Rep. Kathy Haigh introduces legislation to let colleges raise tuition beyond current limits

Haigh says cost of not letting colleges offset crippling budget cuts is too great

April 13, 2009

OLYMPIA – Rep. Kathy Haigh (D-Shelton), chair of the House Education Appropriations Committee, has introduced legislation, HB 2344, to eliminate limits on how much state colleges and universities can increase tuition for resident undergraduate students.

Currently, state law allows state colleges and universities to increase tuition no more than seven percent for resident undergraduate students. House lawmakers, who are grappling with a $9 billion shortfall, have proposed nearly $700 million in cuts to higher education, a move that university and college leaders say will force them to either reduce the number of slots available in classes or seriously dilute the quality of higher education. They’ve argued for the need to increase tuition to offset the deep cuts.

“We cannot afford to choose between quality and access. The demand for higher education is higher than ever, and the need for a highly educated workforce is growing,” says Haigh. “We are not doing right by students when we close the door to a college dream, and we are not doing right by our state when we cut the flow of educated workers into our work force. We must give colleges the tools to respond to this budget shortfall so we can preserve both access and quality in our higher education system.”

Haigh’s legislation would eliminate the seven percent cap for resident undergraduate students and instead would allow legislators to set the cap every two years within the budget.

HB 2344 is scheduled to be heard tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. in the House Ways & Means Committee along with Senator Derek Kilmer’s bill, SB 5734, to eliminate the tuition cap for non-resident students and graduate students.

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