BILL REQ. #:  H-3388.1 

READ FIRST TIME 04/20/09.   

     AN ACT Relating to resident undergraduate tuition; amending RCW 28B.15.068; and adding a new section to chapter 28B.15 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1   RCW 28B.15.068 and 2007 c 151 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Beginning with the 2007-08 academic year and ending with the 2016-17 academic year, tuition fees charged to full-time resident undergraduate students, except in academic years 2009-10 and 2010-11, may increase no greater than seven percent over the previous academic year in any institution of higher education. Annual reductions or increases in full-time tuition fees for resident undergraduate students shall be as provided in the omnibus appropriations act, within the seven percent increase limit established in this section. For academic years 2009-10 and 2010-11 the omnibus appropriations act may provide tuition increases greater than seven percent. To the extent that state appropriations combined with tuition and fee revenues are insufficient to achieve the total per-student funding goals established in subsection (2) of this section, the legislature may revisit state appropriations, authorized enrollment levels, and changes in tuition fees for any given fiscal year.
     (2) The state shall adopt as its goal total per-student funding levels, from state appropriations plus tuition and fees, of at least the sixtieth percentile of total per-student funding at similar public institutions of higher education in the global challenge states. In defining comparable per-student funding levels, the office of financial management shall adjust for regional cost-of-living differences; for differences in program offerings and in the relative mix of lower division, upper division, and graduate students; and for accounting and reporting differences among the comparison institutions. The office of financial management shall develop a funding trajectory for each four-year institution of higher education and for the community and technical college system as a whole that when combined with tuition and fees revenue allows the state to achieve its funding goal for each four-year institution and the community and technical college system as a whole no later than fiscal year 2017. The state shall not reduce enrollment levels below fiscal year 2007 budgeted levels in order to improve or alter the per-student funding amount at any four-year institution of higher education or the community and technical college system as a whole. The state recognizes that each four-year institution of higher education and the community and technical college system as a whole have different funding requirements to achieve desired performance levels, and that increases to the total per-student funding amount may need to exceed the minimum funding goal.
     (3) By September 1st of each year beginning (([in])) in 2008, the office of financial management shall report to the governor, the higher education coordinating board, and appropriate committees of the legislature with updated estimates of the total per-student funding level that represents the sixtieth percentile of funding for comparable institutions of higher education in the global challenge states, and the progress toward that goal that was made for each of the public institutions of higher education.
     (4) As used in this section, "global challenge states" are the top performing states on the new economy index published by the progressive policy institute as of July 22, 2007. The new economy index ranks states on indicators of their potential to compete in the new economy. At least once every five years, the office of financial management shall determine if changes to the list of global challenge states are appropriate. The office of financial management shall report its findings to the governor and the legislature.
     (5) During the 2009-10 and the 2010-11 academic years, institutions of higher education shall include information on their billing statements notifying students of tax credits available through the American opportunity tax credit provided in the American recovery and reinvestment act of 2009.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 28B.15 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The higher education coordinating board, in coordination with higher education stakeholders, shall review options and make recommendations on a tuition policy that allows flexibility, accessibility, and differentiation among Washington's various public baccalaureate tuition rates. Recommendations shall support the implementation of the strategic master plan for higher education including consideration of policies that address student access, equity, and academic quality.
     (2) The board shall examine policies that couple higher tuition with higher institutional need-based financial aid; differential tuition rates based on family income; differential tuition rates based on institutional mission, campus, credit hours, academic program, and delivery method; and policies that encourage collaboration and coordination among institutions of higher education and that facilitate coenrollment among multiple institutions, including enrollment in online learning courses.
     (3) Each option shall be assessed in terms of administrative feasibility, interactions with and implications for state and federal financial aid tuition programs, and impacts on students of different income levels.
     (4) The board shall report its findings and recommendations to the governor and to the appropriate committees of the legislature by November 1, 2009.