Tui%on Policy and Student Financial Aid Assistance
Tui%on & State Funding History Over Time Constant Dollars per FTE
Source: Legisla*ve Evalua*on and Accountability Program, June 2016
Paying for College Student financial aid is cri%cal to student access to and success in postsecondary educa%on Financial aid discounts tui%on and makes the net price affordable. ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡
Federal Pell Grant State Need Grant Private Scholarships College or University Grant Aid, Scholarships, and Tui?on Waivers
Loans, savings, and work study help make college affordable ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡
Family Contribu?on GET and 529 plans State and Federal Work Study Federal Student Loans
Source: Washington Student Achievement Council
Tui%on Policy and the State Budget
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Large declines in state funding during the Great Recession resulted in the Legislature authorizing double digit tui%on increases for resident undergraduates in the opera%ng budget.
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Beginning in 2013, state reinvestment in higher educa%on led to two years of tui%on freezes and two addi%onal years of tui%on reduc%ons.
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Three separate tui%on policies existed during this %me. Currently, resident undergraduate tui%on growth is connected with the average annual percentage growth rate in the median Washington hourly wage (~2.1% per year). LEGISLATIVELY AUTHORIZED TUITION CHANGE
Washington Ranks #1 in the Na%on in Need Based Aid per Undergraduate Student (2013-‐14)
Source: Na*onal Associa*on of State Student Grant and Aid Programs, 45th Annual Survey Report on State-‐Sponsored Student Financial Aid, 2013-‐14
Washington’s State Need Grant: Changing Student Lives The State Need Grant program is the backbone of financial aid for Washington students at the public baccalaureates. ¡ The State Need Grant accounted for 90% of all state aid provided to students at the public baccalaureates in Washington in 2013-‐14. ¡ $167 million in State Need Grant funding to the public baccalaureate sector enabled over 21,000 Washingtonians to pursue a degree in 2013-‐14. ¡ Nearly 20% of students in our sector received a State Need Grant in 2013-‐14. ¡ An early commitment of the State Need Grant, 50% of College Bound Scholarship recipients aQend a four-‐year college or university.
Source: Washington Student Achievement Council 2014 State Need Grant Legisla*ve Report
Washington’s State Need Grant: Changing Student Lives
For eligible but unserved students, access and affordability are limited. ¡ There was a 24% increase in the number of unserved students in the public 4-‐year sector (2013-‐14 to 2014-‐15). ¡ More than 10,000 eligible students are unserved in our sector due to insufficient funds in (2013-‐14). ¡ Eligible middle-‐income students are less likely to receive the grant at 4-‐year ins?tu?ons due to a lack of state funds. ¡ A reduc%on in the State Need Grant is associated with a reduc%on in comple%on rates for first-‐?me students entering a public 4-‐year ins?tu?ons. ¡ Students who receive a State Need Grant borrow less than eligible unserved students.
Source: Washington Student Achievement Council 2014 State Need Grant Program Manual 2014-‐15
Washington’s Unserved State Need Grant Popula%on
Source: Washington Student Achievement Council
Student Debt § Forty-‐two percent of the Class of 2014 graduated from a Washington baccalaureate degree-‐gran?ng ins?tu?on with no student loan debt. ¡ The average undergraduate student loan debt in Washington was $24,804; this is over $4,000 less than the na?onal average loan debt of $28,950. ¡ Washington con?nues to rank among the top ten states for low student debt. ¡ Cumula?vely the three-‐year student loan default rate for graduates from Washington’s public four-‐year ins?tu?ons is 5.8%; the na?onal average is 11.8%. ¡ Na?onally, graduate students owe approximately 40% of student loan debt. ¡ Washington was recently named the best state in the na%on for paying back student loans based on factors such as income, unemployment rate, job growth rate, tui?on and fee levels, and more. Sources: The Ins*tute for College Access and Success; Federal Student Aid, Office of the U.S. Department of Educa*on; Na*onal Conference of State Legislatures; www.schools.com
Student Debt
Source: The Ins*tute for College Access and Success
