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WHEREAS, Chapter 370, Laws of 1985, created the Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board to plan, coordinate, and provide policy analysis for higher education and to represent the broad public interest above the interest of individual colleges and universities; and

WHEREAS, Section 4, chapter 370, Laws of 1985, requires the board to prepare and update a master plan for higher education and requires the Legislature, by concurrent resolution, to "approve or recommend changes" to the master plan and its subsequent updates; and

WHEREAS, The provisions of the master plan that are approved by the Legislature become state higher education policy unless legislation is enacted to revise those policies; and

WHEREAS, The Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board submitted the initial master plan to the Legislature for approval in December 1987, and submitted updates to the plan in December 1992 and January 1996; and

WHEREAS, During the most recent process used to update the plan, the board, through a public opinion survey and public meetings, learned that Washington residents have high expectations for the postsecondary system including accountability, quality, and a high level of access for themselves and their children; and

WHEREAS, The board reported that Washington's public and private colleges, universities, and career schools would need to provide opportunities for a minimum of an additional 84,100 full-time equivalent students in the year 2010, if Washington is to provide its residents the education and training necessary to keep pace with the demands of an ever-changing world; and

WHEREAS, The board has identified the areas where potential solutions to the access challenge may lie and recognized that, in this era of rapid change, many questions must be addressed to clarify the role that each area may play in defining solutions to the access challenge; and

WHEREAS, The board challenged itself, the students, the institutions, and the Legislature to each accept its individual responsibilities and to collaborate in the development of potential solutions; and

WHEREAS, The Legislature and the Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board recognize that the master plan is a living document, responding to the constantly changing world of access to information and the needs of Washington citizens; and

WHEREAS, The Legislature recognizes that the historic methods and systems for delivering postsecondary education and training may be partially obsolete by the year 2010;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, By the House of Representatives of the State of Washington, the Senate concurring, That the Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board be commended for its dedication and commitment to the State of Washington in producing the 1996 update of the master plan for higher education titled "The Challenge for Higher Education"; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Legislature thank the board for describing many of the daunting challenges facing the state in its attempts to provide the postsecondary education and training that our citizens need to navigate in the world of the twenty-first century successfully; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Legislature approve the following recommendations of the 1996 update of the master plan:

(1) That, by the year 2010, Washington's system of postsecondary education needs to provide opportunities for at least 84,100 additional full-time equivalent students in quality programs of postsecondary education and training;

(2) That solutions to this enrollment challenge, in part, may be found in the following areas: (a) The shift in focus from teaching to learning; (b) the use of technology to increase and redefine access, improve quality, and offer alternative methods of instruction; (c) the expansion of partnerships among educational sectors, and with local communities, business, and labor; (d) the provision of financial aid for needy students; and (e) the use of existing institutional capacities in a way that ensures provision of a cost-effective, efficient, and accountable educational enterprise; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the board solicit advice from a diverse group of people, including students, faculty, and staff, from all education sectors; business and labor representatives; community leaders; innovators; and experts from other states to further refine, through innovative approaches, the solution options described in the 1996 master plan update; and that the board report to the 1997 Legislature with refinements to the plan in areas that include, but need not be limited to:

(1) Recommendations to the institutions and the Legislature on appropriate state and institutional roles for providing remedial and developmental education;

(2) An initial list of duplicative and low-productivity programs; a process for examining those programs that might be reconfigured, consolidated, or eliminated; and a recommendation on a process to eliminate programs not conducive to consolidation or reconfiguration;

(3) Recommendations on ways to further restructure the ways that the state delivers and supports higher education including the expansion of partnerships with the K-12 school system, reducing boundaries, expanding the use of 2 + 2 programs and extended degree centers, providing students opportunities to make smooth transitions as they move among education levels and sectors and into the workplace, the development of a data system to track student progress between levels and sectors, reducing institutional and student barriers to encourage improvements in time-to-degree, and emphasizing the role of teacher preparation programs;

(4) Recommendations on the governance structure and state framework for the integration of technology into the entire education enterprise while recognizing that enhancing learning through technology requires more than just the access to equipment, services, and networks; it requires new ways of teaching, new roles for learners, new learning goals, different uses of time and resources, and a strong support system for educators;

(5) Recommendations for streamlining the program approval process including (a) a recognition of the programs offered by the independent institutions, and (b) changes in procedure that enable the institutions to respond rapidly to meet the emerging needs of the state; and

(6) Recommendations on ways institutions can increase access and reduce costs through resource sharing, enhanced use of the public higher education system's physical plan, and additional collaborative projects between institutions of higher education and the common schools and among public and independent institutions; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That by December 15, 1996, the board provide to the citizens and the legislature the report required under RCW 28B.80.616; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the 1997 Legislature respond by concurrent resolution to the refinements brought forward by the Higher Education Coordinating Board.