BILL REQ. #:  S-4245.1 

Read first time 01/17/08.   Referred to Committee on Higher Education.

     AN ACT Relating to a University of Washington branch campus at Lake Stevens; and amending RCW 28B.45.010, 28B.45.012, and 28B.45.020.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 28B.45.010 and 1989 1st ex.s. c 7 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     The legislature finds that the benefits of higher education should be more widely available to the citizens of the state of Washington. The legislature also finds that a citizen's place of residence can restrict that citizen's access to educational opportunity at the upper division and graduate level.
     Because most of the state-supported baccalaureate universities are located in areas removed from major metropolitan areas, the legislature finds that many of the state's citizens, especially those citizens residing in the central Puget Sound area, the Snohomish, Island, and Skagit county region, the Tri-Cities, Spokane, Vancouver, and Yakima, have insufficient and inequitable access to upper-division baccalaureate and graduate education.
     This lack of sufficient educational opportunities in urban areas makes it difficult or impossible for place-bound individuals, who are unable to relocate, to complete a baccalaureate or graduate degree. It also exacerbates the difficulty financially needy students have in attending school, since many of those students need to work, and work is not always readily available in some communities where the baccalaureate institutions of higher education are located.
     The lack of sufficient educational opportunities in metropolitan areas also affects the economy of the underserved communities. Businesses benefit from access to the research and teaching capabilities of institutions of higher education. The absence of these institutions from some of the state's major urban centers prevents beneficial interaction between businesses in these communities and the state's universities.
     The Washington state master plan for higher education, adopted by the higher education coordinating board, recognizes the need to expand upper-division and graduate educational opportunities in the state's large urban centers. The board has also attempted to provide a means for helping to meet future educational demand through a system of branch campuses in the state's major urban areas.
     The legislature endorses the assignment of responsibility to serve these urban centers that the board has made to various institutions of higher education. The legislature also endorses the creation of branch campuses for the University of Washington and Washington State University.
     The legislature recognizes that, among their other responsibilities, the state's comprehensive community colleges share with the four-year universities and colleges the responsibility of providing the first two years of a baccalaureate education. It is the intent of the legislature that the four-year institutions and the community colleges work as cooperative partners to ensure the successful and efficient operation of the state's system of higher education. The legislature further intends that the four-year institutions work cooperatively with the community colleges to ensure that branch campuses are operated as models of a two plus two educational system.

Sec. 2   RCW 28B.45.012 and 2004 c 57 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) In 1989, the legislature created five branch campuses to be operated by the state's two public research universities. Located in growing urban areas, the branch campuses were charged with two missions:
     (a) Increasing access to higher education by focusing on upper division and graduate programs, targeting placebound students, and operating as models of a two plus two educational system in cooperation with the community colleges; and
     (b) Promoting regional economic development by responding to demand for degrees from local businesses and supporting regional economies through research activities.
     (2) Fifteen years later, the legislature finds that branch campuses are responding to their original mission:
     (a) Branch campuses accounted for half of statewide upper division and graduate public enrollment growth since 1990;
     (b) Branch campuses have grown steadily and enroll increasing numbers of transfer students each year;
     (c) Branch campuses enroll proportionately more older and part-time students than their main campuses and attract increasing proportions of students from nearby counties;
     (d) Although the extent of their impact has not been measured, branch campuses positively affect local economies and offer degree programs that roughly correspond with regional occupational projections; and
     (e) The capital investments made by the state to support branch campuses represent a significant benefit to regional economic development.
     (3) However, the legislature also finds the policy landscape in higher education has changed since the original creation of the branch campuses. Demand for access to baccalaureate and graduate education is increasing rapidly. Economic development efforts increasingly recognize the importance of focusing on local and regional economic clusters and improving collaboration among communities, businesses, and colleges and universities. Each branch campus has evolved into a unique institution, and it is appropriate to assess the nature of this evolution to ensure the role and mission of each campus is aligned with the state's higher education goals and the needs of the region where the campus is located.
     (4) Therefore, it is the legislature's intent to recognize the unique nature of Washington's higher education branch campuses, reaffirm the role and mission of each, and set the course for their continued future development.
     (5) It is the further intent of the legislature that the campuses be identified by the following names: University of Washington Bothell, University of Washington Tacoma, University of Washington North Sound, Washington State University Tri-Cities, and Washington State University Vancouver.

Sec. 3   RCW 28B.45.020 and 2005 c 258 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The University of Washington is responsible for ensuring the expansion of baccalaureate and graduate educational programs in the ((central)) Puget Sound area under rules or guidelines adopted by the higher education coordinating board and in accordance with proportionality agreements emphasizing access for transfer students developed with the state board for community and technical colleges. The University of Washington shall meet that responsibility through the operation of at least ((two)) three branch campuses. One branch campus shall be located in the Tacoma area. Another branch campus shall be collocated with Cascadia Community College in the Bothell-Woodinville area. A third branch campus, the University of Washington North Sound, shall be located in Lake Stevens.
     (2) At the University of Washington Tacoma, a top priority is expansion of upper division capacity for transfer students and graduate capacity and programs. Beginning in the fall of 2006, the campus may offer lower division courses linked to specific majors in fields not addressed at local community colleges. The campus shall admit lower division students through coadmission or coenrollment agreements with a community college, or through direct transfer for students who have accumulated approximately one year of transferable college credits. In addition to offering lower division courses linked to specific majors as addressed above, the campus may also directly admit freshmen and sophomores gradually and deliberately in accordance with the campus plan submitted to the higher education coordinating board in 2004.
     (3) At the University of Washington Bothell, a top priority is expansion of upper division capacity for transfer students and graduate capacity and programs. The campus shall also seek additional opportunities to collaborate with and maximize its ((collocation [colocation])) colocation with Cascadia Community College. Beginning in the fall of 2006, the campus may offer lower division courses linked to specific majors in fields not addressed at local community colleges. The campus may admit lower division students through coadmission or coenrollment agreements with a community college, or through direct transfer for students who have accumulated approximately one year of transferable college credits. In addition to offering lower division courses linked to specific majors as addressed above, the campus may also directly admit freshmen and sophomores gradually and deliberately in accordance with the campus plan submitted to the higher education coordinating board in 2004.
     (4) At the University of Washington North Sound, a top priority is expansion of upper division capacity for transfer students and graduate capacity and programs in high demand programs with a particular focus on science, technology, and engineering. The campus may offer lower division courses linked to specific majors in fields not addressed at local community colleges. In addition to offering lower division courses linked to specific majors as provided in this subsection, the campus may also directly admit freshmen and sophomores gradually and deliberately in accordance with the campus plan to be submitted to the higher education coordinating board. The campus shall admit students through coadmission or coenrollment agreements with a community college emphasizing access for transfer students codeveloped by the University of Washington and the state board for community and technical colleges.