Skip to content
Blog

Category: OPB News and Announcements

UW Regents Approve Budget, Tuition for 2011-12

Posted on

During a special meeting this morning, the UW Board of Regents unanimously approved 2011-12 tuition rates, the FY 2012 operating budget, and the FY 2012 capital budget. In their first exercise setting tuition rates without caps imposed by the Washington State Legislature, Regents approved a 20 percent increase (or $1,624) for resident undergraduate tuition rates next year (4 percent higher than the increase approved by the Legislature in the operating budget), bringing total tuition to $9,746. With required fees, tuition and fees will total $10,574. Nonresident undergraduate tuition will increase 10 percent to $27,230. Graduate and professional tuition rates will increase at varying rates, which can be found on page 5 of the operating budget.

Note that increases in undergraduate resident tuition will be met with significant increases in financial aid. The UW will increase the amount of tuition revenue set aside for resident undergraduate financial aid by 45 percent ($12 million). More information on financial aid is available in the two-page information item posted at the end of this blog.

The operating and capital budgets were first considered during public information-only, regular May 12 meeting of the Board of Regents and several tuition proposals detailing different rate options and revenue data were considered by Regents at a public information-only, regular meeting on June 9.

Please contact our office (or post comments directly via this blog) with any questions you may have about next year’s budgets and tuition rates. Also, please review a two-page UW Resident Undergraduate Tuition Information Item for a brief summary of tuition and financial aid during the coming academic year.

Projected 2011-13 State Revenue Takes a Dive

Posted on

Yesterday, the Washington State Economic Revenue and Forecast Council released a troubling update for 2011-13 state general fund revenue. Overall, the over $730 million dollars held in reserve in the recently signed budget is now projected to be only $163 million.

If this trend continues, mid-year and supplemental session cuts may be likely. Please see our OPB brief for a summary of this revenue report.

No Surprises in (Nearly) Final State Operating & Capital Budgets

Posted on

While the House and Senate have yet to finish sine die today, both capital and operating budgets are close to final.

The UW’s operating budget cut is $207 million over the biennium. UW’s cuts are comprised of “higher education reductions” and a mandatory 3 percent, general fund state compensation reduction ($12 million per year). Compensation reductions, while mandatory, are not imposed on individual salaries at the colleges and universities but rather, are required compensation savings targets that the University must meet over each fiscal year.

The final operating budget includes a 16 percent resident undergraduate tuition rate cap but provisions from E2SHB 1795 (tuition setting authority bill) are included. The UW Regents will meet June 9, 2011 to discuss tuition setting authority.

The capital budget provides $26.3 million in state bonds for projects like Odegaard Undergraduate Learning Center and minor capital repairs. Additionally, a separate capital budget bill appropriates $53.6 million in UW Building Fees for preventative maintenance and building repairs as well as minor capital repairs.

Please review the OPB’s conference budget brief which assumes that the operating and capital budgets are signed by the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate in their current forms. We will notify campus of any major amendments once the Governor has reviewed the operating and capital budgets.

Special Session Likely as WA Senate Passes Budget with 6 Days to Spare

Posted on

The Washington State Senate passed its budget last night after adopting two floor amendments. The budget cuts, compensation reductions, and policy issues we outlined were not amended in any substantive way in the engrossed budget passed by the Senate last night. Find out more about the evolution of the House and Senate versions on this Washington State Legislature page and this page.

Regular session is scheduled to end this Sunday, but legislators will not be in Olympia over the weekend due to Easter. A special session will likely be called after the holiday and reaching agreement on a conference (negotiated) budget would be at the top of the agenda. For more information, TVW’s Capital Record blog provides an excellent summary of special session details.

WA Senate Budget: Deeper Cuts, Higher Tuition, Compensation Reductions

Posted on

Senate Ways & Means leadership released their bipartisan budget last night after a 7PM press conference. Budget reductions total $4.8 billion and the largest cuts are targeted to K12 education, higher education,  employee compensation across all sectors of state governemnt, and basic health.

The UW’s general fund appropriation is cut more in the Senate budget ($217 million) than the House engrossed budget, but the Board of Regents would be authorized to increase resident undergraduate tuition higher (16% per year). BEFORE tuition increases, the Senate budget cut would be a 34.2% reduction from our maintenance level.

The Senate budget contains two compensation related cuts, which are limited to employees paid from state general fund (GOF), the medical account, and the accident account (the latter two provide critical funds for Public Health).

  1. Like the House engrossed budget, the Senate budget includes 3% “compensation savings” reducing our appropriation by $24 million over the biennium. Individual salaries will not be affected but our general fund, medical aid, and accident approprations would be reduced.
  2. The Senate budget would require stepped furloughs for “highly paid” employees, excluding faculty and Harborview personnel. The budget bill does not contain language to this effect but rather, the budget overview indicates that the policy will be included, perhaps in SB 5860. The general fund cut for furloughs would be $10.2 million over two years.

A full OPB brief is available for review.

State House of Reps Passes Operating Budget Saturday

Posted on

After considering numerous floor amendments last Friday evening, the House passed their operating budget on Saturday afternoon. The House budget appropriates $32.2 billion in general fund state operating funds and makes significant cuts to health and human services, K-12 education, and higher education.

Like the House Ways & Means chair budget, the engrossed budget cuts $204 million from the UW’s state general fund appropriation over two fiscal years. However, that reduction is somewhat mitigated by the fact that all UW units took part of these cuts in November 2010 permanently. As a result, our brief outlined the approximate cut (before tuition revenue) that would be implemented in Seattle should the House budget ultimately pass after negotiations between the chambers.

The engrossed budget contained an extremely important amendment which exempts university and college employees from individual salary reductions of 3%. However, institutions will still need to come up with requisite “savings” (read: cuts) of 3% from all appropriated funds, which for the UW, are general fund state and the medical aid and accident accounts.

The Senate is expected to release operating and capital budgets this evening. After the Senate passes its budget, leadership in each chamber will begin negotiations toward a conference budget.

Finally, House Operating and Capital Budget Details

Posted on

The House released operating and capital budgets yesterday for the upcoming biennium (FY12 & FY13). This budget is an important next step in the budget development process in Olympia but we are far from having a final compromise budget.

The House operating budget proposal:

  • Cuts state funding for the UW by $204 million over two years (32% reduction)
  • Authorizes resident undergraduate tuition rate increases of 13% for both years
  • Eliminates the State Work Study Program
  • Increases the State Need Grant to adjust for increased tuition rates
  • Mandates reductions equivalent to a 3% salary reduction

The House capital budget:

  • Authorizes state funds for the Odegaard Undergraduate Learning Center renovation
  • Provides some state funds for some minor capital repairs, the House of Knowledge, UW Seattle’s High Voltage Infrastructure Improvement project, and design-phase funding for Anderson Hall

Please read our comprehensive brief about the budgets and please post any questions or comments to the blog.

Wherefore art thou, House Operating Budget?

Posted on

When the revenue forecast was released on March 17, House fiscal leadership indicated that their operating budget would be delayed. We hoped to see a budget on March 21st and then on March 29th. Tomorrow is April 1 and your analysts at OPBlog anticipate having neither budget drafts to write about nor fantastic prank ideas to implement.

Some news outlets indicate that we may see the House Ways and Means Operating Budget next week. Meanwhile, Senate Ways and Means chair Ed Murray, D-Seattle, is on record saying that the Senate will not release its budget until the House releases theirs.

We’ll offer full analysis of the budgets as they are released. Stay tuned!

New UW Website Centralizes Budget Information

Posted on

You might notice links for a new website, UW Budget Watch, popping up on UW homepages (including OPB and right here on the blog).

OPB worked with Web Communications staff to develop one website that would consolidate many sources of information relating to the state budget and how it has and is expected to continue affecting the University. You will find links to blogs (the absolute best way to get the most up to the date and timely notices) and other UW and non-UW websites, as well as many educational documents, messages about the budget from UW leadership, videos about the current funding situation, and information about related UW initiatives.

We have found sites such as this very helpful in keeping up to date with our peer institutions, and we hope that our page will be as useful for anyone interested in keeping up on the latest developments.

So, visit the page often and we will work hard to keep it updated!