CENTRAL WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
EASTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY
WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY Our Response to the Challenges of COVID-19: Continued
Ruben Flores Director of Government Relations and Business Affairs January 2021 Our Presidents
• George Bridges, The Evergreen State College • Ana Mari Cauce, University of Washington • David May, Eastern Washington University • Jim Gaudino, Central Washington University • Sabah Randhawa, Western Washington University (chair) • Kirk Schulz, Washington State University Washington’s Public College And Universities
UNIVERSITY CENTER OF NORTH PUGET SOUND WSU/WWU/UW-BOTHELL/EWU/THE EVERGREEN STATE COLLEGE/CWU CWU-LYNNWOOD WWU at UW BOTHELL OLYMPIC COLLEGE POULSBO UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON WWU at BREMERTON CENTER EWU at BELLEVUE COLLEGE OLYMPIC COLLEGE Bellingham EWU/WWU at NORTH SEATTLE COLLEGE WESTERN WASHINGTON THE TACOMA PROGRAM CWU-DES MOINES UNIVERSITY THE EVERGREEN STATE COLLEGE Mt. WWU EXTENDED CWU-JBLM Vernon EDUCATION UW TACOMA WWU at CWU-PIERCE COUNTY PENINSULA COLLEGE Port Angeles Everett Poulsbo WSU SPOKANE/EWU SPOKANE Lynnwood Seattle Spokane Bellevue Wenatchee Cheney Bremerton CWU-WENATCHEE EASTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
Tacoma CWU-MOSES LAKE Olympia CENTRAL WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY Moses Lake Ellensburg Pullman THE EVERGREEN STATE COLLEGE Yakima CWU-YAKIMA WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY
EWU at LOWER COLUMBIA COLLEGE WSU TRI-CITIES Longview Tri-Cities
WSU VANCOUVER Vancouver
Public Four-Year Universities Branch Campuses University Centers Multi-institutional Partnership
Looking Back
§ As the pandemic spread in March, all our college & universities quickly moved to remote delivery of instruction & student support services. § Funding from the federal CARES Act helped provide additional funding for students & institutions. § Institutions worked to meet the technological needs of our students with loaner laptops, additional hotspots, drive-in Wi-Fi locations, & more. § During this time, our campuses never closed & vital aspects of our operations (instruction, research, hospital operations, etc.) all continued. Winter Quarter/Spring Semester
§ Each institution has established back to campus testing, policies and procedures. § Students continue to receive vital support services such as advising, counseling, mentoring, tutoring, career services, financial aid, etc. § Our residence halls will continue to operate but at a much- reduced capacity. § Campuses continue to work with relevant state & local health jurisdictions & adhere to all federal, state & local directives. § We are reaching out to help ensure students return for the winter quarter/spring semester. Moving Forward
§ Instructional delivery during the spring term will most likely be similar to winter term. § At this point we are hopeful about summer & fall but decisions about those terms have yet to be made. § We will continue to work with the Department of Health related to testing needs for our students, staff, and faculty as well as when they fit into the COVID-19 vaccine phases. § We will continue working with our K-12 colleagues to help ensure that no student’s higher education plans are derailed by the pandemic. Moving Forward: Continued
The Year To Come: Ø Continue recruitment for fall 2021 admissions
Ø Determining modality for fall 2021
Ø Engage with education partners regarding FAFSA completions Concerns and Hopes for the Future
Hopes: Ø Engage in more in-person learning Ø Continue to assess best practices that emerged from the pandemic and implement changes that may further strengthen access to quality academic program and student services Ø Identify potential changes to the workplace that have emerged due to the pandemic Concerns and Hopes for the Future: Continued
Concerns: Ø Impact of the pandemic on entering students direct from high school: Social and emotional health and academic preparation
Ø Loss of students from high school to college
Ø Impacts of the pandemic on higher education faculty and staff COVID Related Budget Impacts
§ Unprecedented drops in revenue for auxiliary enterprises, most notably Housing and Dining & Athletics at all institutions and UW Medicine § Auxiliaries continue to be in deep deficit as we continue to limit housing & dining. This will continue to decline until we full occupancy of campus housing. § At least one institution was forced to restructure debt service to avoid missing debt payments due deficits. As a result, bond payments have been pushed back resulting in Moodys downgrading credit ratings. COVID Related Budget Impacts
§ First-year student enrollment was down in our sector. If the cohort doesn’t bounce back, it could cause a recurring rift in tuition revenue for next four years. § Potential state budget reductions would be a third source of financial trouble on top of tuition & auxiliary enterprises. § The Governor’s 2021-23 budget proposal funded some critical items & preserved funding for existing Workforce Education Investment Act items but also included proposed furloughs that would impact service levels. § Our institutions have not yet received funding from the federal Coronavirus Response & Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act passed in December. Collaborative Endeavors
COP continues to collaboratively engage with our community & technical college and private non-profit and K-12 partners to meet the needs of Washington students: ü Admissions flexibility for students in the Classes of 2021 ü Worked with the Governor’s office to provide flexibility in education & licensure requirements in healthcare fields ü Communications regarding admissions, dual credit, financial aid & transfer ü Washington College Grant and 12th Year Campaign Thank You
§ COVID-19 Resource Page: www.councilofpresidents.org § Twitter: @CouncilofPresWa