News
June 20, 2003
Contact: Lorna Sutton, Director of Communications, SBCTC, 360-704-4310
Community and technical college board to allocate funds, increase tuition
OLYMPIA – Washington’s community and technical college system will receive about $509 million for operations in 2003-04 and more than $380 million for facilities for 2003-05 — including funding for projects on nearly every two-year college campus in the state — when the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges allocates funds at its June meeting.
The State Board, scheduled to meet Wednesday and Thursday (June 25-26) at Columbia Basin College in Pasco, is also expected to increase tuition by an average of 7 percent for 2003-04, as authorized by the Legislature to help restore some of the funding cut in the operating budget.
After the reductions made by the Legislature and the increased revenue collected through higher tuition, the colleges will have to cut budgets by an average of 1.7 percent during the next two years. These cuts are coming at a time when the demand for higher education greatly outstrips state funding, said Earl Hale, the State Board’s executive director.
“The demand for college education is unprecedented, with the large number of high school graduates wanting to enroll and many unemployed workers seeking retraining,” Hale said. “We realize the Legislature faced a very difficult budget situation, but this is a tough time to have to cut budgets and not be able to add enrollment slots for new students.”
The operating budget maintains the worker retraining program at about its current level of state-supported enrollment and includes an increase in the Job Skills Program, which provides training for employees in partnership with business, but there are no general enrollment increases.
However, the Legislature’s investment in capital — in renovating, replacing and constructing new buildings at community and technical colleges across the state — will be important for students in the future, Hale said.
The record level of investment in facilities will create more space for students in the years ahead and provide updated classrooms and labs that are appropriate for the education and training programs being offered by the colleges, he noted.
Tuition increases add to the challenge for students. For some, the increased cost may make it difficult to afford college, but without more funds, the colleges can’t offer the classes students need, Hale said.
The proposed tuition increase would result in a community college student taking 15 credits paying about $714 per quarter in this fall, compared to the current level of $661.
The Legislature gave the State Board the authority to increase resident student tuition by an average of 7 percent in 2003-04 to make up some of the cuts in the system’s operating budget. The same level of increase is authorized for the following year.
Tuition for the state’s 29 community colleges is set by the State Board, although some local fees vary. The five technical colleges have different tuition structures but are limited to the same percentage increase as the community colleges.
Also on the agenda for the two-day meeting is a report focusing on improving educational opportunities for low-income students and a discussion of policies regarding student progress toward degrees and certificates.
The meeting will begin with a study session Wednesday from 1:15 to 5:15 p.m. The regular session will be Thursday from 8:15 a.m. to noon. Both sessions will be in Building H at Columbia Basin College, 2600 North 20th, Pasco.
In addition, the board has scheduled a dinner meeting Wednesday with the Columbia Basin College Board of Trustees.
All meetings are open to the public.
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The meeting agenda and background materials are posted on the State Board Web site at: http://www.sbctc.ctc.edu/general/a_board/. View a chart showing the 2003-05 capital projects by college.
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