10/5/2012
By Darin Watkins, WSU News
WSU President Floyd proposes holding costs on undergraduate tuition
VANCOUVER, Wash. – Washington State University President Elson S. Floyd has unveiled a series of tuition proposals aimed at containing costs for students.
Meeting with the WSU Board of Regents in Vancouver, Floyd presented a proposal that would stabilize undergraduate tuition for the next academic year. Under the plan, any tuition increase at WSU next fall would be limited by the rate of increase in the Consumer Price Index, provided the legislature maintains or exceeds current budget levels.
"Tuition is an important issue for us to continue to address,” said Floyd. "We will do whatever we can to maintain affordability and access for students at WSU."
His proposal will now be sent to the WSU Tuition Policy Committee for review.
The Board of Regents also heard two additional proposals offering reduced tuition to WSU students. One would extend a a flat-tuition rate equal to resident student tuition to all students exclusively enrolled in online courses through WSU’s Global Campus, regardless of where the student lives. The second proposal would lower the current summer session tuition rate. Both measures would need to be brought before the Regents again for final approval before being implemented.
One-time payment proposal for employees
In a move aimed at providing some relief for WSU employees who have not seen a pay raise since 2008, President Floyd also presented the Regents with a proposal to establish a pool for a one-time payment of two percent for eligible faculty and staff who earn less than $100,000 per year. The average payment is expected to be about $1,000 per employee. All monies for these payments would come from reallocated central funds.
"I wish it was more, and I wish it was permanent,” said Floyd. "This signals the importance we place on our faculty, and on our staff, who keep WSU as the great place we have grown to be.”
Also on the agenda, the regents voted to move forward with the design of a new WSU Visitor Center to be located on east Main Street in Pullman.