January 13, 2011
Supreme Court Decision on Medical Residents Upholds Status Quo
As reported by Inside Higher Ed and many others, the Supreme Court decided this week that medical residents do not qualify for student payroll tax exemptions and must pay into social security and medicare as other employees do. This ruling upholds U.S. Department of Treasury regulations issued in 2004, which the UW has been in…
January 10, 2011
Another Budget Blow to Public Higher Ed in CA
Today, newly elected California Governor Jerry Brown released his first proposed state budget. The 2011-12 budget proposes over $12.5 billion in spending cuts and over $12 billion in new revenue generation to close an existing deficit of over $25 billion. Cuts include 10 percent pay reductions for state workers, cuts to Medi-Cal and Welfare, and,…
January 5, 2011
Gearing up for the 2011 Legislative Session
Today, the Office of State Relations and the Office of Planning and Budgeting held a legislative session overview for folks across campus who are frequently called upon to respond to requests for information during session, including providing feedback on proposed bills, completing fiscal note responses, or working with state relations to testify or answer questions…
UW Again Ranked Among Best Values in Public Colleges
Kiplinger has released their 2010-11 list of the top 100 values in public higher education. Coming in at 10th, the UW again ranks very highly. Having also ranked 10th in 2008-09, the UW moved up to 7th in 2009-10, but fell this year after another 14 percent increase in undergraduate resident tuition.
WA Higher Education Task Force Report Released
Last summer, Governor Gregoire created a Higher Education Task force, comprising both public and private leaders, and charged them with proposing a new funding strategy for public higher education, as well as new ideas for increasing institutional accountability. The Task Force released its report yesterday, January 3rd, recommending three major reforms to higher education policy…
January 4, 2011
Recent Grads Affirm Value of College Education
Mirroring previous findings, the American Council on Education (ACE) released results from a survey of recent college graduates that confirms a high level of satisfaction with the quality and utility of American higher education, but also reflects a growing sense that students and families should take more responsibility for paying for higher education. Among the…
December 23, 2010
Governor’s 2011-13 Capital Budget Would Fund Odegaard Undergraduate Learning Center Renovation
The Governor’s 2011-13 proposed Capital Budget includes $19.5 million in state building construction funds for a renovation to the Odegaard Undergraduate Learning Center. In addition, the Governor appropriates UW student-generated building fee funds for a variety of projects, including a $4.8 million High Voltage Infrastructure Improvement Project and $25.8 million for preventive maintenance and building…
December 17, 2010
Why Does College Cost So Much?
We’ve previously mentioned the new book Why Does College Cost So Much? by two economists from the College of William and Mary, Robert Archibald and David Feldman. The authors have made a compelling argument that increasing higher education costs are not the result of institutional dysfunction, but of broader economic forces. Read our summary of…
Governor’s Budget Mandates 3% Salary Reductions for All State Employees
Yesterday, the Governor released her 2011-13 budget, and an obscure section of it mandated that all state employees’ salaries, regardless of fund source, be reduced by 3 percent in both fiscal years of the coming biennium. For the UW, this means that those employees supported by General Operating Funds, working in the hospitals, supported by…
December 16, 2010
Massive Funding Cuts for Higher Ed in Governor’s 2011-13 (FY12 & FY13) Budget
The Governor released her 2011-13 Operating Budget today and it calls for major cuts across all state agencies. This is just the first budget released to address the next biennium; we will review and analyze many Legislative budget proposals during session, which starts on Monday, January 10. The Governor’s budget addresses the $5.7 billion deficit forecasted for the…