April
2005• The monthly newsletter for UWT faculty and staff
House
Bill 1794
House
Bill 1794, which authorizes UW Tacoma to begin admitting a small
cohort of freshmen and sophomores in 2007, passed out of the Senate
yesterday. This was a major milestone for this legislation. The
bill now returns to the House, where it must pass again. The Senate
attached an amendment to the bill regarding a provision that allows
the community and technical college system to pilot applied technology
bachelor's degrees at a few of their campuses. If the House concurs
with the amendments and passes the bill, it goes to the Governor's
desk for a signature and becomes law. Governor Gregoire has been
very supportive of the bill, so she is expected to sign the legislation
once it reaches her desk.
Budgets
All
three budgets include a salary increase for faculty and staff
(both professional and classified). In the first year, 2005-2006,
there would be a salary increase pool of 3.2 percent effective
July 1, 2005. In the second year, 2006-2007, a pool of 1.6 percent
would be available July 1, 2006. Classified salary increases would
be across the board, 3.2 percent in the first year, 1.6 percent
in the second year. How increases for professional staff and faculty
would be allocated remains to be determined.in 2006 and a 1.6
percent increase in 2007. There is a good chance the salary increase
will appear in the final budget.
All
three budgets include enrollment growth between 200 and 400 FTE
for UW Tacoma during the 2005-2007 biennium. The Governor's and
House budgets provide appropriate funding per FTE. All three budgets
also provide funding for UWT to plan its lower-division curriculum
that would be offered beginning fall of 2007 if the "four-year
bill" passes.
All
three budgets include an undergraduate tuition increase between
5 and 7 percent. They also fully fund the State Need Grant.
The
Senate budget increases tuition 7 percent while cutting state
funding per student significantly. The tuition increase does not
completely cover the lowered per-student funding rate, so funding
per student is actually cut. This means students all across the
state pay more while getting less in return. In addition, the
Senate levies a small cut to non-instructional budgets. The University
has been aggressive in spreading the word that the Senate budget
is bad for higher education.
Both
the Governor's and House budgets fund UWT's capital request, which
includes $7.5 million to replace the Dawg Shed with an assembly
hall, and $5.5 million to purchase property within the campus
46-acre footprint and remediate contaminated soil.
The
chart below shows how each budget approaches funding for UWT:
|
Governor
|
Senate
|
House
|
| Enrollment |
2006:
100 FTE
2007: 100 FTE
|
2006:
200 FTE
2007: 200 FTE |
2006:
137 upper-div.
2007: 138 upper-div.,
125 lower-div.*
|
| Start-up
for lower-division curriculum |
$500,000
(2007) |
$500,000
(2007) |
$100,000
(2007)
|
| Undergraduate
tuition authority |
5%
annually |
7%
annually |
7%
annually |
| UWT
Autism Center |
$0 |
$700,000 |
$0 |
*
The House provides a different funding level for upper-division
and lower-division students for 2007. This recognizes the higher
cost of educating juniors and seniors.
The
budget bills give the Board of Regents authority to raise tuition
up to a certain percentage. The way these budgets work, there
would not be full funding per student unless tuition is raised
to the maximum level allowed, so the Regents usually vote to raise
tuition by the full amount.
The
UWT Autism Center is funded in the Senate Budget. There is very
high interest in this item in the Senate, so it could find its
way into the final budget.
Next
Steps
Leaders
in the Senate, House and Governor's office are already negotiating
to address the differences in these three budget bills. Helen
Sommers, chair of the House Appropriations Committee, is quoted
in newspaper stories saying the budgets are close, which means
there is optimism about lawmakers' ability to reach a compromise
by the end of the regular session. The session is scheduled to
end April 24.
Update Meeting
Since
the end of the session is near, the plan is to hold a meeting
to discuss the budget and respond to questions once the legislation
is final.
