wa-law.org > bill > 2025-26 > HB 2065 > Original Bill
The legislature finds that higher education is one of the great equalizers for reducing inequality, but the cost of a college education has exploded making higher education less accessible to lower class and middle class families. In support of our public institutions, the legislature has provided extensive financial support, including recently dedicating an entire tax stream to the state's colleges. Because these institutions receive public funds, the legislature and state taxpayers expect that they deliver an education that is both high quality and cost-effective. However, the legislature finds that alarming growth in administrative bureaucracy has made higher education less affordable for families and more expensive to taxpayers.
The legislature further finds that since 1994, the faculty-to-student ratio increased 60 percent while the administrator-to-student ratio increased by 245 percent. The legislature finds that institutional priorities over the past decade have been excessively focused on services that occur outside the classroom. The burgeoning administrative bureaucracy and related costs have unnecessarily increased the cost of higher education and are not aligned with the mission of delivering a high quality and cost-effective education. Therefore, the legislature intends for institutions to reduce their administrator-to-student ratios to 2008 levels, the high water mark prior to the great recession. In doing so, the legislature will generate millions of dollars of savings to taxpayers and will reduce the cost of a degree, making college more accessible and affordable for all Washington families.
By June 30, 2025, each state institution of higher education shall reduce the number of nonfaculty exempt employees to a number that is no greater than the amount reflected by the ratio of full-time equivalent nonfaculty exempt employees employed by the institution in fiscal year 2008, to full-time equivalent enrollments served by the institution in fiscal year 2008, multiplied by the number of full-time equivalent enrollments served by the institution in fiscal year 2024. By this method, the number of full-time equivalent nonfaculty exempt employees per full-time equivalent student will be no greater than the institution employed in 2008.
For the general fund state appropriations to each institution, the office of financial management shall adjust allotments by an amount that conforms with the funding adjustments in this section. Any allotment reductions under this section must be placed in reserve status and remain unexpended. Each institution shall make at least the following reduction in full-time equivalent nonfaculty exempt employment pursuant to the reduction required by this section:
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The University of Washington must reduce nonfaculty exempt employment by 45.4 full-time equivalents per 1,000 full-time enrollments, resulting in a reduction of at least 2,381 full-time equivalent employees;
The general fund state appropriations for fiscal year 2026 are reduced by $17,627,000. Tuition expenditures for fiscal year 2026 related to this reduction in employees are anticipated to be reduced by $23,467,000;
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Washington State University must reduce nonfaculty exempt employment by 24.5 full-time equivalents per 1,000 full-time enrollments, resulting in a reduction of at least 563 full-time equivalent employees;
The general fund state appropriations for fiscal year 2026 are reduced by $11,339,000. Tuition expenditures for fiscal year 2026 related to this reduction in employees are anticipated to be reduced by $7,973,000;
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Eastern Washington University must reduce nonfaculty exempt employment by 20 full-time equivalents per 1,000 full-time enrollments, resulting in a reduction of at least 128 full-time equivalent employees;
The general fund state appropriations for fiscal year 2026 are reduced by $4,616,000. Tuition expenditures for fiscal year 2026 related to this reduction in employees are anticipated to be reduced by $2,735,000;
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Central Washington University must reduce nonfaculty exempt employment by 26.7 full-time equivalents per 1,000 full-time enrollments, resulting in a reduction of at least 206 full-time equivalent employees;
The general fund state appropriations for fiscal year 2026 are reduced by $5,770,000. Tuition expenditures for fiscal year 2026 related to this reduction in employees are anticipated to be reduced by $3,794,000;
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The Evergreen State College must reduce nonfaculty exempt employment by 43.7 full-time equivalents per 1,000 full-time enrollments, resulting in a reduction of at least 96 full-time equivalent employees;
The general fund state appropriations for fiscal year 2026 are reduced by $5,189,000. Tuition expenditures for fiscal year 2026 related to this reduction in employees are anticipated to be reduced by $1,620,000;
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Western Washington University must reduce nonfaculty exempt employment by 0.7 full-time equivalents per 1,000 full-time enrollments, resulting in a reduction of at least eight full-time equivalent employees;
The general fund state appropriations for fiscal year 2026 are reduced by $398,000. Tuition expenditures for fiscal year 2026 related to this reduction in employees are anticipated to be reduced by $359,000; and
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The state board for community and technical colleges must reduce nonfaculty exempt employment by 13.9 full-time equivalents per 1,000 full-time enrollments, resulting in a reduction of at least 1,414 full-time equivalent employees. The board shall allocate these reductions to the individual colleges based on the growth in nonfaculty exempt employees at those colleges since 2008, and allocate a portion to the state board based on the board's portion of total nonfaculty exempt staff employed in the community and technical college system;
The general fund state appropriations for fiscal year 2026 are reduced by $68,575,000. Tuition expenditures for fiscal year 2026 related to this reduction in employees are anticipated to be reduced by $21,983,000.
This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately.