olympia
January 26, 2011
New OPB Brief on Institutional Autonomy
The economic outlook for state budgets remains bleak and additional steep cuts to public higher education inevitable, making it imperative to re-imagine how institutions can become more efficient and self-sufficient while remaining effective and accountable to the public. For many institutions greater autonomy from the practices and requirements of state government seems attractive, and this…
January 24, 2011
Somber State Budget Update Presented to UW Regents
Paul Jenny, Vice Provost of Planning & Budgeting, presented the Governor’s proposed budget for higher education and the UW to our Board of Regents last Thursday. Paul touched on the upcoming state revenue forecast, the Governor’s cuts to all institutions, and the impact of future state funding cuts on campus. The Regents expressed many concerns throughout…
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…
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…
December 15, 2010
Op-Eds Call for Increased Flexibility for Public Higher Ed in WA
Three op-eds published recently by local newspapers outline the changing relationship between Washington State and its public higher education institutions. All three op-eds call for the state to increase institutional flexibility in the face of large budget cuts. Phyllis Wise, Interim President, UW: The new normal State public university students will bear bigger share of…
December 13, 2010
Legislature Passes Second Supplemental Budget in Seven Hours on Saturday
The Washington State Legislature quickly passed a second supplemental budget for Fiscal Year 2011 on Saturday, which closed $580 million of the FY11 $1.1 billion deficit. More cutting must be done; we anticipate that this action will occur in a final supplemental budget, which would be adopted in January 2011, likely as the first action of…
December 8, 2010
Federal Maintenance of Effort Requirement Makes State Financial Aid Programs Vulnerable
Both the American Recovery Act (ARRA) of 2009 and the 2010 Education Jobs Fund provided federal funding for education. In exchange for accepting federal funds, both fiscal relief vehicles came with Maintenance of Effort (MOE) provisions requiring states to continue financial support for higher education institutions at certain minimum levels. However, some forms of state…
November 30, 2010
Seattle Times Highlights Importance of Pension Funding Policy
The Seattle Times published an article yesterday that outlined the State Treasurer’s desire to pursue a state constitutional amendment that would require the Legislature, starting in 2015, to invest more money into pension plans up front to help the state avoid ever entering ‘pay-go’ status where pension obligations must be covered from the state general…
November 20, 2010
Additional Near- and Long-Term Cuts Expected as State’s Revenue Forecast Worsens
After the November 18, 2010 release of the state’s November revenue forecast, Vice Provost of Planning and Budgeting Paul Jenny released the following information to UW leadership: As most of you are aware, the November revenue forecast for the state was released yesterday, and it was not good news. The forecast projects a shortfall of…
November 8, 2010
New OPB Brief: WA State Public Pensions
Be sure to check out our latest OPB Brief, Looking Ahead: Washington State Public Pension Costs. This brief is the first in a series intended to provide summary information about major categories of state spending that could impact budgetary outcomes for higher education in future biennia.
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