Office of Planning & Budgeting

reform


April 8, 2011

A Master Plan for Higher Ed in the Midwest?

Earlier this week, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs released a new report authored by current professor and former  University of Michigan President James Duderstadt. The report, A Master Plan for Higher Education in the Midwest: A Roadmap to the Future of the Nation’s Heartland, chronicles the overall failure of the Midwest to transform itself…


April 6, 2011

Quest for Greater Autonomy for Public Higher Ed Continues

As state legislative season wears on, here is an update on some of the efforts in other states to achieve greater financial and regulatory freedom for public higher education institutions facing another year of steep budget cuts. Virginia: The legislature passed the Virginia Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2011. For details on the major aims…


March 14, 2011

Education Roundtable with US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan

US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan joined Governor Chris Gregoire and legislative leadership today for an education roundtable. Duncan congratulated state lawmakers on discussing the issue of education reform, even through tough budget times. He further drew attention to the grave problems troubling education in the United States—a 25% national dropout rate, poor STEM education,…


March 3, 2011

GAO Details How For-Profit Colleges Exploit Veterans

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report and recommendations, DOD Education Benefits: Increased Oversight of Tuition Assistance Program is Needed, ahead of another Senate hearing focused on the conduct of for-profit colleges, this time held by Senator Tom Carper. The GAO report focused on the DOD Military Tuition Assistance Program, which provides tuition benefits…


February 25, 2011

Harvard Report Challenges Goal of ‘BA for All’

Earlier this month the Pathways to Prosperity Project, based at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, released a final report: Pathways to Prosperity: Meeting the Challenge of Preparing Young Americans for the 21st Century. The report lauds the current goal to increase college participation and attainment in the US, but cautions against a ‘one size…


Higher Ed News Roundup

The below are some of the non-Washington State higher education budget and policy stories that made the news this week: Arizona: Senate Bill 1115 was passed out of Appropriations Committee after midnight on Tuesday. The hastily considered bill surprised many and would effect dramatic change in Arizona higher education should it make its way to…


February 18, 2011

University of Wisconsin Poised to Receive Greater Autonomy?

Current protests in Wisconsin have dominated press coverage of Governor Scott Walker’s proposed 2011-13 state budget this week. Lost in the shuffle may have been news that the proposal contained a provision that would lead to greater autonomy for Wisconsin’s largest public institution of higher education, the University of Wisconsin at Madison. UW Madison Chancellor…


February 14, 2011

Virginia Close to Passing Major Higher Ed Reform

Virginia’s Governor, Robert McConnell, endorsed all of the recommendations made by the Higher Education Commission he created last year to explore policy options for higher education reform. The resulting Virginia Higher Education Act of 2011 has moved quickly through both the House and Senate and may soon be on its way to the Governor. The…


January 5, 2011

WA Higher Education Task Force Report Released

Last summer, Governor Gregoire created a Higher Education Task force, comprising both public and private leaders, and charged them with proposing a new funding strategy for public higher education, as well as new ideas for increasing institutional accountability. The Task Force released its report yesterday, January 3rd, recommending three major reforms to higher education policy…


December 17, 2010

Why Does College Cost So Much?

We’ve previously mentioned the new book Why Does College Cost So Much? by two economists from the College of William and Mary, Robert Archibald and David Feldman. The authors have made a compelling argument that increasing higher education costs are not the result of institutional dysfunction, but of broader economic forces. Read our summary of…



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