UW branch campus plan may be put on hold

The Higher Education Coordinating (HEC) Board recommended to the state Legislature Thursday that plans by UW branch campuses to enroll freshmen and sophomore students be "put on pause" for a year while a committee reevaluates the local demand, according to UW junior Anthony Rose, student HEC Board member.

The board's recommendations did approve UW Tacoma's plan to enroll freshmen and sophomores in autumn 2007, pending approval from the Legislature.

"Obviously, we are pleased that they agreed with our position on UW Tacoma," said UW President Mark Emmert. "While we are disappointed that Bothell wasn't given the recommendation for the same authority, we are pleased that the HEC Board agreed to consider [UW-Bothell] next year."

According to Rose, the HEC Board advised UW Tacoma and WSU Vancouver be approved to admit underclassmen because of the high demand for a four-year college in those areas.

"UW Tacoma and also WSU Vancouver are the schools right now that would serve the greatest amount of students," he said. "They are ready to go forward with their plans."

According to Emmert, the board did not recommend two of the branches to enroll first and second-year undergraduates due to lingering uncertainties over the need for such institutions.

"They had a variety of questions about both UW Bothell and [WSU] Tri-Cities," he said. "They don't have sufficient confidence that there was a demand for four-year degree programs."

UW Bothell needs to become a four-year institution so it can admit fully qualified students who are turned away from the UW Seattle because of a lack of space, said Chancellor Warren Buck of UW Bothell.

"We wanted to have this authority this year," said Buck. "Whatever happens does not negate that we have a huge need in our region here in Snohomish and north King County."

Jack Nelson, vice chancellor for academic affairs at UW-Tacoma, said he thought the Board might have viewed Bothell's co-location with Cascadia Community College as a factor that needed to be further investigated.

Even though Cascadia and UW Bothell share one campus, giving the impression of a "seamless four-year education experience," there is still a need for additional expansion, said Brinton Sprague, interim president of Cascadia.

"There's plenty of room for more students who don't want to start out at a community college," said Buck, adding that last year only 72 Cascadia students transferred to UW Bothell after completing their associate or transfer degrees.

Branch campus plans have also surfaced in legislation in both chambers. If passed, House Bill 1267 and Senate Bill 5411 would authorize all four branch campuses to offer lower-division courses. The HEC Board supported the same measure, said Rose.

In hearings today and Thursday, education committees in the Legislature will hear from lobbyists, including HEC Board members and representatives from the UW who will testify in favor of the bills and on the broader issue of the future of the branch campuses, said Jamie Corning, the UW's student lobbyist.

"The obvious benefit for students transferring [to a branch campus] as juniors [is that they] can go back and take a lower division course to either fill in gaps in their education or explore other subject areas that they may not have had the chance to do," said Corning.