Administrators from those colleges say the governor's 2001-2003 budget won't cover current costs, much less growth or needed improvements. In an effort to ease the financial burden faced by the state's public four-year universities and state community colleges, Locke has proposed permanently transferring power to regulate tuition from the state legislature to the schools' trustees. He also proposes allowing trustees to raise in-state tuition up to 10 percent per year, with a cap of 40 percent over six years. If institutions choose to implement consistent increases, students will pay about 6.7 percent more per year for six years. College administrators say tuition must be increased, but they agree those hikes are no substitute for state appropriations.
People think of higher education as something that benefits an individual student.
That's certainly true, but it also benefits society at large through research that brings solutions to a variety of problems, by providing skilled employees, and by raising tax revenue and reducing the cost of the penal and welfare systems. Higher education leaders point out that Washington's prosperity is closely linked to the research and manpower produced by the state's colleges and universities. Many new high-tech and biotech companies have grown directly out of ideas explored at our universities and countless other companies have located or remained in Washington because of the expertise and people our state's higher education system produces. Despite Washington's prosperity, the state's tax base remains very narrow. That means public programs within the state aren't sharing in the wealth.