Higher education procedures

AN ACT Relating to enhancing higher education procedures by 1
modifying higher education funding for increases in compensation and 2
central services and identifying essential student services; adding a 3
new section to chapter 28B.10 RCW; creating new sections; and 4
providing an expiration date. 5
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:6
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1)(a) The legislature finds that the 7
current higher education funding methodology relies on a budget 8
assumption, commonly known as the "fund split," which attributes a 9
portion of incremental increases to compensation costs and central 10
services that are paid by appropriated state funds and tuition. This 11
assumption creates structural inequities and financial instability 12
for Washington's public colleges and universities that undermine 13
their ability to provide quality education, retain talented faculty, 14
and serve as economic engines for the state.15
(b) The legislature finds that under this fund split methodology, 16
when approving collective bargaining agreements with the employees of 17
higher education institutions, authorizing salary increases for 18
nonrepresented employees, approving changes to benefits costs, 19
including health care, and assigning central service charges between 20
state agencies, the legislature does not fully fund compensation 21
S-4286.1
SENATE BILL 6325
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Senators Nobles, Shewmake, Cortes, Hasegawa, Lovelett, Lovick, and
Slatter
Read first time 01/28/26. Referred to Committee on Higher Education
& Workforce Development.
p. 1 SB 6325
increases for compensation costs paid with appropriated state funds 1
and tuition with state funds. This effectively amounts to repeated 2
budget cuts for the state's institutions of higher education.3
(2) The legislature further finds that: 4
(a) Prior to the great recession, the state funded 100 percent of 5
all maintenance level cost increases and prescribed compensation 6
increases with new state appropriations, allowing institutions to 7
retain tuition revenue to offset other increasing costs;8
(b) Beginning in the 2015-17 biennium, the legislature 9
implemented a funding methodology that assumes projected new tuition 10
revenue and prespends that revenue on compensation and other 11
mandatory costs, fundamentally shifting the financial burden to 12
institutions and students; 13
(c) The fund split methodology requires institutions to use 14
projected tuition revenue to cover mandatory costs, including 15
compensation increases, minimum wage increases, central service 16
charges, self-insurance premiums, and benefit rate changes, while 17
legislatively capped tuition increases are inadequate to cover such 18
mandatory cost increases; 19
(d) Institutions have not met state tuition revenue projections, 20
forcing them to reduce compensation enhancements for faculty and 21
administrative professionals or make other budget reductions to cover 22
mandatory costs; 23
(e) Institutions face ongoing budget deficits and have been 24
forced to consolidate or eliminate programs, directly impacting 25
educational offerings and student access; 26
(f) Some institutions experience increased budget deficits 27
despite enrollment increases, demonstrating that even enrollment 28
growth cannot overcome the structural funding inadequacy created by 29
the fund split; 30
(g) A substantial majority of state appropriations are directed 31
toward compensation costs, and the fund split prespends most tuition 32
dollars on compensation, resulting in severely reduced flexibility 33
and continued erosion of institutional base budgets;34
(h) The proportion of tenure and tenure-track faculty has 35
declined as institutions have been forced to cut costs to manage fund 36
split pressures, undermining educational quality and faculty 37
stability; 38
(i) The fund split directly affects students through reduced 39
program offerings, larger class sizes, delayed graduation due to 40
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fewer offerings of required courses, inadequate support of high-cost 1
health care and other professional clinical training, and diminished 2
student support services; 3
(j) The structural funding inadequacy created by the fund split 4
threatens Washington's ability to maintain a world-class higher 5
education system, attract and retain talented faculty, and prepare 6
the skilled workforce necessary for the state's economic 7
competitiveness; and 8
(k) The state has not identified the types and level of student 9
services and instructional supports that evidence shows as necessary 10
to improve degree and workforce certification completion for 11
different demographic groups of students, enrolled in different types 12
of programs, at different types of institutions. This information is 13
vitally important for the legislature to make informed decisions on 14
policies to improve student outcomes and whether local funding 15
sources, such as tuition or state funding, are the appropriate source 16
for sustaining such student services and instructional supports.17
(3) Therefore, it is the intent of the legislature to eliminate 18
the fund split methodology and restore state funding for prescribed 19
increases in compensation and central services at public institutions 20
of higher education, ensuring that tuition revenue can be used to 21
enhance educational quality. 22
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. (1) The Washington state institute for 23
public policy, in consultation with public four-year institutions of 24
higher education and the state board for community and technical 25
colleges, shall conduct a comprehensive study to define and evaluate 26
essential higher education student services standards. The study must 27
cover the following topics:28
(a) Academic support standards, including an evaluation of 29
optimal student-to-advisor ratios, tutoring availability, writing 30
center capacity, and library resource access necessary to maintain 31
timely degree completion; 32
(b) Wellness and basic needs infrastructure, including an 33
assessment of the minimum necessary infrastructure for campus mental 34
health services, including counselor-to-student ratios, and the 35
effectiveness of benefits navigators in addressing student hunger and 36
housing instability; 37
(c) Instructional quality metrics, including a review of the 38
impact of class sizes and the proportion of tenure-track faculty on 39
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student learning outcomes, undergraduate research opportunities, and 1
faculty mentorship availability; 2
(d) Career and workforce readiness, including an analysis of the 3
services required to connect students with internships, undergraduate 4
research, career counseling, and postgraduation employment in high-5
demand fields; and 6
(e) Funding alignment, including a determination of the per-7
student cost required to provide these essential services and an 8
analysis of how current funding levels, under the fund split 9
methodology, have impacted the delivery of these services.10
(2) In conducting the study, the Washington state institute for 11
public policy shall solicit input from student associations, faculty 12
organizations, staff unions, the Western interstate commission for 13
higher education, national research leaders in relevant areas, 14
organizations providing community-based mentoring and advising 15
services to first-generation and other underserved student 16
populations, and community stakeholders to ensure the standards 17
reflect the diverse needs of Washington's student population. The 18
institute is encouraged to utilize research conducted by faculty at 19
Washington institutions of higher education, and other regional and 20
national research bodies. 21
(3) In compliance with RCW 43.01.036, the institute shall submit 22
a report of its findings and recommendations to the higher education 23
committees of the legislature by December 1, 2026. The report must 24
include a proposed "student service adequacy index" to be used in 25
future biennial budget requests to ensure state appropriations are 26
sufficient to meet defined student service standards.27
(4) This section expires August 1, 2027. 28
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 28B.10 29
RCW to read as follows: 30
(1) Starting in the 2029-2031 biennium, increases for employee 31
compensation and central services for expenditures that are paid with 32
appropriated state funds or tuition must be funded by state funds at 33
levels funded in the 2023-2025 biennium, as follows:34
(a) University of Washington, 60 percent; 35
(b) Washington State University, 66 percent; 36
(c) Eastern Washington University, 70 percent;37
(d) Central Washington University, 70 percent;38
(e) The Evergreen State College, 85 percent; 39
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(f) Western Washington University, 70 percent; and1
(g) Community and technical colleges, 100 percent.2
(2) Every biennium thereafter, the amount of increases for 3
employee compensation and central services funded by state funds must 4
be increased by 10 percent until fully funded by state funds.5
(3) If such compensation increases are funded with dedicated fund 6
sources with insufficient revenue, additional funding from other 7
sources is not provided. 8
(4) For purposes of this section, the following definitions 9
apply: 10
(a) "Compensation" means the cost of salaries, wages, and pension 11
contribution costs, subject to RCW 28B.10.423, that are reported to 12
the office of financial management for purposes of the state budget 13
and accounting systems with a funding source of an appropriated state 14
fund or tuition; 15
(b)(i) "Employee" means any employee of a public institution of 16
higher education and includes graduate teaching assistants;17
(ii) "Employee" does not include graduate research assistants who 18
are performing research primarily related to their dissertation and 19
who have incidental or no service expectations placed upon them by 20
the institution. 21
(c) "Increases" for compensation includes increases set forth in 22
employment contracts, cost of living adjustments, and legislatively 23
approved collective bargaining agreements; and 24
(d) "State funds" means the general fund— state account, education 25
legacy trust account, opportunity pathways account, and the workforce 26
education investment— state account. 27
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