Washington's higher education finance dilemma — very low college participation rates, a decline in state funding leading to huge tuition increases, and no readily available funds to address the problem — is not likely to be solved in the near future. This major challenge warrants several key observations:
Funding for higher education is one of a number of key priorities in the 2015 state legislative session. This issue needs to be addressed with both short term (e.g., a modest increase in state funding to begin to roll back the damage from the recession cutbacks) and long term (e.g., a reformed tax code and integrated education system management) efforts. Unfortunately, the initial proceedings of this legislative session do not provide encouragement on either front.
John Stafford is a substitute teacher for Seattle Public Schools and a former management consultant in corporate strategy. He recently completed a run for State Senate in the 37th District. He is writing a monthly article on public policy for the South Seattle Emerald.
Sources: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (2013); College Board (2014-2015); National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (2010); Olympian (12/18/14); United States Census Bureau (2009); Washington State Office of Financial Management (2014).