WSU Regents lower tuition, OK budgets

Washington State University students are in for a pleasant financial surprise in the 2016-17 academic year, as the Board of Regents voted Friday to approve a 10 percent decrease in resident undergraduate tuition.

The reduction, previously authorized by the state Legislature, will reduce the annual cost of in-state tuition for undergraduates from $10,356 in 2015-16 to $9,324 in 2016-17. Graduate tuition rates were unchanged.

The board also authorized a $192.7 million capital budget for the 2017-19 biennium for 12 projects.

Those on the Pullman campus include $58.9 million for the construction of a plant sciences building; $38.1 million for construction of the second phase of the Allen Center global animal health building, $3.5 million for design and predesign of a life and physical sciences building, $4.75 million for card key access infrastructure for the security building, $4.9 million for building automation systems infrastructure and minor capital improvement projects.

Projects for other WSU campuses include an academic building design on the Tri-Cities campus, a teaching lab on WSU Spokane campus and predesign of a life sciences building in Vancouver.

A $67 million operating budget was also approved unanimously by the board and included medical education expenses for the College of Medicine, salaries for faculty, staff and graduate students, maintenance and operations for new buildings as well as research and pilot studies.

The budgets will be presented to the state Office of Financial Management after being approved by the university president.

The Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine was also authorized to hire faculty and administrative and operating staff.

The board also voted to:

Restore the name of the Pullman campus’ Honors Hall to Elmina White Honors Hall.

Alter its facility use rules for First Amendment and free speech activities to clarify limitations on non-university groups and individuals as well as broaden public forum areas to include all facilities on all campuses excluding inside or in the immediate vicinity of facilities used to support university research, academic instruction or health services.

Discontinue master’s and doctoral degrees in counseling psychology and a doctoral degree in higher education within the College of Education.

Establish a Bachelor of Science degree in construction engineering, a Bachelor of Arts degree in chemistry, a Master of Science degree in software engineering, a B.S., in software engineering at the Pullman and Everett campuses and a B.S. in data analytics at the Pullman, Everett, Vancouver and global campuses.

Extend a B.S. in electrical engineering to Olympic College in Bremerton, a B.S. in mathematics and a master’s degree in electrical engineering to Vancouver, a B.S. in economic sciences to the global campus, and a B.A. in fine arts and a B.S. in biology to Tri-Cities.

Replace a B.A. in communication with a B.A. in communication and society, a B.A. in strategic communication, and a B.A. in journalism and media production.

Establish a School of Engineering and Applied Sciences on the Tri-Cities campus.