Plan Would Give Trustees Control Over College Tuition

House Republicans, looking for new ways to finance financially strapped state colleges, on Monday proposed giving local trustees authority to increase tuition as much as 15 percent a year.

That would be on top of the 5 percent annual increase the GOP would enact at the state level.

Senate budget Chairwoman Nita Rinehart, D-Seattle, frowned on the new House plan, first revealed during budget negotiations. She said the state needs to step up to the longterm financial needs of the state’s network of public colleges, rather than relying increasingly on tuition dollars.

But House Majority Leader Dale Foreman, R-Wenatchee, and House Higher Education Chairman Don Carlson, R-Vancouver, defended the new House approach. Tuition at some Washington institutions, particularly the University of Washington, lags well below peer colleges and below what the market will bear, Foreman said.

Lawmakers have to be concerned about increasing access to college - the House budget provides 5,000 new slots - and improvements can’t come from state tax dollars alone, Foreman said. Taxpayers are subsidizing each student by at least 60 percent, he said.

In an interview, Carlson outlined the new plan:

Trustees or regents of the fouryear colleges and universities would be allowed to boost tuition by as much as 15 percent each academic year.

The extra money would stay on campus and could be used for anything local officials desired.

In certain high-cost programs, particularly where the tuition lags below peer institutions, a higher tuition could be charged than for students in other programs.

A study of the long-term funding needs of higher education would be launched this year.