A student cannot afford higher education because financial aid doesn’t cover tuition. A graduate student with two small children struggles to balance class with work and family.

The above are just a few of the important issues listed on ASUW and GPSS’s agenda for Lobby Day. In the spring, students will head to Olympia to talk with legislators about what matters most to students, both graduate and undergraduate.

ASUW AGENDA

Until 1991, the ASUW was prohibited from lobbying the state Legislature independent from the University administration. This year, they will lobby in Olympia on issues such as state funding, tuition, financial aid, diversity, academics, health, safety and welfare, transportation and student advocacy.

Because of the current economic situation, this year will be a critical year for students at the UW and all Washington public institutions. Tuition will be an extremely important issue this year, as legislators have raised tuition in the past to balance the budget. Undergraduate resident tuition has a 7 percent tuition increase limit that is set until 2017 and is overseen by the legislators.

Because of low tuition rates for undergraduates, this has attracted many students to the UW, including Jed Bradley, ASUW Senator and Legislative Steering Committee member. Bradley took almost his entire first year off from college to establish residency in Washington since out-of-state tuition costs are nearly three times those of in-state.

“In order for most students to go to the University of Washington without graduating with lots of student loans, great sacrifices must be made,” Bradley said. “Out-of-state tuition rates are established by the Board of Regents at the UW, while in-state tuition rates are set by the Washington Legislature. If the difference in cost is any indication of the consequences of local control of tuition, I absolutely do not support it.”

GPSS AGENDA

For GPSS, the main issues include tuition, increased funding for child care and better access to mental health care. A fourth policy issue will be determined later.

Regarding local control, GPSS is drawing attention away from who is controlling tuition to the underlying issue: reasonable, affordable and predictable tuition.

The percentage of state funding made available for higher education in Washington has been getting lower each year.

Currently, the state is paying less than half of what it costs to educate a UW student, while other states, such as California, pay for more than 75 percent of what it costs to educate students.

“Our concern is students who are unable to finish their education in multiple-year programs because of unpredictable raises in tuition,” said Dave Iseminger, vice president of GPSS.

GPSS has sent a policy memo to the Higher Education Coordinating Board, UW administrators, student leaders at WSU and the Washington Student Lobby about safeguards needed for tuition-setting authority, regardless of who has the power to control it.

“So far our memo has generated positive discussions about our ideas,” Iseminger said.

Other concerns include an increase in financial aid, funding for research opportunities, student safety, recruitment and retention of world-class faculty and students, and health care.

“Our constituents feel that health care should also include preventative care like screening for STI’s,” Iseminger said. “Many preventive measures are not covered by the student health insurance plan.”

This fall, GPSS is doing pre-work to get students, administrators and other stakeholders to become aware of GPSS’s policy issues.

“It’s never too early to talk about an issue with elected officials. You need to get in early, plant seeds and follow up constantly because they have a lot of issues coming at them from all directions,” Iseminger said. “As several legislators told me last year, if it isn’t important enough to talk about in October and Novermber, during election season, why is it suddenly so important to talk about in January?”

Reach reporter Doris Wu at news@dailyuw.com.