SENATE BILL REPORT
SSB 5166
As Passed Senate, January 23, 2002
Title: An act relating to branches of member institutions of accrediting associations recognized by rule of the higher education coordinating board.
Brief Description: Allowing state financial aid to be used at Washington branch campuses of accredited out‑of‑state institutions of higher education.
Sponsors: Senate Committee on Higher Education (originally sponsored by Senators Kohl‑Welles, Carlson, Horn, Shin, Jacobsen and McAuliffe).
Brief History:
Committee Activity: Higher Education: 1/25/01, 2/5/01 [DPS].
Ways & Means: 3/6/01, 3/8/01 [DPS (HIE)].
Passed Senate: 3/13/01, 44-0; 1/23/02, 47-0.
SENATE COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Majority Report: That Substitute Senate Bill No. 5166 be substituted therefor, and the substitute bill do pass.
Signed by Senators Kohl‑Welles, Chair; Shin, Vice Chair; Carlson, Horn, Jacobsen, McAuliffe, Sheahan and B. Sheldon.
Staff: Jean Six (786‑7423)
SENATE COMMITTEE ON WAYS & MEANS
Majority Report: That Substitute Senate Bill No. 5166 as recommended by Committee on Higher Education be substituted therefor, and the substitute bill do pass.
Signed by Senators Brown, Chair; Constantine, Vice Chair; Fairley, Vice Chair; Fraser, Hewitt, Honeyford, Kline, Kohl‑Welles, Long, Parlette, Rasmussen, Regala, Rossi, Sheahan, B. Sheldon, Snyder, Spanel, Thibaudeau, Winsley and Zarelli.
Staff: Karen Barrett (786-7711)
Background: Currently, students who attend a branch campus located in Washington of a postsecondary institution accredited in another state are not eligible for state financial aid.
Summary of Bill: Discretionary power is given to the Higher Education Coordinating Board (HECB) to allow students attending one of these branch campuses offering on-site instruction in Washington to be eligible for state financial aid including work study. Such students must already be eligible for federal financial aid and the institution must have operated in Washington for ten years as a nonprofit entity.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Available.
Effective Date: Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.
Testimony For (Higher Education): Antioch College meets the needs and fulfills the dreams of working adults. It has offered innovative programs in Seattle for 25 years. The main campus, located in Ohio, is accredited by the North Central Accrediting Association. The Seattle, upper‑division, branch campus meets the requirements of that association. Access to state financial aid is essential for many students who are residents of Washington and need the unique program offerings of Antioch. The HECB suggests technical amendments that are agreed to by Antioch. There are seven institutions that fit the parameters of this legislation: Antioch, Chapman, Embry‑Riddle, Linfield, Park, Southern Illinois University, and Columbia College.
Testimony Against (Higher Education): None.
Testified (Higher Education): Bruce Botka, HECB; Cynthia Rekdal, Antioch; David Kuehnell, Antioch; Toni Murdock, President, Antioch; Gerri Douglas, Antioch.
Testimony For (Ways & Means): This measure is, by design, not intended to open the floodgates with respect to demands for state financial aid. It is crafted to recognize only a few established not-for-profit colleges operating in Washington State. In doing what you can this budget year for college students, Antioch asks that you help remove a legal barrier that now prevents the HECB from qualifying its students for state financial aid.
Testimony Against (Ways & Means): None.
Testified (Ways & Means): Dennis Eagle, Antioch University, Seattle.
House Amendment(s): Students eligible for federal financial aid who attend on-site instruction at a Washington branch campus of a higher education institution accredited in another state may be eligible for state financial aid if the branch campus has been operating in Washington for a minimum of 20 years and has an enrollment of at least 700 FTE.