Seattle P-I.com

• Gregoire: Let universities go to 14% tuition hikes
  To the state's university administrators and faculty, Gov. Chris Gregoire's proposed 28 percent tuition hike is a necessary evil. That's because the additional income would help offset proposed budget cuts that slash funding for Washington higher education by 23 percent overall.
  
  "It would end up costing students more to not do the tuition increase, because they would end up having to stay longer," said Glenn Cooper of the governor's Office of Financial Management.
  
  The Senate budget estimates a drop in higher education enrollment by more than 10,000 students statewide. And Bill Lyne, a Western Washington University professor and one of four presidents of the United Faculty of Washington State, said the cuts could mean a loss of 2,500 to 3,000 faculty jobs.

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• OPINION: Reality-challenged legislators threaten our universities
  While hunting for ways to save money, state legislators may foolishly gun down the geese that lay very big golden eggs.
  
  The metaphorical geese are Washington's six state-subsidized universities. The golden treasures they produce are an educated work force, technological innovation, world-class health care and the futures of tens-of-thousands of our young people. As dumb as it would be to throw away such precious gifts for the sake of a balanced budget, the truly idiotic thing would be to do it when there is an easy alternative that would make it unnecessary. The question is, are legislators perceptive enough to see it?
  
  Now, I'll admit to a vested interest in all of this. My son is hoping to start in the nationally-recognized automobile design program at Western Washington University this fall. I want him to be able to get in and to get out on time. Legislators will not be doing me a favor if they screw up my son's plans. Nor will they do any student in this state a favor if they cripple our fine universities.

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The Bellingham Herald

• WWU to host Spring Career Fair
  Job seekers looking for ways to connect directly with employers are invited to attend Western Washington University's Spring Career Fair from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, April 23, in the Mac Gym of the Wade King Student Recreation Center.
  
  The event, sponsored by the WWU Career Services Center, is a major recruiting event where students and the general public can meet hiring managers from a broad range of private-sector companies, non-profit organizations and government agencies. Admission to the fair is free.
  

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• Governor now supporting 14/14 tuition hike proposal
  Gov. Chris Gregoire has asked lawmakers to let state universities increase tuition by up to 14 percent each of the next two years to help offset deep budget cuts. The request, made to Democratic House and Senate leaders on Tuesday, is a change from the 3 to 7 percent temporary surcharge Gregoire had initially sought. That surcharge would have been on top of the current 7 percent cap but would have been temporary and removed after two years.
  
  Many of the WWU Board of Trustees members voiced support of a "14 and 14" percent tuition increase during a meeting Thursday, April 2. President Bruce Shepard said during the meeting that raising tuition by 14 percent each year would bring the budget cuts the university is facing back to the level of what Gregoire proposed. Under those cuts, the university would likely eliminate 65 positions and students would likely need an additional quarter to graduate.
  

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• Sports roundup: Western track squad sweeps home meet; WWU softball falls in semifinal of California tourney; Graham shines in Slam loss; Rowing performs well at Vancouver regatta; Porter posts qualifying time in the 5,000; WWU clinches GNAC all-sports title; Volleyball: Vikings ranked sixth nationally in attendance; Vikings sweep doubleheader; Graham named fourth-team All-American

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Washington Post

• WWU grad nominated for key federal Department of Education post
  President Obama continued to fill top administration jobs today, tapping nominees to head the Census Bureau and key divisions of the Education and Transportation departments.
  
  At the Education Department, meanwhile, John Q. Easton is the nominee for director of the Institute of Education Sciences. Like Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Easton hails from Chicago, where he currently serves as executive director of the Consortium on Chicago School Research at the University of Chicago. The consortium has been integral to reform efforts at Chicago Public Schools, where Easton previously held a number of top positions.
  
  Easton currently serves as Executive Director of The Consortium on Chicago School Research (CCSR) at The University of Chicago. Easton earned his Bachelor of Arts from Hobart College, a Master of Science from Western Washington University and a Ph.D. from The University of Chicago.

The Everett Herald

• OPINION: Tuition must go higher
  Budget proposals released by the Senate and House last week would gravely undermine a central cog in the state's economic engine: its four-year universities. The sheer size of the budget hole -- more than $9 billion over the next 27 months, before counting around $3 billion in federal stimulus backfill -- makes painful spending cuts unavoidable. For state universities, though, a considerable portion of that pain can and should be offset by tuition increases, an option made more palatable by planned increases in student financial aid.
  
  A 14 percent hike would increase annual tuition at the University of Washington by $875; at Western Washington University, the yearly tab would go up by $601. As WWU President Bruce Shepard told the Rotary Club of Seattle last month, "universities cannot just be temporarily mothballed and then, later, started back up."

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The Associated Press

• Education advocates look for ways to turn things around
  University presidents are advocating for the authority to raise tuition by as much as 14 percent, which would not break a record for the Washington Legislature. In the early 1980s, the Legislature approved an 18 percent tuition increase, said Terry Teale, executive director of the Council of Presidents of Washington's four year universities.
  
  Western Washington University President Bruce Shepard summed up his reaction to the budgets released this past week: "While times are tough across the country, I am aware of no other state that is preparing to so decimate its capacity to move ahead as times turn around."

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