2017–19 Operating Budget Request Agency 376: The Evergreen State College 2017–19 Operating Budget Request The Evergreen State College: 2017–19 Operating Budget Request Executive Summary The Evergreen State College (Evergreen), authorized in 1967 by the Legislature (RCW 28B.040.010), was established as an innovative institution by the Governor and Legislature. At our inception, Governor Evans expressed the need to “unshackle our educational thinking from traditional patterns.” These thoughts were echoed by Senator Gordon Sandison, Chair of the Temporary Advisory Council on Public Higher Education, when he said, “It was not the intent of the Legislature that this would be just another four year college… (the college would be) a unique opportunity to meet the needs of the students today and the future because the planning would not be bound by any rigid structure of tradition as are the existing colleges nor by any overall central authority as is the case in many states.” For more than 40 years, Evergreen has continued to serve as a national model for student engagement, quality teaching, applied learning, and educational innovation. In addition to our Olympia campus, we provide upper-division, off-campus programs to four tribal reservation-based sites, Tacoma’s inner city, and the Grays Harbor community. Our public service centers assist legislative policy development and enrich school districts, community colleges, businesses, and tribes across the state. Evergreen has earned a national reputation as one of the best liberal arts and sciences colleges in the country, and we eagerly embrace our role in helping to achieve the state’s goals for educational attainment. 2013 Roadmap: A ten-year plan to increase educational achievement in Washington In 2013, the Washington Student Achievement Council (WSAC) created its first ten-year Roadmap, which included two overarching goals for educational attainment. The Washington State legislature adopted these goals in 2014. These goals are aimed at meeting the projected unmet demand for a skilled labor force for critical job openings. According to WSAC, 360,000 more adults will need to complete high school and 500,000 more adults will need a postsecondary credential by 2023 in order to keep up with workforce and population growth demands. In order to meet those demands, the goals to be achieved by 2023 include: 1) all adults1 in Washington will have a high school diploma or equivalent; and, 2) at least 70% of adults in Washington will have a postsecondary credential by 2023. The Roadmap is updated in odd-years. The 2015 Roadmap update reflects a small improvement in the rates of secondary and postsecondary completions, but the current rate of progress is not sufficient to meet the Roadmap goals by 2023. The 2015 Roadmap update by WSAC provides clear evidence that achieving the goals will require the education system to serve populations that have not been well served in the past. Specifically, their report identified two areas still in need of significant improvement in order to improve student success and completion. One of those is the need to improve services to historically underserved and underrepresented populations. The other is to improve support services to working-age adults. 1 For the purpose of the goals, adults are defined as citizens aged 25–44. 1 Agency 376: The Evergreen State College 2017–19 Operating Budget Request Evergreen is uniquely positioned among other four-year public institutions of higher education to advance the Roadmap goals because serving these student populations is integral to our mission. Evergreen is dedicated to serving historically underserved and underrepresented populations. We also offer multiple programs designed for working-age adults to complete degrees at both the baccalaureate and master’s degree levels. In the fall of 2015, Evergreen served 4,190 students (3,872 undergraduate students and 318 graduate students). Among all enrolled students, 30% were first generation college students, 28% were students of color, and 37 % were older than 25. Fifty percent of our population is made up of low-income students2, and 44% of those students have family incomes below the poverty-level. As a result, almost 70% of our students received need-based financial aid. In addition, 52% of incoming undergraduates were transfer students and more than 5% of our population is military veterans. Not only does Evergreen focus on serving underserved and underrepresented populations, but we also have a proven track record of serving them well. Evergreen leads the state in time to degree with the average student completing their baccalaureate degree in 3.77 years. Evergreen’s completion ratio of 27 undergraduate degrees for every 100 student FTEs is second only to the University of Washington’s ratio of 28:100. In addition, 82% of all baccalaureate degrees awarded to Evergreen’s Class of 2015 were earned by students who identify as traditionally underserved. Fifty-six percent of all baccalaureate degrees awarded for the 2014–15 academic year were awarded to Pell Grant recipients. Finally, Evergreen’s graduates are finding post-graduation success. The most recent alumni survey shows 80% of all alumni were employed one year after graduation from Evergreen and 21% are in graduate or professional school. Twenty-seven percent of alumni have started a business or are self-employed within 15 years of graduation. Hundreds of Evergreen alumni are small business owners. Increase the Percentage of the Population Enrolled in Postsecondary Education • Evergreen serves as a national model for student engagement, quality teaching, applied learning and educational innovation. • Evergreen leads the state in the proportion of low-income students served in the public baccalaureate sector. • Eighty-two percent of 2015 graduates belonged to at least one traditionally underserved population. • More than half of Evergreen students are transfers from other institutions. Increase attainment of Postsecondary Education • Evergreen assists students in completing their bachelor’s degrees with more than 400 articulation agreements with over 30 Washington community colleges. • Evergreen is a leader in time to degree among Washington’s public baccalaureate institutions. • Within one year of graduation 80 percent of Evergreen alumni are employed and 21 percent are in graduate or professional school. Results Washington – A World-Class Education Evergreen plays an integral part in achieving a world-class education, goal number one of the Results Washington effort led by the governor’s office. This effort is closely aligned with the goals articulated 2 Low-income is defined as less than 150% of the federal poverty level; income amounts vary by family size. 2 Agency 376: The Evergreen State College 2017–19 Operating Budget Request in the Roadmap to increase the number of adults in the state who attain postsecondary credentials, particularly those in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and other high demand fields. Access to adequate financial resources is critical to meeting these goals. STEM and high demand graduates Evergreen is making great strides in meeting the state’s goals to produce more STEM graduates. Between 2007–08 and 2014–15, the number of students graduating with bachelor of science degrees increased by 18%. In the fall of 2015, 28% of all degree-seeking students were enrolled in high-demand science programs. Of the students enrolled in these high-demand science programs, • 23% were students of color, • 48% were low-income, and • 37% were working-age students. Evergreen students also engage in undergraduate research programs during the academic year and faculty-developed research fellowships in the summer, working on projects such as Biogeochemical Cycling in the Pacific Northwest Forest Ecosystems and Research in Cyber Security: Privacy- enhancing Apps on Mobile Devices. Students also participated in Using Bacteriophage in Bovine Medicine. The project produced a revolutionary approach for potentially preventing and treating bovine mastitis that does not involve the use of antibiotics. This cutting-edge research resulted in negotiations with an emerging enterprise in phage technology that plans to seek a patent that will bring this treatment to a global market. • Evergreen’s undergraduates represent just 11% of total undergraduate enrollment in the state, yet these students make up one-third of the state’s graduates who go on to earn doctorates in the STEM fields. • One year after graduation, 95% of Evergreen’s students who graduate with a Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Science and Arts degrees are employed, attending graduate school, or both. • Evergreen ranks in the top-third of the nation, per capita, for sending students on to get research doctorates. • Eighteen percent of Evergreen alumni are employed in high-demand science fields within one year of completing their bachelor’s degrees. • Evergreen has received 22 National Science Foundation grants in the past decade, four of which provided scholarships to 189 STEM students who were pursuing studies in mathematics, physics, computer science, biology, and chemistry. Evergreen is preparing future American workers in such high demand employment areas as biomedical research, medicine and allied health, environmental science and sustainability, energy, materials science and a host of other disciplines. Upon graduation Evergreen’s STEM graduates find success in both the professional and academic sectors. Evergreen