Declares it is the purpose of this act to address growing concerns about the academic staffing crisis in the state's public two-year colleges. Staffing issues, including the overuse of adjunct faculty along with the shrinking ranks of full-time tenured faculty, limit the ability of the state system of higher education to provide high quality education, improve graduation rates, conduct research, and provide support for economic development.

Declares that it is the goal of this act to increase the number of positions designated as full-time tenure-track faculty positions by ten percent in each individual college by 2013. The base number shall be the number of full-time tenure-track positions budgeted in fall quarter 2006, including those positions not currently filled.

Declares it is further the goal of this act to have salaries in institutions of higher education that will attract and retain the best faculty possible to educate the citizens of Washington state. Faculty salaries are of particular concern because average salaries for two-year faculty are substantially below average salaries in comparable global challenge states.

Declares it is the purpose of this act to address growing concerns about the academic staffing crisis in higher education. Staffing issues limit the ability of the state system of higher education to provide high quality education, improve retention rates, conduct research, and provide support for economic development. Faculty salaries are of particular concern because the salaries for four-year faculty are in the bottom quarter of comparable global challenge states. The legislature finds that in order to attract the highest quality faculty, the salaries should be in the top quarter of global challenge states.