Microsoft, Boeing pledge $50 million as tuitions set to shoot up

Microsoft and Boeing have pledged a total of $50 million toward a new program that will provide scholarships to Washington undergraduate students majoring in high-demand fields.

The program, authorized by legislation signed by Gov. Chris Gregoire on Monday and partly funded with money from the state, could provide as many as 10,000 scholarships of $1,000 apiece when it begins giving out money in December.

The public-private scholarship partnership, dubbed the Opportunity Scholarship Program, aims to soften the blow of double-digit tuition increases at public higher-education institutions this fall. The Legislature cut about $500 million of funding to colleges and universities over two years, essentially shifting a greater portion of the cost of going to a public school to students.

"When states hit hard economic times, the higher-education budget gets hit harder than anything else," said Brad Smith, vice president of Microsoft and a member of the governor's task force on higher-education funding. "Creating a long-term sustainable foundation for higher education is something that is badly needed, and something no state in this country has done."

Also Monday, Gregoire signed into law a bill that gives the state's universities and its one college, The Evergreen State College, authority to set a higher tuition rate than that approved by the Legislature.

The new scholarship program is designed to help both low- and middle-income students — those whose family incomes are up to $97,500 for a family of four — who are going into high-demand fields such as health care, engineering and science. The program represents $25 million each from Boeing and Microsoft, to be donated over five years.

It establishes two accounts, one of which will be used to provide scholarship money beginning in December, and a second account that will form an endowment to provide a funding source for future scholarships.

The state has contributed $5 million for 2011-13 and will begin matching private donations after state revenue collections reach a certain threshold, or in 2014, whichever is later. The goal is to raise $1 billion by the end of the decade for a scholarship endowment.

The legislation also creates the Opportunity Expansion Program, which will award money to higher-education institutions to help them produce more graduates in high-demand fields. Firms eligible for the state research- and development-tax credit can choose instead to donate that money to the Opportunity Expansion Program.

The accounts are separate 501(c)(3) charities, so cannot be touched by the state for any other purpose. And contributors will be eligible for federal tax deductions.

The scholarships will be offered to state residents who attend a four-year or community college and are pursuing a bachelor's degree. The Opportunity Scholarship Board will decide whether the scholarships can also be used at state private schools.

Katherine Long: 206-464-2219