HOUSE BILL REPORT

                  SB 6770

             As Reported By House Committee On:

                      Higher Education

Title:  An act relating to the exceptional faculty awards program.

Brief Description:  Allowing exceptional faculty awards to be used for faculty development and in‑service training.

Sponsors:  Senators Kohl‑Welles, Sheahan and Costa; by request of State Board for Community and Technical Colleges.

Brief History:

  Committee Activity:

Higher Education:  2/22/00, 2/23/00 [DP].

                 Brief Summary of Bill

$Allows for Exceptional Faculty Awards to be granted to individual faculty members, groups of faculty or the faculty as a whole.

$Enables the colleges to use the awards for faculty development programs.

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION

Majority Report:  Do pass.  Signed by 8 members:  Representatives Carlson, Republican Co-Chair; Kenney, Democratic Co-Chair; Lantz, Democratic Vice Chair; Radcliff, Republican Vice Chair; Dunn; Edmonds; Esser and Gombosky.

Staff:  Tracey Taylor (786-7196).

Background:

The Washington Community College Exceptional Faculty Awards Program was created by the Legislature in 1990 to help community colleges create endowments for funding awards granted to exceptional faculty members.  The State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) administers the program.  The colleges designate how the award will be used.

Each community or technical college is eligible for matching trust funds for grants in increments of $25,000 when the college can match the state funds with equal cash donations from private sources.  The institutions are responsible for soliciting private donations, investing and maintaining its endowment funds, administering the faculty awards, and reporting to the Governor, the SBCTC, and the Legislature.

The funds may be used by the colleges to pay expenses for faculty awards.  Under the current law, this includes: in-service training; temporary substitute or replacement costs directly associated with faculty development programs, conferences, and travel; publication and dissemination of exemplary projects; to supplement the salary of a holder of a faculty award; or to pay expenses associated with holder's program area.

The funds may not be used to supplant existing faculty development funds.

Summary of Bill:

Faculty awards may be made to individuals, groups or the faculty as a whole, and may be used for new development activities for faculty.

Appropriation:  None.

Fiscal Note:  Available.

Effective Date:  Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Testimony For:  The additional flexibility will allow the colleges to expand the use of the money to benefit the faculty and the school.  By increasing the training and development programs and allowing for the funds to be used for more faculty, the colleges will be able to address recruitment and retention problems, especially in high demand fields.  Finally, by continually investing in the faculty, the colleges create a high quality program with high quality graduates to enter the workforce.

Testimony Against:  None.

Testified:  Senator Kohl-Welles, prime sponsor; Ron Crossland, State Board for Community and Technical Colleges; Susan Levy, Washington Federation of Teachers; and Terry Byington, American Electronics Association.