HOUSE BILL REPORT

HB 1415

BYRepresentatives Jacobsen, Van Luven, Doty, Anderson and P. King; by request of  Higher Education Coordinating Board

Revising provisions for tuition fees.

House Committe on Higher Education

Majority Report:  The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass.  (13)

      Signed by Representatives Jacobsen, Chair; Spanel, Vice Chair; Van Luven, Ranking Republican Member; Basich, Doty, Fraser, Inslee, Jesernig, Miller, H. Myers, Prince, Rector and Wood.

House Staff:Susan Hosch (786-7120)

Rereferred House Committee on Appropriations

Majority Report:  The substitute bill by Committee on Higher Education as amended by Committee on Appropriations be substituted therefor and the substitute bill as amended do pass.  (25)

      Signed by Locke, Chair; Grant, Vice Chair; H. Sommers, Vice Chair; Silver, Ranking Republican Member; Appelwick, Belcher, Bowman, Braddock, Brekke, Bristow, Dorn, Ebersole, Hine, May, McLean, Nealey, Padden, Peery, Rust, Sayan, Spanel, Sprenkle, Valle, Wang and Wineberry.

House Staff:      Sherie Story (786-7136)

AS REPORTED BY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS MARCH 4, 1989

BACKGROUND:

Tuition and fee rates at state institutions of higher education are based on the costs incurred in educating students at that type of institution.  Students are charged a percentage of their educational costs.  That percentage varies depending on the type of institution the student attends.

The Higher Education Coordinating Board establishes the formula for determining educational costs.  That recommended formula is presented to the program and fiscal committees of the legislature every two years.  If no action is taken by the committees, or if a disagreement exists, the recommendations of the board are deemed to be approved.

During 1988, the board and the institutions initiated a cost study for the first time in 10 years.  That cost study is used as the means for determining educational costs.  It is also used to allocate costs between graduate and undergraduate students.  As a result of the study, tuition rates for graduate students at the regional universities and The Evergreen State College are scheduled to increase by about 56 percent for resident students and 61 percent for nonresident students in the 1989-90 academic year. This increase will drive tuition rates for graduate students at those institutions above the rates for graduate students at the research universities.  Institutional personnel have expressed concern about the varying methodologies used by the institutions, and the outcomes of the cost study.

There is also concern about the steadily rising cost of tuition over the past several years.  This concern has generated interest in the prepaid tuition payment programs established in some other states.

SUMMARY:

SUBSTITUTE BILL:  Annual tuition fees (operating and building fees) for resident graduate students attending the regional universities and The Evergreen State College will be $1,834.50 during the 1989-90 academic year, and $1,942.50 during the 1990-91 academic year.  Nonresident graduate students will pay $5,986.50 for the 1989-90 academic year, and $6,358.50 for the 1990- 91 academic year.

The Higher Education Coordinating Board will review and analyze the educational cost study for consistency and accuracy. The board will report its findings and recommendations to the Legislature by December, 1990.

The board will analyze and compare the educational costs at the University of Washington and Washington State University.  The board will also compare the tuition and fees charged at the two research universities with those of their respective peers, and recommend whether different levels of fees should be charged at each of the two universities.

Criteria, definitions, and procedures for determining educational costs will be developed every four years beginning in 1990, instead of every two years.  The state institutions of higher education will perform an educational cost study every four years. The study will be based on every fourth academic year beginning with 1990-91.  The board will review, consolidate, and distribute the study.  The institutions will also develop a methodology that requires the collection of comparable educational cost data, using a faculty activity analysis or alternative instrument.

SUBSTITUTE BILL COMPARED TO ORIGINAL: Rather than setting tuition rates at the national average, tuition will continue to be determined as a percentage of educational costs. However, rates for graduate students at the regional institutions will be adjusted, for one biennium, at a rate that is lower than the statutorily required percentage of educational costs.  In addition, the Higher Education Coordinating Board will analyze the cost study and report to the legislature in 1990.  A cost study will be performed every four years, using comparable methods, including a faculty activity analysis or similar instrument.  In addition, the board will analyze educational costs at each of the two research universities, and will examine tuition costs at each of their peer institutions.

CHANGES PROPOSED BY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS:  The State Treasurer, in cooperation with other appropriate state agencies and institutions, is directed to study prepaid tuition payment programs and submit a report, including recommendations, to the Higher Education Committees of both the House and Senate by January 1, 1990.

Fiscal Note:      Requested March 6, 1989.

House Committee ‑ Testified For:    (Higher Education)  Ann Daley, Higher Education Coordinating Board; Mike Bigelow, Office of Financial Management; Judy McNickle, Western Washington University; and Elizabeth Woody, Washington Student Lobby (substitute bill).

(Appropriations)  Ann Daley, Higher Education Coordinating Board; Dick Barrett, Eastern Washington University; Judy McNickle, Western Washington University; and Jennifer Jaech, The Evergreen State College.

House Committee - Testified Against:      (Higher Education)  Elizabeth Woody, Washington Student Lobby.

(Appropriations)  None Presented.

House Committee - Testimony For:    (Higher Education)  (Original bill): Setting tuition at the national average will help institutions attract graduate students from out-of-state.  By making graduate tuitions more competitive, the quality of education for all students will improve.

(Substitute bill):  The cost study needs to be analyzed before students have their tuitions dramatically increased as a result of it.  Requiring graduate students at regional universities to pay higher tuition rates than graduate students at research universities, when the state invests more in the education of students at research universities, is inequitable. The cost study should be initiated every four years, rather than at 10 year intervals, and a common methodology should be used by all institutions.

(Appropriations)  The $1,000 increase in graduate tuition rates at the comprehensive institutions will cause severe problems for parents and students.  The Higher Education Coordinating Board supports this revision to its original tuition proposal.  The Higher Education Coordinating Board will insure a comparable cost study is done.

House Committee - Testimony Against:      (Higher Education)  (Original bill):  Most undergraduate students are residents of the state of Washington.  These students are not part of a national market, so using national rates to determine tuition is not justified.

(Appropriations)  None Presented.