The Seattle Times this morning outlines the anticipated ramp up in the production of engineering degrees at WSU and the University of Washington as a result of language in the state budget. You can find the story here.
The two research universities were approached by the governor last year in hopes of bolstering the number of engineering degrees produced each year to meet the needs of the state’s aerospace industry. Both universities were turning away qualified students.
“It’s going to be a welcome infusion of cash into the programs, because we’re bursting at the seams and turning away qualified students right now,” Candis Claiborn, dean of WSU’s College of Engineering and Architecture, told the Times.
The funding isn’t actually new money. The budget directed WSU to use $3.8 million of existing resources to fund the new enrollments, which means adjustments will have to be made elsewhere in the university budget. WSU expects to bring new enrollments to campuses in Pullman, Vancouver, Bremerton and Everett.