It is an exciting day in Olympia, as today is the first day of the 2015 legislative session. Over the coming months the Legislature will consider hundreds of bills and formulate the 2015-17 state budget.
Listed below is a summary of some of Western’s priorities for the legislative session. These proposals would build upon Western’s strengths and serve the people of Washington State:
Operating Budget
- Critical Compensation Adjustments – Western requests $13.12 million to attract and retain talented employees to compete in the national higher education marketplace.
- Student Success – Western requests $2.37 million to fund services that help students graduate. These services, such as student advising and academic tutoring, help students successfully navigate through college and are especially utilized by first generation students and students underrepresented in the higher education system. We know that students who access these support services are more likely to graduate and more likely to graduate in a timely manner.
- Clinical Doctorate in Audiology – Western requests $1.39 million to establish a clinical doctorate program in audiology that would double the number of Au.D. graduates in the state by producing 12 highly-qualified audiologists each year to serve a diverse and aging population.
- Vehicle Engineering – Western requests $1.26 million to fund an interdisciplinary engineering program to prepare graduates for roles in critical state industries such as aerospace, automotive, commercial trucking, marine, and the supporting composites industry. This would be the first such program in the state.
- Engineering Geology – Western requests $1.2 million to fund the first Engineering Geology BS an MS programs in the State of Washington. These programs would prepare students to address the state’s priority to protect people and property from geological hazards, such as the 2014 Oso landslide.
Capital Budget
- Carver Academic Renovation – Western requests $73 million to renovate Carver, WWU’s most heavily used building on campus. This funding would provide much needed seismic repairs and add new classrooms and labs to support an additional 185 graduates per year.
- Science Building Renovation and Addition – Western requests $500,000 for predesign and $8.3 million for design for a major building renovation and modest addition to help meet student demand in STEM subjects.
Transportation Budget
- Lincoln Creek Transportation Center Improvements – Western requests $6.3 million to upgrade the regionally significant transportation center, which serves Western students and an increasing number of commuters on the I-5 corridor.
Washington State’s six public colleges and universities are united behind a proposal to increase state investment by $198 million over the next two years. Such funding includes Western’s requests outlined in the Operating Budget section above.
Although this will be a demanding session for a Legislature that will need to address budget challenges and mandated K-12 education spending, Western looks forward to continuing to work with legislators to highlight the importance of funding public higher education in Washington State.
You can find additional information about Western’s legislative priorities and Operating, Capital, and Transportation budget requests here.