Today in the House Higher Education Committee, WWU students and staff testified in solidarity about the importance of funding student support services such as advising, counseling, mentoring and academic tutoring. Research clearly indicates that basic support services are effective tools in ensuring student success, and Western’s Student Success and Achievement package is a top legislative priority for the second biennium in a row after being the only public regional university not to receive funding for these services in the 2015-17 state budget.
Western has experienced a tremendous growth in student demand for support services in recent years, including a 189% increase in demand for Tutoring Center services from 2007-08 to the 2014-15 academic year, an 89.6% growth in the number of students that qualified for disability accommodation services between 2009-10 and the 2014-15 academic year, and an approximate 100% increase over the past five years in demand for professional staff to respond to, monitor, treat and accommodate distressed students with psychiatric diagnoses.
To address demand for student services, Western’s decision package requests state funding to specifically invest in:
- Student advising, outreach and mentoring;
- Academic tutoring support;
- Mental health support;
- Disability support for students; and
- Destination Graduation, a college completion program for returning students.
The services outlined above have proven success in assisting students in graduating and decreasing time to degree, particularly for first-generation and traditionally underserved students. For example, Western finds that freshmen students who use the Advising Center experience an overall 2.2% higher retention rate than non-users, including a 7.4% retention rate increase for first-generation freshman that receive advising services.
As a public university, Western is committed to assisting our students, providing a world-class education and serving the needs of the state. Western anticipates that student demand for support services will continue to increase and stands ready to put state dollars to work in strategies that address the evolving needs of our students and ensure that all students attain success.
Nora Selander, WWU AS Legislative Liaison, and Bryce Hammer, WWU AS Vice President for Governmental Affairs, testifying about student support services in the House Higher Education Committee on February 7, 2017