March
2005• The monthly newsletter for UWT faculty and staff
Legislature
considers future of higher education
Committing
to transfer students
Chancellor Olswang has been working with our local community college
partners, the HEC Board and community leadership on a formal agreement
that UWT will continue to reserve a high percentage of its admissions
slots for direct transfer students. UW Seattle currently has an
agreement with community colleges that 30 percent of their annual
admits will be students from community colleges. Currently, about
80 percent of UWT's undergraduates transfer from community and
technical colleges.
Applied
bachelor's degrees at community colleges
Other bills under consideration this year would establish a pilot
program to offer applied baccalaureate degrees at a limited number
of community colleges, possibly in collaboration with four-year
schools. These applied baccalaureate degrees allow those with
applied technology associate's degrees to earn a bachelor's degree
in two more years at a community college.
Biennial
budget
On the financial side of the Legislature's work, any state support
for enrollment growth, capital projects or future operation of
the UW Tacoma Autism Center (a satellite of the UW Autism Center
in Seattle) must be included in the final biennial budget. The
state budget forecast is due in mid-March, and the House and Senate
will release first-draft budgets in the weeks that follow. These
budgets will give us our first strong indication on these issues.
We remain optimistic that some enrollment growth and capital funding
will come to UW Tacoma, but it's too early to have any certainty
about how the final budget will look.
