A key metric that is used to calculate tuition rates would be made available earlier under Senate Bill 5079, heard in the House Postsecondary, Education and Workforce Development committee for the first time today.
The bill requires the state budget office, the Office of Financial Management, to communicate the maximum allowable increase in tuition to Washington’s public baccalaureates in October. Current law does not provide the calculation until March, delaying the time that university regents can determine the rate of tuition until May for an academic year that begins in August.
Collin Bannister, the legislative representative for ASWSU, testified in support of this bill during the hearing. He shared his story as a Pullman first generation student noting how this “good bill will truly help students.” He shared:
“As things currently are due to laws, students do not find out what their financial aid package is until after they have been fully accepted and likely graduated high school. Less than a year ago I, myself, was a senior at Pullman high school. As a first-generation student applying to college, the whole process was very confusing and there were many unknowns. The greatest of which being the cost and if I could afford to attend. I am not alone in my apprehension. The Washington round table found in a recent study that 63% of students listed the number one barrier to pursuing higher education as cost. If aid packages and costs are released sooner. This will give students the time they need to financially prepare. And in some cases, even discover that with aid, they actually can go to college.”
The bill moved unanimously out of the Senate 49-0 earlier last month. You can find Bannister’s remarks in full below.