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News & Updates

UW Launches Affordable Online Degree Completion Initiative

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Juliet Morrison
Juliet Morrison, Asst. Dir. of the Wash. Dept. of Early Learning, speaks at a UW press conference announcing the new initiative. Photo: uw.edu

Today, the University of Washington announced the launch of an affordable, online, degree completion initiative.

The initiative represents a concerted effort to expand high quality, University of Washington undergraduate education to the 900,000 working adults in Washington State with some college but no degree.

”If we’re going to meet the needs of our state’s economy and provide upward mobility for our citizens, we have to provide affordable, accessible, and high-quality educational opportunities to this critical population. This affordable, online degree option demonstrates the UW is willing to step up to this challenge. This is a great first step, and I hope they develop more,” State Rep. Reuven Carlyle (D-Seattle) said in a statement.

The first degree offered this Fall will be in the area of early childhood education, with additional degrees to follow.

Classes will be offered in an all-online format for $7,000 per year (full time), which is less than 60% of the cost of our traditional, on-campus tuition.  Admission preference will be given to Washington State residents.

Goals for the early childhood education degree are three-fold:

  1. Provide affordable, flexible access to a high, quality, UW undergraduate education to working adults and returning learners in high demand fields.
  2. Expand the number of high quality, early childhood education providers in the state of Washington to bolster early learning efforts at the state level.
  3. Measure, evaluate, and improve the efficacy of online education in order to promote greater student persistence and success.

Read more at UW Today.

Report: 25,000 High-Skill Jobs Going Unfilled

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UW Computer Science & Engineering Students.
UW Computer Science & Engineering Students Photo: cs.washington.edu

A new report out today from the Washington Roundtable shows that as many as 25,000 high-skills jobs are going unfilled in Washington State.

From the Seattle Times:

This week, the business group Washington Roundtable released a study that says 25,000 high-skill jobs in Washington are going unfilled — jobs that have remained vacant for three months or longer, because qualified workers can’t be found to fill them.

By way of background, UW had to turn away 425 qualified students from Computer Science & Engineering last year due to a lack of resources.

Employers, meanwhile, say they can’t get enough of UW graduates:

“We have a standing discussion with University of Washington computer science — anybody you graduate, we’ll take,” said Singh, CEO of Redmond-based Concur Technologies.

The Times story also highlights the painful cuts made during the Great Recession to public higher education in Washington State, and the need to begin to reinvest, especially in high-demand, high-cost fields like STEM.

“We’ve demonstrated that if you invest in higher education, there’s a clear return on investment,” said Steve Mullin, Washington Roundtable president. “When you try to think how we should invest our scarce economic-development resources, we’re suggesting this should be the priority.”

Read the rest of the Times story, and the Washington Roundtable report.

Q&A with State Rep. Dawn Morrell ’95

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State Rep. Dawn Morrell (D-Puyallup)
State Rep. Dawn Morrell (D-Puyallup)

This is the first installment in our new “Huskies on the Hill” Q&A series with UW Alumni serving in state government.

Today’s Q&A features State Representative Dawn Morrell, B.S., Nursing ’95, who represents the 25th Legislative District.

1. What motivated you to run for office?

I am a Registered Nurse. I testified on many health care related bills in Olympia and realized that the legislature needed more representatives that truly understood the health care “system.”

2. What are your legislative priorities this session?

Expanding Medicaid and implementing the Affordable Care Act.

3. What has been the biggest surprise and biggest disappointment for you so far this session?

I was disappointed that we could not pass legislation in the House to make sure that guns were not sold by private sellers to the mentally ill, juveniles and criminals. I am surprised that the Senate is still resisting Medicaid Expansion and implementing the Affordable Care Act. Our health care system is broken and we must move forward.

4. What do you think the long-term outlook is for Higher Education in our state?

I believe the State of Washington will continue to be a leader in the nation. As the downturn in the economy improves we will be able to invest more dollars in the system.

5. How do you spend your time when the legislature is not in session?

I work as a critical care nurse and have six grandchildren to keep me busy. I am a hiker and a traveler.

WATCH: Rep. Morrell’s 2013 Legislative Update to learn more about her work in Olympia.

State Legislature Adopts Resolutions Recognizing UW Peace Corps Volunteers

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Senate Resolution 8636
SR 8636, Adopted March 14, 2013

Earlier this month, Senate Resolution 8636 and House Resolution 6260 were adopted by the Washington State Legislature recognizing the University of Washington for its rank as No. 1 in the nation among large-sized schools with 107 undergraduate alumni serving in the Peace Corps.

The Senate Resolution was sponsored by Senators Bailey, Parlette, Kohl-Welles, Benton, Tom, Keiser, Schoesler, Sheldon, Becker, Shin, Rolfes, Brown, Baumgartner, Fain, Litzow, Rivers, King, Conway, Hasegawa, Nelson, Cleveland,Mullet, and Smith.

The House Resolution was sponsored by Representatives Seaquist, Tarleton, Ryu, Kochmar, Sawyer, Haler, Pollet, Johnson, Magendanz, Walsh, Fagan, Hargrove, Appleton, and Bergquist.

The Peace Corps ranks top colleges annually, in recognition of the schools that
contribute the most alumni.

This year, UW was joined at the top spot by Western Washington University, first among medium-sized schools (5,000 to 15,000 students), and Gonzaga University, the leader among small schools (fewer than 5,000 students).

Since the agency was founded in 1961, 2,738 UW alumni have served as Peace Corps volunteers.

Framed copies of the resolutions are on display in The UW Career Center in Mary Gates Hall.

Read more about the Peace Corps’ college rankings at UW Today.

Huskies On the Hill: Q&A Series with UW Alumni Serving in the State Legislature

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Spring in Olympia Check back next week for a new Q&A series on the blog we’re calling “Huskies on the Hill.”

Each week, the series will feature a UW alum who is serving in state government.

Here is a sneak peek at the questions they’ll be answering:

1.       What motivated you to run for office?

2.       What are your legislative priorities this session?

3.       What has been the biggest surprise and biggest disappointment for you so far this session?

4.       What do you think the long-term outlook is for Higher Education in our state?

5.       How do you spend your time when the legislature is not in session?

State Revenue Forecast is Mixed

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Today (March 20) the Revenue Forecast was released. The forecast is prepared by the state’s nonpartisan Economic and Revenue Forecast Council, and used by both the executive and legislative branches in budget preparation.

Budget writers in the House and Senate can now finish up their respective proposals, as the overall picture moves into focus.

For more detail, read the UW Office of Planning & Budgeting’s brief on the forecast (PDF).

Watch the forecast report on TVW:

[tvw query=”eventID=2013030011&start=&stop=” width=”550″ height=”320″]Overall, revenues were up in the 2011-13 Biennium, and down in the 2013-15 Biennium.

Continue reading “State Revenue Forecast is Mixed”

Day 60: Off the Floor and Back to Committee. Next Up: State Budget

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Yesterday (March 13) was the “floor cutoff” in the State Legislature. Bills that didn’t make it out of their chamber of origin are now considered “dead.” Of course, bills can still be revived in Olympia-speak if they are “NTIB,” which means “necessary to implement the budget.”

TVW has a brief summary of several high-profile bills that made it out alive.

So what happens next? As The News Tribune reports:

Starting today, long days of floor action are over in the Legislature, and attention turns to the state budget.

Legislative members will now also be spending time studying proposals in committee that passed the opposite chamber before the cutoff.

Continue reading “Day 60: Off the Floor and Back to Committee. Next Up: State Budget”

The Week in Review: 2013 Session’s Midway Point

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Capitol Hallway
Capitol Hallway leading to the House Floor.

Today is Day 54 of the 105-day 2013 session of the State Legislature, putting us just past the midway point.

For most of the week, members spent their time on the floor of their respective chambers, debating and voting on bills.

The majority of the buzz, both around the Capitol and in the media, was related to a package of education bills that advanced in the State Senate.

A proposal by several State Senators to layoff several State Supreme Court Justices also made its way into the headlines.

Continue reading “The Week in Review: 2013 Session’s Midway Point”

Elway Poll on Transportation Funding, Higher Ed Op-Eds, Bicycling Email Goes Viral, and Other News of the Week

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A new Elway Poll on transportation funding is generating buzz in Olympia. The Seattle Times reports:

The poll found that 72 percent of the voters surveyed opposed a gas tax and 62 percent opposed a car tab. Those two taxes would provide most of the revenue collected under a transportation plan proposed by House Democrats.

More on the implications of the poll results:

Continue reading “Elway Poll on Transportation Funding, Higher Ed Op-Eds, Bicycling Email Goes Viral, and Other News of the Week”