Washington Legislature should let universities increase tuition

DIRE budgets call for a dramatic response. Tuition at Washington's four-year colleges and universities should rise significantly to preserve student access, quality and years of progress toward preparing a sophisticated work force.

Gov. Chris Gregoire and leaders of four-year institutions have asked for an eye-popping 14-percent increase each of the next two years. Not to mince words or math: Compounded one year over the other, that's a 30-percent increase. Students attending the University of Washington, Washington State University and Western Washington University would experience tuition hikes of about $1,300 to nearly $2,000 over two years.

Under normal circumstances, such a number would be unimaginable. But this is a moment when the better course is to take a gulp and approve the increase.

The tuition increase would be an easier sell if such adjustments would ease what ails higher education. No one should be under such illusion. Schools still will experience some reductions in students admitted, a decline in the number of courses offered, an increase in class size and a longer time to graduate for certain students.

As bad as that sounds, it would be much worse without the tuition jump.

Whopper tuition increases buy back some cuts on the other side of the equation: the state contribution to higher education.

The state is $9 billion in the hole and that ravages every segment of the budget, especially higher education.

The 30 percent sounds heftier than it is because the schools are a bargain compared with peer institutions. Few lawmakers want to force struggling students to pay a big increase in a down economy. The unacceptable alternative, however, is to greatly diminish the number of students attending these schools at a time of peak interest and demographic demand.

The Legislature should tell the institutions the 14-percent increase is possible only if access remains at budgeted 2008-'09 levels.

The Legislature would be ill-advised to cut state contributions to higher education beyond what has been proposed. The House budget reduces the state contribution by a net of $453 million after tuition increases, the Senate budget by $350 million.

If tuition rises up to 14 percent a year at four-year schools — and it should — lawmakers should not take more out of higher ed. The idea is to ease the sting of proposed cuts.

Lawmakers should heed the governor's call and stave off embarrassing and shortsighted damage to our institutions of higher learning.