Yesterday, President Obama released his FY14 budget request — nearly two months later than required by law. Much of the delay was blamed on the sequester and the prolonged FY13 appropriations process that resulted in a year-long continuing resolution (CR). In a typical year, the President’s Budget Request (PBR) kicks off the annual appropriations season, but with the delays, Congress has moved forward with their own budget proposals. This leaves us with three very different budget proposals with which to base the annual appropriations process. In other words, the process is once again sure to be a mess come later this fall. Our April Federal Update reviews the PBR and highlights those agencies and programs that we care about the most. You can also access the PBR and all the supporting documents at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget.
Category: Higher Education
Dr. Luis Fraga Talks Immigration Reform on Capitol Hill
Dr. Luis Fraga, Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement and Russell F. Stark Professor at the University of Washington, was on Capitol Hill this morning for a presentation on immigration reform. Dr. Fraga spoke to the room of congressional staff about the need for comprehensive immigration reform and how current and future policies may impact UW students, faculty, and the state as a whole. Our very own Congressman, Jim McDermott, graciously introduced Dr. Fraga and opened the discussion this morning.
Military Tuition Assistance Programs Zeroed Out by Sequester
One of the first causalities of the the federal Sequester is the Tuition Assistance (TA) program provided by the Army and Marine Corps. Following the Marines Corps lead, the Army announced on Friday, March 8th that soldiers will not be allowed to enroll in TA-funded courses after the day of the annoucement. The Marines announced on Thursday, March 7th. Both programs would not go forward after March 8th. Soldiers who are currently in courses may complete their classes, but may not pay for additional courses with TA.
Military TA programs provide up to $4,500 per year for active-duty troops who are attending high school completion courses and certificate programs, or are working toward college degrees. According to the Army, 201,000 soldiers took advantage of the Army’s TA program in fiscal year 2012. The TA program provided $373 million, helping 2,831 soldiers earn associate degrees, 4,495 earn bachelor degrees and 1,946 receive graduate degrees.
The Navy and the Air Force are considering similar cuts, but as yet, have not publicly decided to follow suit.
UW estimates this will keep 100 soldiers from using TA in the Spring Quarter across all three campuses.
President Proposes Linking Federal Aid to Performance
Yesterday, President Obama released “The President’s Plan for a Strong Middle Class and a Strong America” as a follow up to his State of the Union address on Tuesday. While the President focused on a few higher education messages during his speech, mainly his College Scorecard, his nine-page document released yesterday laid out a plan to seek major changes in the accountability system for higher education by calling for benchmarks for affordability and student outcomes as criteria for receiving federal student financial aid. If realized, regional and national accreditors would become the primary gatekeepers for access to those dollars, which would be based on performance and results. It is not yet clear how the President will achieve his goal of tying federal aid to performance as it is not well defined in his post-SOTU document. We will be following this closely.
UW Rates Exceptionally Well on Obama’s College Scorecard
During his State of the Union address last night, President Obama announced a new College Scorecard that would help students and parents make better decisions about which college to attend. The College Scorecard allows you to enter the name of a college of interest or select factors that are important in any college search. You can find scorecards for colleges based on factors such as programs or majors offered, location, and enrollment size.
According to the administration’s College Scorecard, the University of Washington, including UW-Tacoma and UW-Bothell, all “score” exceptionally well compared to other post-secondary institutions in Washington state. This validates what we have been saying for a long time: the UW offers great value and a great education for Washington state residents!