Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire approved huge budget cuts today that will hike tuition at the state's premier public university by 16 percent, the Associated Press reports. Tuition at the University of Washington will cost twice as much when Gregoire leaves office than it did in 2005.
A report on Stateline.org explains that higher education budgest are also on the cutting board across the country, after facing years of smaller cuts since the recession began. Nevada is cutting public higher education funding by 15 percent, and Arizona state budget cuts have resulted in a 20 percent tuition increase at Arizona State University.
In Texas, college tuition has risen by more than 70 percent since it was deregulated during a budget crisis in 2003. Those increases have?prompted Gov. Rick Perry to ask college administrators to figure out a way to provide a college education--including books--for $10,000.
Higher education lobbyist Terry Hartle told The Lookout public colleges are the first to get hit in a budget crunch because college students "look very much like paying customers," and it's more politically palatable to cut higher ed funding that K-12 spending. In-state tuition has?jumped 7.9 percent just this year, according to a recent study, and?the average college student's debt is now a record $23,000. Pennsylvania State University has the most expensive in-state tuition and fees of any public college, at more than $15,000 per year, according to the U.S. News and Report.
According to data from the National Association of Budget Officers, 18 states cut K-12 and higher education spending in fiscal 2011, by $1.8 billion and $1.2 billion respectively. But proposed cuts for the next fiscal year are much steeper: They total $2.5 billion for K-12 schools and more than $5 billion for higher education.
(Gregoire unveils her budget plan: Ted Warren/AP)
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