Olympia – Two bills sponsored by Rep. Larry Seaquist (D-Gig Harbor) aimed at improving the state’s college and university system were approved by the House Higher Education Committee on Monday.
House Bill 2717 encourages the state’s public four-year colleges and universities to develop innovations that will lead to more students receiving baccalaureate degrees each year.
Although per student costs have gone down over the years, financial support from the state has been cut back due to revenue shortfalls. Colleges and universities are increasingly developing and implementing innovative strategies to meet the demand. HB 2717 will encourage schools to continue developing innovations and report their progress to the legislature.
“We have over two million Washington residents who could move up the career ladder by finishing a bachelor’s degree or enrolling in continuing education,” said Seaquist. “With additional innovations, our colleges and universities can move a lot more students through the degree-producing pipeline.”
The committee also approved House Bill 2483, which creates the Student Achievement Council as a replacement for the Higher Education Coordinating Board. Legislation enacted in 2011 eliminated that board and laid the groundwork for creating a new council to oversee higher education in the state.
“The Higher Educating Board has become antiquated and obsolete,” said Rep. Larry Haler (R-Richland). “It’s good to see we’re taking the first steps toward improving student achievement and setting a strategic plan in place for our universities and colleges to be successful.”
The Student Achievement Council’s primary mission will be to increase the number of degrees produced by the state’s two research universities, four comprehensive higher education institutions, and 34 community and technical colleges. The legislation requires the new council to coordinate with the schools and the state’s education and workforce agencies.
“The legislature faces many key education decisions in the next few weeks,” said Seaquist. “We need to make sure we are preparing our whole school system, from early learning to graduate studies, to meet the need of our citizens to become ever more educated. We can’t climb that hill unless we stop draining money from all our schools.”