HOUSE BILL REPORT
HB 1809
BYRepresentatives Fox, Unsoeld, Jacobsen, Heavey, Nelson, Crane, Winsley, Anderson, Ebersole and Wang
Providing for a student exchange program with public colleges and universities of other states.
House Committe on Higher Education
Majority Report: Do pass with amendment. (12)
Signed by Representatives Jacobsen, Chair; Heavey, Vice Chair; Barnes, Basich, Fox, Jesernig, Miller, Nelson, Prince, Silver, Unsoeld and K. Wilson.
House Staff:Susan Hosch (786-7120)
AS REPORTED BY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION FEBRUARY 3, 1988
BACKGROUND:
Washington law permits colleges and universities to waive all or a part of tuition and fees for students participating in certain exchange programs or exchange agreements. Students from Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia, who are selected by their college to participate in the reciprocal tuition agreements Washington has entered with their state or province, are exempt from the tuition differential normally charged to nonresident students.
Certain foreign students participating in academic exchange programs at four-year institutions of higher education may have all tuition and fees waived. The number of foreign student waivers granted by a college or university must not exceed the number of students from that institution attending college in a foreign country as part of an approved study abroad program.
Certain foreign students participating in academic exchanges or in special programs recognized through formal agreements between states, cities, or institutions, may have the nonresident portion of their tuition waived by the community college they are attending. The number of waivers granted by a community college must not exceed the number of that institution's own students enrolled in approved study abroad programs during the same period.
SUMMARY:
BILL AS AMENDED: The legislature recognizes the value of expanding opportunities for Washington students to attend school in other states through student exchange programs.
The state four- year college and universities may enter into student exchange programs with either public four-year institutions of higher education in other states, or with a consortium representing those institutions. Participating institutions may waive the nonresident tuition differential for exchange students from other states.
The number of exchange students receiving nonresident tuition waivers at a given Washington institution must not exceed the number of students from that institution receiving nonresident tuition waivers at participating out-of- state institutions. Waiver imbalances occurring in one year must be off-set in the next year. In addition, nonresident student participation in the exchange program is limited to one calendar year.
The nonresident tuition waivers authorized for this program are separate from the tuition waiver limitations placed on state colleges and universities in other statutes.
AMENDED BILL COMPARED TO ORIGINAL: A technical amendment was adopted that clarifies the ability of institutions to charge resident tuition rates to participating students.
Fiscal Note: Not Requested.
House Committee ‑ Testified For: Judy McNickle, Western Washington University; Sherry Burkey, University of Washington.
House Committee - Testified Against: None Presented.
House Committee - Testimony For: Exchange programs with out-of-state colleges provide participating students with unique opportunities to live and study in other states. Having students from other states attending Washington colleges and universities provides Washington students with opportunities to see how people from other regions of the country view the world. Sometimes people from New York and the South are more foreign to Northwesterners than are people from other lands. This program removes disincentives to participation in domestic student exchange programs, and permits state institutions to participate with consortias. It is a one-to-one exchange, and does not affect other waiver programs.
House Committee - Testimony Against: None Presented.