AN ACT Relating to freezing resident undergraduate tuition at the four-year institutions of higher education; amending RCW 28B.15.067; and creating a new section.

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

Sec. 2.  RCW 28B.15.067 and 2013 2nd sp.s. c 4 s 958 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Tuition fees shall be established under the provisions of this chapter.

(2)(a) Beginning in the 2011-12 academic year, reductions or increases in full-time tuition fees shall be as provided in the omnibus appropriations act for resident undergraduate students at community and technical colleges. The ((governing boards of the state universities, regional universities, and The Evergreen State College; and the)) state board for community and technical colleges may reduce or increase full-time tuition fees for all students other than resident undergraduates, including nonresident students, summer school students, and students in other self-supporting degree programs. Percentage increases in full-time tuition may exceed the fiscal growth factor. Except during the 2013-2015 fiscal biennium, the state board for community and technical colleges may pilot or institute differential tuition models. The board may define scale, scope, and rationale for the models.

(3)(a) Beginning with the 2011-12 academic year and through the end of the 2014-15 academic year, the governing boards of the state universities, the regional universities, and The Evergreen State College may reduce or increase full-time tuition fees for all students, including summer school students and students in other self-supporting degree programs. Percentage increases in full-time tuition fees may exceed the fiscal growth factor. Reductions or increases may be made for all or portions of an institution's programs, campuses, courses, or students; however, during the 2013-2015 fiscal biennium, reductions or increases in tuition must be uniform among resident undergraduate students.

(b) ((Prior to reducing or increasing tuition for each academic year, the governing boards of the state universities, the regional universities, and The Evergreen State College shall consult with existing student associations or organizations with student undergraduate and graduate representatives regarding the impacts of potential tuition increases. Each governing board shall make public its proposal for tuition and fee increases twenty-one days before the governing board of the institution considers adoption and allow opportunity for public comment. However, the requirement to make public a proposal for tuition and fee increases twenty-one days before the governing board considers adoption shall not apply if the omnibus appropriations act has not passed the legislature by May 15th. Governing boards shall be required to provide data regarding the percentage of students receiving financial aid, the sources of aid, and the percentage of total costs of attendance paid for by aid.

(4))) (i) Beginning with the 2015-16 academic year through the 2018-19 academic year, the governing boards of the state universities, regional universities, and The Evergreen State College may set tuition for resident undergraduates as follows:

(((a))) (A) If state funding for a college or university falls below the state funding provided in the operating budget for fiscal year 2011, the governing board may increase tuition up to the limits set in (((d))) (b)(i)(D) of this subsection, reduce enrollments, or both;

(((b))) (B) If state funding for a college or university is at least at the level of state funding provided in the operating budget for fiscal year 2011, the governing board may increase tuition up to the limits set in (((d))) (b)(i)(D) of this subsection and shall continue to at least maintain the actual enrollment levels for fiscal year 2011 or increase enrollments as required in the omnibus appropriations act;

(((c))) (C) If state funding is increased so that combined with resident undergraduate tuition the sixtieth percentile of the total per-student funding at similar public institutions of higher education in the global challenge states under RCW 28B.15.068 is exceeded, the governing board shall decrease tuition by the amount needed for the total per-student funding to be at the sixtieth percentile under RCW 28B.15.068; and

(((d))) (D) The amount of tuition set by the governing board for an institution under this subsection (((4))) (3)(b)(i) may not exceed the sixtieth percentile of the resident undergraduate tuition of similar public institutions of higher education in the global challenge states.

(((5))) (ii)(A) Beginning with the 2015-16 academic year and subject to funds specifically appropriated to fully offset any revenue forgone by the institutions under this subsection (3)(b)(ii), full-time tuition fees for a resident undergraduate student at a state university, regional university, or The Evergreen State College shall not be increased above the level that the student paid during his or her initial year of enrollment for the amount of time normally required for a full-time student to complete the student's degree requirements as determined by the institution, plus one additional term, from the date of the student's initial enrollment in the institution.

(4) The tuition fees established under this chapter shall not apply to high school students enrolling in participating institutions of higher education under RCW 28A.600.300 through 28A.600.400.

(((6))) (5) The tuition fees established under this chapter shall not apply to eligible students enrolling in a dropout reengagement program through an interlocal agreement between a school district and a community or technical college under RCW 28A.175.100 through 28A.175.110.

(((7))) (6) The tuition fees established under this chapter shall not apply to eligible students enrolling in a community or technical college participating in the pilot program under RCW 28B.50.534 for the purpose of obtaining a high school diploma.

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