Christine Gregoire pleasantly surprised higher education advocates by cutting the higher ed

Published 8:00 am Monday, January 12, 2009

Christine Gregoire pleasantly surprised higher education advocates by cutting the higher ed budget less than expected. (Though as with many other cuts, it seems a poor alternative to eliminating a number of tax credits.) She was particularly merciful to the state’s community colleges, rightly noting that they will be a locus of job re-training for laid off workers. Gregoire also asked for a 7 percent cap on tuition increases, which sounds good, though Rep. Joe Zarelli’s proposal of a 10 percent increase coupled with an increase in financial aid sounds better. Nothing has been formally proposed, so we can’t really compare the options and determine whether Zarelli’s eligibility cut-offs are reasonable. But given increasing competition for spots at four-year schools, the increasing difficulty of moving from community colleges to the UW, and the declining value of Pell Grants, it makes sense to be looking at ways to ensure access for lower-income students. UW has seen a precipitous drop in the enrollment of low-income students (click to enlarge). Chart from Journal of Blacks in Higher Education.