FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  November 17, 2008

HECB work sessions and meetings are open to the public.

HECB considers strategy to expand degree production to fill economic needs

    OLYMPIA — Strategies to meet the rapidly growing need for educated and highly trained workers in Washington will be considered in a resolution presented to the Higher Education Coordinating Board (HECB) at its meeting Thursday and Friday Nov. 20 & 21, in Seatac.

     Three work groups convened by the Board have proposed new initiatives to expand the student pipeline, make re-entering the higher education system easier, improve student persistence and success, and raise higher education aspirations among under-represented groups by a new, coordinated program conducted at the community level.

     Raising the state’s education level is necessary not only to meet employer demand, but also to create a more stable and productive society. Highly educated states generate greater economic growth and have stronger tax bases, lower crime and healthier citizens, among many other benefits.

     The resolution supports the work of the three groups, who earlier this year were asked to develop action steps for the 2008 Strategic Master Plan for Higher Education. The plan was endorsed by the Legislature last session.

     Four key priorities were considered in developing action steps to implement the plan:

1. Preserve the progress we have made by sustaining current levels of support for higher education;
2. Build a larger “pipeline” to postsecondary education that captures more students graduating from our K-12 schools and more younger working-age adults;
3. Expand on demand by targeting initial growth to under-served areas and tailoring institutional plans to respond to future demographic, regional and workforce needs; and
4. Redesign the delivery system for higher education by creating a new process for deciding where to build new campuses, expand programs, or change college and university missions.

     Each group developed a detailed report outlining recommendations and key strategies, which are available at: www.hecb.wa.gov/boardmtgs/Nov2008.asp

• An Economic Needs Assessment work group studied degree goals needed to meet future state workforce demand.

• A Policy and Demographics work group studied how to develop strategies to expand the educational pipeline.

• A higher education capacity study found that capacity and technology are adequate to meet expanded degree goals if institutional capital plans are funded for the decade.

     Despite the current economic downturn, the state’s need for an educated workforce is forecast to grow at a rate far exceeding current capacity to produce degrees and certificates, the economic needs work group noted.  

     Therefore immediate steps to increase degree and certificate production are warranted, the work group’s report recommended.  The Strategic Master Plan calls for increasing the number of degrees and certificates conferred annually by more than 40 percent.

     Strategies to achieve more graduates in high-demand fields such as engineering and computer science also are a part of the action plan.  Other implementation strategies include a sustained marketing effort to build a “college-going culture” among Washington residents.            

     The implementation strategy will be forwarded to the Legislature and used in making higher education investment decisions over the coming decade.    

     Other items on this month’s agenda include:

Institutional Operating and Capital Budget Requests

     HECB will discuss and take action on recommendations to the Governor and Legislature concerning the state’s higher education budget for the coming biennium. The recommendations cover public four-year institutions, community colleges and HECB.

Kitsap Higher Education Center

     The 2008 Legislature asked HECB to prepare a report on a possible higher education center to serve the Kitsap region. A higher education center provides a convenient way for students to complete coursework offered by one or more colleges or universities located elsewhere. HECB will consider a resolution adopting a consultant’s report that proposes working collaboratively with Olympic and Peninsula community colleges to establish a higher education center on each campus.

Degree Granting Institutions Rule Revisions

     HECB establishes minimum standards for degree-granting institutions governing the granting of degrees, educational quality, business practices, financial ability, as well as other standards necessary to protect citizens against substandard, fraudulent or deceptive institutional practices. HECB will consider adoption of new rules that reflect previous changes in state law and language to clarify existing rules.

Briefing materials for the meeting are available at:
www.hecb.wa.gov/boardmtgs/index.asp

  Who:            Higher Education Coordinating Board

  What:           November regular meeting

  Where:         Seatac Hilton, Mercer Room A

                       17620 International Blvd., Seattle 98188

  When:          Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008 – 1 p.m. - 5 p.m.

                       Friday, Nov. 21, 2008 – 9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

For more information: Gary Larson

360-753-7817 or garyl@hecb.wa.gov