Branching out

Enhancing higher education accessibility in Washington

As college freshmen around Washington head to school, they have more options than ever before. For the first time, three of the state’s five public university branch campuses (offshoots of the University of Washington and Washington State University) are enrolling freshmen. This significantly expands higher education accessibility and affordability in our state, a key priority for Senate Democrats.

The Legislature approved the branch campus concept — WSU Vancouver, WSU Tri-Cities, WSU Spokane, UW Bothell and UW Tacoma — in 1989 to provide upper-division and graduate programs to students in growing urban areas without ready access to four-year degree programs. The programs reflect regional economic demand and address the needs of their unique student populations. Working with local community and technical colleges, the branch campuses offer an effective “two-plus-two” model in some of Washington’s more underserved areas.

Because of the success of branch campuses — and a looming “baby boom echo” that will require even more high-quality, affordable higher education options in our state in the coming years — the Legislature in 2005 authorized a plan to allow the campuses to become four-year institutions.

The campuses are embracing their new, expanded mission with unique 21st-century curricula:

• UW Bothell welcomed its 138-student freshmen class with its interdisciplinary “Discovery Core” curriculum that focuses on learning inside and outside the classroom.
• UW Tacoma’s 203 freshmen are participating in a series of 10-credit core courses built around a global theme, as well as choosing from a range of elective courses. The student-to-faculty ratio of 25-to-1 ensures that freshman will get to know their instructors and fellow students.
• WSU Vancouver enrolled about 200 freshmen to its southwest Washington campus. Those students will engage in an interdisciplinary core curriculum, while also creating an electronic portfolio of their first-year work to assess their experience and deepen their learning.

WSU Tri-Cities will welcome its first freshman class next fall.

The addition of lower-division courses means some big changes for the schools, but school leaders say their schools will remain steadfast in their focus on regional educational needs.

“The new expansion to include freshmen and sophomores is an additional way in which we can serve the community by providing additional access to WSU’s traditionally high-quality four-year undergraduate education,” said WSU Vancouver Chancellor Hal Dengerink.

Senate Democrats continue to support additional efforts to make higher education a realistic option for every Washington citizen:

• In 2005, the Legislature approved a pilot program that allows select community and technical colleges to offer bachelor’s degrees in high-demand fields.
• In the 2005-2007 capital budget, the Legislature directed the Higher Education Coordinating Board to conduct a study of higher education and work force training needs in the rapidly growing Snohomish, Skagit and Island county area. That report is due in time for the 2007 legislative session.
• During the past several years, we have invested in thousands of new enrollment slots in our state’s public colleges and universities, including 7,900 new enrollments during the 2005 session and 497 new enrollments in 2006 in such high-demand fields as nursing and engineering.