BILL REQ. #:  H-4806.1 

READ FIRST TIME 02/06/04.   

     AN ACT Relating to regional universities; amending RCW 28B.45.020; adding a new section to chapter 28B.20 RCW; creating new sections; and providing an effective date.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) The legislature finds that, over the next decade, large numbers of Washington students will graduate from high school and seek access to higher education. Washington's new knowledge-based economy demands ever-increasing levels of education and training from our work force. Yet Washington continues to lag significantly behind other states in its production of students with baccalaureate and graduate degrees.
     (2) The legislature also finds that no new public four-year institution of higher education has been created since 1967. There has been no new comprehensive institution since before statehood in the late 1890s when the state normal schools were established.
     (3) The legislature affirms its continued strong support for Washington's community and technical college system and the two plus two model of education that provides access to baccalaureate degrees throughout the state. The legislature further finds that creation of an additional four-year institution would complement the existing structure and provide additional options for students.
     (4) The current branch campus of the University of Washington at Bothell offers an opportunity to take advantage of the excellence and reputation of a premier research university while also creating a four-year campus focused on providing access to baccalaureate and professional graduate education in a heavily populated urban area of the state.
     (5) Therefore, the legislature intends to create the University of Washington Bothell, a four-year campus with the mission of a comprehensive university.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 28B.20 RCW to read as follows:
     There is hereby established the University of Washington Bothell as a campus with a distinct mission to offer lower and upper-division undergraduate and graduate education programs through the master's degree, including programs of a practical and applied nature, directed to the educational and professional needs of the residents in the region; to act as a receiving institution for transferring community college students; and to provide extended occupational and complementary studies programs that continue or are otherwise integrated with the educational services of the region's community colleges.

Sec. 3   RCW 28B.45.020 and 1994 c 217 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     The University of Washington is responsible for ensuring the expansion of upper-division and graduate educational programs in the central Puget Sound area under rules or guidelines adopted by the higher education coordinating board. The University of Washington shall meet that responsibility through the operation of ((at least two branch campuses. One)) a branch campus ((shall be)) located in the Tacoma area. ((Another branch campus shall be collocated with Cascadia Community College in the Bothell-Woodinville area.))

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   (1) The University of Washington shall convene a transition work group to identify implementation issues and recommend solutions associated with the new designation of the University of Washington Bothell.
     (2) The work group must include representatives from the university main campus and Bothell campus, the higher education coordinating board, and the office of financial management.
     (3) The work group must address the following issues as well as others identified by the work group:
     (a) The phase-in of lower-division courses;
     (b) An enrollment plan that provides adequate capacity for community college transfer students;
     (c) Appropriate levels of state general fund support and tuition and fees for the campus, commensurate with its role and mission; and
     (d) Identification of any start-up costs to implement the transition.
     (4) The work group must submit a progress report to the higher education and fiscal committees of the senate and house of representatives by December 15, 2004.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   Sections 2 and 3 of this act take effect July 1, 2005.