In a letter to Governor Gregoire, the Seattle Chamber of Commerce has endorsed raising tuition to mitigate proposed budget cuts, noting that increases in financial aid and tax credits will offset the impact for most students. In part, the letter notes:
Higher education is fundamental to our state’s ability to foster economic recovery and job growth now while driving the innovation and research that will enable our trade‐dependent state to remain competitive in the global economy. It is particularly troubling that the proposed cuts to higher education in our state are deeper than cuts being considered by any other state except Nevada. These reductions would potentially deny 10,000 Washington students access to higher education or severely dilute the quality of the four‐year institutions that state leaders have worked so hard to advance in recent years.
This is not an acceptable outcome for a state that competes with the most aggressive nations and markets in the world — from China to Japan to India to the United Arab Emirates to the European Union.
To reduce the impact of state cuts, we urge lawmakers to grant the four‐year institutions increased flexibility and allow them to exceed the current cap on tuition. Our state has some of the lowest tuition levels in the nation and even with a 14 percent increase, tuition at the University of Washington would be the most affordable compared to peer institutions in the Global Challenge States. At the same time, planned federal assistance, tax credits and Washington state need grants will help offset the impact on students and families.