I am writing to clarify the position of the Higher Education Coordinating Board (HECB) concerning the need for a four-year college campus in the Snohomish, Island and Skagit (SIS) counties area. We at the board feel this clarification is needed in light of recent media that reported the board was opposed to the creation of a new university in the tri-county area.
At its last meeting (Nov.16) the board voted to do two things. First, to ask the governor and Legislature to fully fund our existing colleges so that the immediate and shorter-term higher education needs of the tri-county area, as well as the state, could be met with existing resources. Secondly, the board recognized the need for, and voted to continue planning for, a new college campus in Snohomish County. The proposal for continued planning is sound and realistic. Creating a new university campus is a very complicated undertaking that, to be successful, requires a sound plan that state policy makers understand and can support. The board wants a successful plan to present to the governor and the Legislature.
We at the board are committed to helping students succeed and a new campus in the SIS area should be considered to be a part of a solution to meeting our state’s higher education needs. The time is right to begin that planning today!
Gene Colin
Chair, Higher Education
Coordinating Board
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