1. Making higher education a priority in the state of Washington
A Shared Vision at Risk 2012
Making higher education a priority in the state of Washington

2. The UW’s Legacy of Accessible and Affordable Education
UW opened in 1861 with 20 students, one faculty member and one building.
Today UW serves nearly 100,000 students throughout the state:
37,000 undergraduates
14,000 graduate and professional students
47,000 through Professional and Continuing Education
For 150 years, the University of Washington and the people of the state of Washington have overcome all kinds of challenges.
The UW was established during the turmoil of the Civil War.
We have survived two world wars and the Great Depression.
We‘ve seen Seattle transform from a city of 250 to a globally significant region of several million.
Together we’ve helped Boeing planes take flight, made computing “cool,” turned yeast into vaccines and helped cure some forms of cancer.
Now, despite the persistence of the “Great Recession” of the 21st century, we are faced with our next extraordinary challenge: our children may not be as well educated as they need to be to compete successfully in the global economy.
Each year the UW educates nearly 100,000 students on three campuses, in local businesses, schools and individual homes through distance learning.
Each year the UW graduates approximately 14,000 students; 75% of whom stay in Washington state to live and work.
Updated November 2011

3. The UW is Continuing its Legacy of Accessible and Affordable Education
80% of all undergraduates are Washington residents.
30% of all undergraduates are first in their family to attend college.
While the UW did accept 150 more out-of-state students this year on a one-time basis due to financial circumstances, 80 percent of all UW undergraduates still hail from right here in the state of Washington.
Thirty percent of UW students are the first in their families to attend college. More than 8,500 of our resident undergraduates will pay no tuition or fees under the Husky Promise—more than 25 percent of our undergraduates.
Updated November 2011

4. What Happened to the “Public” in Public Higher Education?
In the past three years, the UW’s state funding has been cut 50 percent — over $200 million.
Updated November 2011

5. What Happened to the “Public” in Public Higher Education?
In 1990, the state provided nearly 80 percent of the funds to educate UW students, and students funded the remaining 20 percent through tuition and fees.
Today, the state funds only about 30 percent of the cost and UW students fund 70 percent.
Costs at the UW aren’t going up—the cost of educating a student at the UW has remained constant for the last 20 years.
What has radically changed is who pays for college: the burden has shifted from taxpayer support to students and their families.
Updated November 2011

6. 20 Years of Decreasing State Funding Has Led to an Increased Reliance on Tuition
Updated November 2011

7. The UW Still Provides a Quality Education at an Affordable Cost
Compared to schools in the Global Challenge States, the UW remains a strong value in higher education.
Updated November 2011

8. The UW Reduces Costs Through Efficiency
About 150 campus units are increasing their efficiency through the Lean philosophy, which is based on empowering staff to find ways to eliminate redundancy and waste.
$30 million saved to date.
UW Information Technology is saving more than $3 million annually through:
New software agreements
Utilizing “the cloud”
Strategic purchasing of hardware
Updated November 2011

9. Tuition Increases Allowed the UW to:
Significantly increase financial aid by 45%.
Keep Husky Promise alive: In 2011, about 8,500 students covered under Husky Promise – about 25%.
Provide 45% more financial aid for low- and middle-income students.
Reinvest in writing and learning centers and high-demand courses.
Maintain access for undergraduate resident students (currently at 80%).
During the 2011 legislative session, all Washington public universities were given the authority to set tuition rates as a result of the passage of the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HB 1795).
To maintain quality, the UW raised undergraduate tuition 20 percent for While this increase is significant to our students and their families, tuition at the UW still remains well below that of peer institutions.
The tuition increase allowed the UW to significantly increase the amount of financial aid available to students by 45 percent. Not only does this keep the Husky Promise alive, but middle-class students whose families had previously earned too much to qualify for aid are now eligible for some financial assistance.
Increased tuition dollars also allowed the UW to reinvest in writing and learning centers and high-demand courses to help ensure students can get the classes they need to complete their degree on time.
Updated November 2011

10. What’s Next?
The State of Washington must make higher education a real priority in the next state budget.
Prioritize current investments in education.
Invest in students, not bureaucracy.
Provide the UW with more operational flexibility to better serve our students.
Relieve the UW from certain regulatory burdens involving investments, personnel, procurement and public works to increase our efficiency in running the University’s business.
If we want our children to continue to have better educational opportunities than we had, if we want to maintain a quality of life that makes Washington THE place to be—then funding higher education needs to be a bigger priority for all of us.
We have to get back to a shared vision of creating a better future for our kids, our state and our nation.
If we want sustainable prosperity, we have to first prioritize investments in education.
To allow the University not only to survive but continue to thrive and serve the people of our state, both the UW and the state will have to make even more changes.
For several years, the UW has been working diligently to reform and innovate its internal operations. We’ve seen real demonstrated success by rethinking our business practices to be more nimble, productive and cost effective.
To become even more efficient, the state should provide the UW with more operational flexibility and relieve it from certain regulatory burdens involving investments, personnel, procurement and public works. Such actions would reduce redundant and inefficient business practices and permit us to invest more in our students instead of our own bureaucracy.
Updated November 2011