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UW MAY BUMP UP TUITION FOR UNDERGRADS BY 7 PERCENT
Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Author: Christine Frey
Date: May 14, 2007
Undergraduate tuition for state residents could increase 7 percent this fall at the University of Washington -- the maximum amount allowed by the state.
The Board of Regents will review proposed tuition rates for the next academic year at a meeting Thursday.
If approved, Washington residents would pay $5,842 in tuition and an additional $525 in fees, bringing the total cost to $6,367 for the year.
The proposal also calls for raising undergraduate tuition for out-of-state students by 4 percent to $21,588. Graduate and professional tuition would increase from 4 percent to 14 percent, depending on residence status and field of study.
The state controls undergraduate resident tuition. Earlier this year, the governor and Legislature decided to cap the annual tuition increase to 7 percent.
The UW has chosen to increase tuition by the maximum amount to close a funding gap between it and its peer institutions, said Provost Phyllis Wise.
"We needed to have the money to provide the kind of education that we want to and felt that that was also justified because we still are behind our peers in terms of their tuition rates," she said.
The UW recently received an operating budget of $807 million from the Legislature, its best budget in decades.
The additional money generated by the increase in tuition would fund scholarships, advisement, classroom technologies and faculty salaries, among other improvements Weiss said. The UW is guaranteeing full tuition scholarships for its neediest students under the new Husky Promise program for the first time this fall.
The UW regents will officially approve tuition rates next month.
Students expected the proposed 7 percent increase, but they are unhappy that university officials are looking to raise costs by the maximum amount, said Bryce McKibben, a UW student who represents undergraduates in Olympia.
"Students are still disappointed that we aren't reducing the level of increases," he said.
Unlike undergraduate tuition, graduate and professional tuition is not capped by the Legislature. The Board of Regents controls it.
The regents will consider increasing the costs of the pharmacy, law and medicine programs by 10 percent this fall. The nursing master's degree program, which has been turned into a doctor of nursing practice, could cost 14 percent more.
In addition to raising tuition rates, the university is also looking to re-categorize some master's programs -- such as public health -- and charge more for them, bringing tuition in line with that of similar institutions.
Graduate students are concerned that they face higher tuition hikes since there are no state limits on annual increases.
"When we see that the government has put the 7 percent cap on the tuition for the undergrads, we know they're coming for us," said Kimberly Friese, president of the Graduate and Professional Student Senate.
Such increases may discourage students from pursing careers in the public sector once they obtain their degrees because they will need to earn more money to pay off their debt, Friese said.
Washington State University has already approved a 7 percent tuition increase for undergraduate residents. A year's tuition there costs $5,812 plus fees.
The Board of Regents will review proposed tuition rates for the next academic year at a meeting Thursday.
If approved, Washington residents would pay $5,842 in tuition and an additional $525 in fees, bringing the total cost to $6,367 for the year.
The proposal also calls for raising undergraduate tuition for out-of-state students by 4 percent to $21,588. Graduate and professional tuition would increase from 4 percent to 14 percent, depending on residence status and field of study.
The state controls undergraduate resident tuition. Earlier this year, the governor and Legislature decided to cap the annual tuition increase to 7 percent.
The UW has chosen to increase tuition by the maximum amount to close a funding gap between it and its peer institutions, said Provost Phyllis Wise.
"We needed to have the money to provide the kind of education that we want to and felt that that was also justified because we still are behind our peers in terms of their tuition rates," she said.
The UW recently received an operating budget of $807 million from the Legislature, its best budget in decades.
The additional money generated by the increase in tuition would fund scholarships, advisement, classroom technologies and faculty salaries, among other improvements Weiss said. The UW is guaranteeing full tuition scholarships for its neediest students under the new Husky Promise program for the first time this fall.
The UW regents will officially approve tuition rates next month.
Students expected the proposed 7 percent increase, but they are unhappy that university officials are looking to raise costs by the maximum amount, said Bryce McKibben, a UW student who represents undergraduates in Olympia.
"Students are still disappointed that we aren't reducing the level of increases," he said.
Unlike undergraduate tuition, graduate and professional tuition is not capped by the Legislature. The Board of Regents controls it.
The regents will consider increasing the costs of the pharmacy, law and medicine programs by 10 percent this fall. The nursing master's degree program, which has been turned into a doctor of nursing practice, could cost 14 percent more.
In addition to raising tuition rates, the university is also looking to re-categorize some master's programs -- such as public health -- and charge more for them, bringing tuition in line with that of similar institutions.
Graduate students are concerned that they face higher tuition hikes since there are no state limits on annual increases.
"When we see that the government has put the 7 percent cap on the tuition for the undergrads, we know they're coming for us," said Kimberly Friese, president of the Graduate and Professional Student Senate.
Such increases may discourage students from pursing careers in the public sector once they obtain their degrees because they will need to earn more money to pay off their debt, Friese said.
Washington State University has already approved a 7 percent tuition increase for undergraduate residents. A year's tuition there costs $5,812 plus fees.