Elson S. Floyd, Ph.D. – 4/15/11
As the legislative session continues, I know there is great interest, both on campus and among Washington State University’s many friends and supporters, in keeping current on the latest developments, especially as they pertain to our 2011-13 biennial budget.
Our Budget Office has completed its analysis of the budget released by Senate leadership earlier this week. That is, of course, the third budget proposal of this cycle, following the governor’s budget in December and the House plan earlier this month.
For a breakdown of how each of those budgets would affect WSU, I encourage you to visit the Budget Office website at http://budget.wsu.edu/2011-13_budget/. There you can find links to an analysis of each budget along with a side-by-side comparison of the budgets to date.
You can also find links to a summary of the budget reduction and efficiency actions we have taken over the last three years; data on student fees, both current and over time, and on the share of instructional costs now being borne by students.
I greatly appreciate the effort that has gone into assembling this information; I believe it provides an in-depth look at our current budget picture and at the range of possible outcomes of the ongoing negotiations in Olympia.
As the session continues, I would also encourage you to visit our Government Affairs website at http://governmentrelations.wsu.edu/. There you will find regular updates on legislation impacting WSU on both the state and federal levels.
One of our goals throughout this session has been to provide the means for people to stay informed on issues affecting WSU and higher education as a whole. We hope you find this information useful in your discussions with colleagues, friends and elected officials about the difficult financial situation facing our university.