State universities unhappy with Gregoire’s tuition proposal - Donna Gordon Bankinship, Associated Press

The universities say they have swallowed the rest of the state budget cuts by not filling job openings, putting off maintenance, increasing class sizes, hiring fewer teaching assistants, closing or consolidating programs and not offering competitive salaries to their faculty. At the same time, Young said UW has used some of the tuition increases to offer more classes and eliminate bottlenecks that make it harder to earn a bachelor’s degree in about four years. “It’s hard to imagine how we could really maintain the excellence of the university on an absolutely flat budget.” Young said. Even if the Legislature doesn’t require state universities to raise their tuition over the next two years, they are likely to do so anyway to balance their budgets. http://www.yakimaherald.com/home/684288-8/state-universities-unhappy-with-gregoires-tuition-proposal