Brief Description: Increasing the operating fee waiver authority for Central Washington University.

Sponsors: Representatives Upthegrove, Hinkle, Sells, Holmquist, B. Sullivan, Roberts, Schual-Berke, Chase and Condotta.

Hearing Date: 2/17/05

Staff: Sydney Forrester (786-7120).

Background:

The Legislature grants higher education institutions permission to reduce all or a portion of tuition for certain types of students and for various purposes. With limited exception, tuition waivers are permissive rather than mandatory. Current waiver authority can be divided into three broad categories: state-supported waivers; discretionary waivers; and space-available waivers.

When an institution grants a state-supported waiver, the state assumes that state general fund dollars in the institution's base budget make up for lost tuition revenue. Institutions are limited, however, in the percentage of total tuition revenue they may waive in the state-supported category. These percentage caps were created in statute in 1992 based on the amount of tuition revenue each institution was waiving at that time. The statutory caps for state-supported waivers for each institution are:

• 21 percent      University of Washington;
• 20 percent      Washington State University;
• 8 percent      Central Washington University;
• 11 percent      Eastern Washington University;
• 10 percent      Western Washington University;
• 6%   The Evergreen State College; and
• 35%   Community and Technical College System.

More than 25 different state-supported waivers are authorized in statute. Within its overall cap, each institution decides how to apportion its total state-supported waiver authority amongst the various waivers permitted. Institutions are required to report state-supported waiver activity each biennium. For the 2004 fiscal year, $131 million was waived for 188,859 students in the state-supported waiver category.

Summary of Bill:

The percentage of gross tuition revenues Central Washington University is authorized to waive in the state-supported waiver category is increased from 8 percent to 11 percent.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Available.

Effective Date: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.