President Michael K. Young stops for a photo with our state’s namesake in the Capitol Building.
President Michael K. Young was in Olympia again today to meet with budget and Higher Education leaders.
Discussion centered on the needs of Higher Education in general, and the University of Washington in particular. Now that both chambers have passed budgets, negotiators have to address the differences between proposals — and find common ground to pass a final budget.
“Today’s House budget proposal lacks significant, new state investment in public higher education. Washington ranks second to last in the nation — 49th — in higher education funding per student, with 25,000 jobs in high demand industries awaiting graduates we do not have the funding to educate. If we are to compete in the 21st century economy, we can and must do better.
“In the absence of significant, new state investment, we appreciate this budget allows for modest tuition increases, which will be necessary to preserve student access to a high quality education. If we want to keep tuition increases low, the state must adequately reinvest in our students and public higher education.
“There is much more work to be done as budget negotiations progress, and I look forward to working with the House, Senate, and Governor on getting this right.”
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:
Provide affordable, flexible access to a high, quality, UW undergraduate education to working adults and returning learners in high demand fields.
Expand the number of high quality, early childhood education providers in the state of Washington to bolster early learning efforts at the state level.
Measure, evaluate, and improve the efficacy of online education in order to promote greater student persistence and success.
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.
Pres. Young presenting Gov. Inslee with a signed UW basketball for his office.Photo: Office of the Governor
UW President Michael K. Young met with Governor Jay Inslee, Washington’s Top Dawg (’73) in Olympia this week. The two leaders talked about a wide range of important issues facing the state, the University of Washington and Higher Education. Chief among those was that the University of Washington is poised to play a major role in our ongoing economic recovery and growth. President Young was also in Olympia last week for meetings with state lawmakers.
Earlier this week, the Governor gave a shout out to a future member of the Husky family on Twitter:
Congrats to Micheal Bragg on being announced new dean of @uwengineering. Glad to see an aerospace engineer in that posiition.
Yesterday, Gov. Jay Inslee released a Working Washington agenda, aimed at: “revitalizing Washington’s economy, creating jobs and ensuring we have workers with the knowledge and skills to fill those jobs.”
The Governor’s agenda includes a range of proposals in STEM education, targeted tax relief & regulatory reform, aerospace training, clean energy & climate, and health care.
In terms of Higher Education, the Governor spelled out two priority areas:
Create competitive STEM enrollment pool for baccalaureate institutions
Fund engineering enrollments at UW, WSU
The Associated Press has an overview of the proposal, including reactions from state legislators. Read the Governor’s Office policy briefs here.
The big news this week is that UW alumna Sally Jewell, ’78, chief executive of REI and member of the UW Board of Regents, has been nominated by President Obama as the next Secretary of the Interior. President Obama made the announcement at the White House on Wednesday (Feb. 6):
At another news conference, this one on the UW campus the day before (Tuesday, Feb. 5), Acting Director of the Peace Corps, Carrie Hessler-Radelet announced that University of Washington is No. 1 again among large universities (more than 15,000 students) for alumni currently serving in the Peace Corps. More via UW News & Information:
The UW has ranked first five times, more than any other university. WWU and Gonzaga were each top-ranked for the first time. It’s the first time the top schools in all three categories are in the same state.
Continuing on the press conference circuit, Gov. Inslee weighed in at his weekly press availability in Olympia yesterday (Feb. 6) on a number of proposals before the State Legislature. Topics included workers’ compensation, green energy, Medicaid expansion and more. The News Tribune has more. Watch the exchange with local media on TVW:
Finally, student leaders of the UW’s Dream Project visited Olympia yesterday (Feb. 6) to meet with state legislators and discuss their efforts. The program partners UW students with first-generation and low-income students in Seattle area high schools to assist in the college admissions process.
University of Washington Provost Ana Mari Cauce recently held a Town Hall on campus to discuss key issues and priorities for the current academic year. The event included lively conversation and timely questions from the live audience.
Below are several segments of interest concerning academic, administrative and state legislative issues.
Provost Ana Mari Cauce discusses what the decline in State Funding has meant for UW. (1:25) Provost Cauce discusses price vs. costs of education, and trends at the UW vs. nationally. (2:00) Provost Cauce discusses the need for continuous quality improvement to maintain UW’s excellence and affordability. (2:05) Provost Cauce discusses how faculty are “flipping” the classroom to improve learning outcomes. (2:16) Provost Cauce gives examples of savings UW has made through administrative efficiencies, and implementing the LEAN process. (3:21)
This week the Office of State Relations released an updated web tool that provides a range of data gathered from campus units on the University of Washington’s impacts in all 49 legislative districts across the state.
By clicking on any district, a user can view Fast Facts about the UW’s impact, such as number of UW students, alumni, and employees living there.
Each district has its own dedicated page, with photos and links to the representatives serving from that district in the State Legislature. The district pages also provide information on the many UW partnerships and programs with local schools, community organizations, health care clinics, and more that operate in communities around the state.
