Eastern students will get tuition cut for '14-15 school year

Statistics will point out that Eastern Washington University is already the best value in the state when it comes to earning a four-year college degree.

But the bargain will get just a little better for the 2014-15 academic year when the EWU board of trustees are expected to vote at their June meeting to reduce tuition by 6 percent for the upcoming school year. That would give resident undergraduate students a second consecutive year of no tuition increase.

The move came about in part when the Washington State Legislature produced what EWU vice-president for business and finance, Mary Voves said was a “flat budget” for the 2015-17 biennium. “At least there’s not cuts,” she said.

With the announcement, EWU President Rodolfo Arévalo said Eastern’s overall tuition and cost of attendance — which includes fees, housing and books — remains the lowest among the state’s public institutions. Figures show students can save as much as $27,000 over four years by attending Eastern rather than one of the research universities in Washington state.

“The university is excited to announce this great news for our students,” Arévalo said in a news release. “It is my strong belief that holding down the cost of tuition is the best financial aid we can give students. This will allow students to achieve their academic goals, while reducing their student debt.”

Last year, EWU’s board originally approved a 6 percent tuition increase for 2014-15 because of uncertainties over the future amount of state support for higher education.

But at the May meeting, Arévalo recommended that the board approve an action to rollback tuition.

This means tuition at Eastern will be $2,457 per quarter, or $7,372, for the upcoming year.

The resident student’s share of tuition in state schools has risen from 38 percent in 2007 to now, where they must pay 63 percent, Voves shared in a PowerPoint with the board and the audience. That’s currently below the funding community colleges receive, ranking Washington 49th out of 50 states.

EWU’s enrollment was projected at 10,427 but was revised downward to 10,250. Based on that, Voves asked that the board vote to approve a new 2015-17 budget of $38.95 million, down from the previous $39.2 million.

Operating revenues were originally forecast to be just over $255 million but were revised down to $253.9 million after new enrollment numbers were announced.

Voves also reported the capital budget is unchanged from the previous biennium so Eastern put its proposed science building remodel on the waiting list.

Paul Delaney can be reached at pdelaney@cheneyfreepress.com.