Story 3

Good news for higher education?

Program expansions and additional degree options are on the horizon for Washington state higher education campuses. A light at the end of the tunnel is approaching as a bill for education expansion makes its way through the Senate. But not all Washington residents consider the bill to be a positive proposal.

In January the Higher Education Coordinating Board proposed a systematic mechanism for communities and the state to identify educational programs needed to expand the states higher education system. The mechanism would identify the needs of Washington students allowing education programs to be more widely available, and with a wider range of options. According to the Washington State Legislature fiscal note, the bill will have no fiscal impact.

According to the bill, “postsecondary educational opportunities for Washington residents must be expanded in order for the citizens and the state to remain significant participants in the global economic marketplace.”

The bill itself will not change higher education, but it will allow the mechanism to detect the necessary developments that are needed on the state’s campuses and changes will be made based off of that information.

If the Senate Bill 6355 is passed the mechanism will implement changes such as new degree programs developed by four-year institutions and also expansions of facilities by four-year, community and technical colleges.

According to the bill “making better use of existing capacity at the branch campuses, centers and comprehensive institutions to broaden the geographic availability of baccalaureate education” is one of its main plans for expansion.

With the tuition increases and budget cuts on student’s minds the bill has left some wondering if expansion should be the state’s current priority.

“With all the suffering that students are going through with tuition increasing as much as it is, it doesn’t make sense to me that the state would try to expand an already broken system,” Washington State University junior Katie Hertzberg said.

The Senate argues that the bill would improve the economic condition of the state by giving opportunity for more students to receive the degrees they want at additional locations.

“It’s been difficult budget times for us all but I think the university's message in this one is clear that investment in student, investment in research and investment in innovation is the best investment you can make in our economy for long term growth,” Margaret Shepherd Director of State Relations for University of Washington said.

On Feb. 12 the bill received 47 yeas and 0 nays from the Senate Committee on Higher Education & Workforce Development. The bill was sent to the Rules Committee on Feb. 24, which will decide if the bill will be placed on the floor calendar for a second reading.

Contacts for story

Katie Hertzberg- 425.442.1424

Margaret Shepherd- (TVW source)- mshep@u.washington.edu

Outline

Who: higher education coordinating board (HECB) and the Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development Committee.

What: expanding the states higher education system so that the system can be capable of delivering more degrees. Plans for expansion- making better use of current branches, new degree programs and making degrees more readily available to those who desire them.

Why: will improve the economic situation in Washington according to some in the legislation. Allow WA to stay in the game and start to reverse some economic damage.

Why not: The legislatures focus should be on the rising tuition and budget cuts rather than the expansion of the higher education system. It needs to be fixed before it can be expanded.

When: Bill 6355 is currently going through the senate and has been active since its first reading on Jan. 13.

Help your peers

1. Washington state provided a subsidy of more than $2,000 for in-state students.

2. “The $13.5 million is the tip of a larger iceberg,” said Jerry McCollum coordinator of arts and culture

3. What I know is that the system is broken right now, President Floyd said. We can’t live in a world with 14 percent tuition increases.

4. The co-presidents announced a club to meet more people who are interested in hiking.

5. Floyd supports the Senate Bill 6562, sponsored by Sen. Derek Kilmer.

6. The legislature has made no decisions on the budget cuts.

7. The bill would give Washington State University the authority to set its own tuition.

8. Senator Jessica Smith, presented the proposal at the committee meeting, which was held in the auditorium on Feb. 4.

 

Legislative Party

3. Find SB 6562.
What does the bill propose?
Addresses an institution of higher education's tuition setting authority.

Who is the sponsor?
Senators Kilmer, Tom, Delvin, Regala, Murray, Hargrove, King

What is the companion bill in the House?
HB 2946

What was the most recent action taken on this legislation?
Feb 15- 2nd substitute bill substituted (WM 10) was the most recent action taken.

What does the fiscal note tell us?
It tells the specific amounts of money that will be spent on this bill. Its a recipt for the bill.

According to the fiscal note, if WSU increased tuition by 1 percent next year, how much more money would the university receive?
$1.05 million

If tuition increases 10 percent, how much more would the university collect in S&A fees from from 2012 to 2018?
$ 37.3 million

If it increases 7 percent, how much would the university collect in S&A fees?
$23.8 million



4. That's great if we already know the bill number. But what if we want to see general topics be addressed by the Legislature?
a. Click on Legislative Committees on the left side of the screen.
b. Find the Higher Education Committee. Who chairs this committee?
Wallace, Deb (D) Chair
Sells, Mike (D) Vice Chair

c. List one bill from the Feb. 19 agenda.
SSB 6359
d. At the bottom of the page, click on Committee Meeting Documents. Let's pull up a document from the Jan. 29 meeting. Click on agenda to see what legislators saw that day as they worked.

e. Click on Possible Executive Session. Under 2854, click on bill report. What was the final vote tally on 2854 and who opposed it?

f. Finally, return to the home page (leg.wa.gov) and click on bill search. This time, search by a keyword that may interest you.

1. Search for 'salmon.' What are two recent bills dealing with salmon?
HB 1063
2SHB 1951
5. On the main legislative page (leg.wa.gov), click on Bills Clearing Latest Cutoff
a. Identify two bills that you might find interesting. Search for information on both bills and provide the following:

HB1148 Protection of animals
1. Representatives Williams- (360) 786-7940 , Rodne- (360) 786-7852
2. Declares an intent to prohibit perpetrators of domesticviolence from further terrorizing and manipulating theirvictims, or the children of their victims, by using the threatof violence toward pets.
3. http://tvw.org/media/mediaplayer.cfm?evid=2009031185&TYPE=V&CFID=5264614&CFTOKEN=98019986&bhcp=1
4.

SHB1189Retail store carryout bags
1. Representatives Chase-,(360) 786-7880. Campbell- (360) 786-7912
2. Prohibits a person who owns or operates a retail storefrom providing a carryout bag for free or for charge to aconsumer unless the carryout bag is either a compostableplastic carryout bag, a recyclable paper carryout bag, or areusable carryout bag.
3. http://tvw.org/media/mediaplayer.cfm?evid=2005030228&TYPE=A&CFID=5264614&CFTOKEN=98019986&bhcp=1

4. A list of three sources (non-legislative) that may be interested in the bill

Quotes

1. “Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose,”Janice said.

2. Lisa said she planned to attend the rally.

3. He will be there Wednesday, Jones said.

4. He asked “Are all your flights full?”

5. Jones said he made a “freshman mistake”: throwing the ball into a crowd of defenders.

6. Did Bennett say it will be a long season?

7. Did Bennett say, “Will it be a long season?”

8. "Wulff's statement that he would 'beat the Huskies in Seattle' has outraged our fans", Sarkisian said.

9. “We think it’s a great situation for our band,” Kurt said. “We’re ecstatic.

“Can you get us backstage passes?” Kurt asked Dave.

10. "How can we not succeed?" he asked.

Speech story

Floyd committed to working together on budget crisis

WSU President Elson S. Floyd expressed his loyalty to students on Feb. 3 as he gave a somber speech covering the tuition increases and budget cuts.

With 14 to 40 percent tuition increases and millions of dollars being cut from the WSU budget, Floyd reassured the audience in the CUB auditorium that he is on their side.

“What I know is that the system is broken right now, we can’t live in a world with 40% tuition increases,” Floyd said.

Protecting those who work here and the students who learn here is Floyd’s core value during the budget crisis. Preserving the quality of the education, being open and transparent are other values Floyd identified.

Floyd also hopes for a university-shared government, in which the Board of Regents would set the tuition prices. The 10-member board currently has one student member. Floyd would like to see an increase in the number of students on the board to better voice student opinions.

“It seems logical to me to have students around the table when making decisions about tuition,” Floyd said.

Floyd and the members of ASWSU, including Vice President Jay Hendrickson encourage all students to involve themselves in the fight against the budget crisis.

According to Hendrickson, ASWSU is asking three things of students wishing to aid in the fight against tuition increases and financial aid cuts.

First, sign up for WSU’s Democracy in Action and receive updates on the legislative session. Secondly, go straight to the source with ASWSU’s Coug Day at the Capitol, where students will meet directly with legislators to show them how important higher education is. Lastly, write, email, or call the local legislature with your student opinion and testimony.

With the legislature in Olympia being in an “absolute state of confusion,” Floyd emphasized the importance of students voicing their opinion.

After the university was cut to the bone last year with $54 million budget cuts, a heavy impact on WSU is expected with this year’s proposed budget cuts of about $22 million, according to ASWSU.

“I feel like we are going to see a difference in the demographics of students applying here. I also think we will see an influx of people heading to community colleges and not to our four-year institutions. Without students we lose out on money, it would be a chain effect. Without that money we won’t have funds or people for our programs,” ASWSU Executive Board Intern Cailee Olson said.

The budget cuts and tuition increases are currently in the proposal stages. After concrete decisions are made through the legislature process, preliminary budget cuts will be seen at WSU.

“Only once the finalized budget comes out, will WSU be able to fully comprehend and respond to the budget crisis,” Hendrickson said.

As the legislation process continues WSU administration will have forums to keep the students informed of the budget crisis decisions.

Questions for speaker- Elson Floyd

1. What can students do to make an impact on the rising tuition problem

2. How do you think the tuition increases will affect enrollment and dropout rates?

3. Could you sum up why the tuition would need to increase by such a large percentage of 40%?

Contacts for story

Cailee Olson- cailee.olson@email.wsu.edu

Jay Hendrickson- jh214@wsu.edu

Elson Floyd- floyde@wsu.edu

Edit your peers

1. He died of a heart attack on Feb. 1.

2. He said lighting is critical on one-way streets.

3. The play will be Feb. 4 to 7.

 

4. Contact John E. Williamson, the committee co-chair, for more information.

 

5. On Saturday a lecture by Dennis Alexander, adopted composer for the Pedagogy Piano Lab School will be held.

 

6. En' Wezoh hopes to recruit students who would best complement and execute the intended vision.

7. The Interfraternity Council President Benjamin Highsmith, will attend the GLA.

 “GLA is a beneficial experience for all who attend. It is time dedicated to fostering relationships between Greek chapters while identifying commonalities and determining a direction for our community,” Highsmith said.

8. The drug-related film will be featured in a special showcase, which will air as the final show.

9. “There are still new things to say with art music," said the Club's President Kyle Winter. "It’s hard to stop and listen, but when you do it can be an extremely pleasant surprise.”

Jess Walter

Journalism, creative writing students and professors filled the room with laughs as the New York Times best selling author, Jess Walter read from his newest book, The Financial Lives of the Poets, and discussed the future of journalism.

“No one ever got rich in the newsroom, but you did it because it’s your passion,” Walter said in CADD Thursday evening.

From journalist to New York Times bestseller, Walter encouraged the students in the room to stick with their careers despite the decline in popularity of journalism. Writing may not be the most popular American pass-time but story telling, novels, and fiction writing will always be there, said Walter.

“I’ve had my doubts about sticking with my major and Jess’s words were encouraging. It helped solidify that I am in the right place,” junior english major Makenna Nystrom said after attending Walter’s speech.

From statements to ledes

Story 1

40 full-time employees will be immediately cut from the city's street department due to an unsustainable budget, Kinnesaw, Ala. Mayor, Hastings Sawyer said Tuesday.

"The city can no longer afford to cater to your every need. If you find a pothole on your street, grab a shovel and fill it in yourself. Citizens need to step up and help out their government,” said Sawyer.

Story 2
The legilization of marijuana will save tax payers' money and civilians lives in Milkweed, Texas, said Texas Attorney General, Ivan Milton Tuesday afternoon.

"Agent Calvin Markins’ tragic death stems from a failed policy that has cost American taxpayers billions, made widowers of young men and women, and done nothing to stem the flow of illicit drugs across America’s borders," said Milton.

Comma corrections

Correct the following sentences. If the sentence is already correct, write “correct.”

1. We looked through the church door, but we did not see anyone.

2. We could wait to see if anyone else came, or we could go back home. CORRECT

3. This will end up having an effect on consumers, she said.

4. Britney paid $80 for her editing text, but she received only $4 at the resale desk.

5. According to Washington state law, bars will become smoke free on Feb. 15.

6. I saw Karen and we had coffee. CORRECT

7. The home was bright and cheery. However, it made me uncomfortable.

8. It was raining. We stayed home.

9. Later he phoned again.

Underline the subject and verb of the following sentences:

Another impact that increases the purchasing of alcohol is the premises that sell alcohol on and off the WSU campus.

The best advice the CACD can give is, do not post things that you would not want people to see.