Regents, Trustees from Washington’s colleges attend annual lobby day in Olympia

Regents and trustees from Washington’s public baccalaureate institutions and community and technical colleges blanketed the statehouse Wednesday for their annual legislative advocacy day. The group consisted of board members from the University of Washington, Washington State University, Western Washington University, Eastern Washington University, Central Washington University, and The Evergreen State College as well as a number of community colleges.

In their meetings with legislators, the six groups of regents and trustees discussed three legislative priorities:

Following the creation of the Workforce Education Investment Account in 2019, the group’s first priority is protecting the investments made through the account, including funding for the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, the Washington College Grant and training programs in a wide array of high demand fields – producing nurses, teachers, welders, physicians, computer scientists, and more.

These new investments segue into their second legislative priority of improving educational attainment. In a time when Washington employers are anticipating 740,000 job openings by 2021, 74 percent of which will require an associate degree or higher, credential attainment is essential as only 40 percent of Washington high school students currently earn a credential beyond a high school diploma by age 26.

Their final priority is focused on increasing FASFA completion. Only 54 percent of Washington high school seniors completed the FASFA in 2017, leaving over $50 million in federal financial aid on the table.

Participating for WSU were Brett Blankenship, chair of the WSU Board of Regents, and student Regent Johanna Pantig, pictured above.