College Students Face Steep Tuition Hikes, Fewer Openings - Margaret Santjer and April Chan, Enumclaw Patch

Tell Your Neighbors About Patch Students attending college in Washington state are likely to see tuition rates spike next year—if they can get into classes. Higher education funding took a big hit in the 2011-2013 budget, which the House passed last Tuesday and the Senate approved Wednesday on the last day of the special session. The state’s 34 community and technical colleges, including Green River Community College, are losing nearly 13 percent of their state funding over the next two years and won’t be able to serve as many students, said Charlie Earl, executive director of the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, which administers the system.