Op-Ed: Do right by Washington families and save GET program

This Op-Ed was written by LEV board member Sarah Merkel Reyneveld and was originally published in the Tacoma News Tribune on February 7, 2013.

Higher education is facing a funding crisis in the United States today. In Washington state, the recession and state budget cuts have dealt a blow to higher education funding. In light of severe funding challenges, our state should be doing everything it can to preserve – not eliminate – programs that enable families to afford college.

The Guaranteed Education Tuition (GET) Program, Washington’s prepaid college tuition savings plan, is a critical savings tool for middle-class families. Purchasing GET accounts – which are guaranteed to keep pace with tuition – allows Washington residents the opportunity to start saving early for the costs of their children’s higher education.

Currently 86 percent of GET students use their units to attend higher education institutions in our state. Washington’s GET program is the second-largest prepaid tuition plan in the country, with participants in every county in the state.

As the state’s share of higher education has decreased from 70 to 30 percent today, funding the cost college of has fallen on the backs of students and their families in the form of dramatic tuition increases. With tuition and fees nearly doubling between 2008 and 2012, Washington’s public higher education institutions are rapidly becoming out of reach for some families and students.

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Keep higher ed accessible and affordable for all Washington students

Six out of 10 Washington high school students currently go directly to a two- or four-year college following high school graduation.

Research tells us that without some form of postsecondary education, today’s students will find it difficult to earn a living wage. By 2018, two-thirds of the jobs in Washington will require a college degree or career credential.

Yet in the last decade, the cost of going to college in Washington has sky-rocketed. The average price of tuition has gone from 5 percent to 11 percent of median family income. Increasing tuition costs require more students to take out larger student loans to cover the cost of their college degrees. This financial burden can prevent many low- and middle-income students from pursuing higher education and create more barriers to college completion. The continued increase in the number of students needing to take out student loans means that college is becoming more unaffordable for Washington families.

“If changes are not made, we face the serious risk to our economy and democracy of creating two Washingtons — not divided by the Cascades or political parties — but based on educational achievement,” according to a recent report by the Washington Student Achievement Council.

The League of Education Voters is committed to keeping higher education accessible and affordable for all Washington students. During this legislative session, we are working with our partners to protect student aid and expand access to quality post-secondary learning opportunities.

Keeping college affordable can take many different forms in our state, including harnessing rising tuition and ensuring that there are supports in place to help students and families pay for school.

Washington’s GET (Guaranteed Education Tuition) plan is the state’s only college savings tool and one of the only state programs aimed at helping middle class families send their kids to college. It must be preserved. Mend it perhaps, but don’t end it.

For low-income students, Washington’s College Bound Program covers tuition and a modest book allowance for students who attend a Washington two- or four-year college. Over 88,000 Washington State students have enrolled in the College Bound Scholarship program since its inception in 2007. College Bound must be maintained. It is an important tool to closing the higher ed opportunity gap.

During this legislative session, we must do more – not less — to help our students access high-quality postsecondary opportunities so that they are prepared to meet the requirements of Washington’s demanding job market.