Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Tuition hike proposed
PULLMAN — Enrollment at Washington State University (WSU) has continued to decline for the fifth year in a row.
The WSU Regents will review the enrollment report during their meeting next week.
Preliminary numbers indicate a system-wide headcount of approximately 25,685 students this fall, a 3% decrease from last year and nearly a 20% drop since the onset of the pandemic. Since reaching a record enrollment of nearly 32,000 students in the fall of 2019, WSU has lost around 6,000 students.
Last year, the rate of decline slowed, with a 4% drop in enrollment in the fall of 2023 compared to the fall of 2022. WSU’s current enrollment is at its lowest level since 2010.
In response to the financial impact of declining enrollment, WSU administrators are proposing a tuition hike.
The WSU Regents will begin discussions next week on tuition rates for the 2025-2026 academic year. According to regents meeting documents, the administration requests a 3% increase. State law limits tuition hikes to the growth in the median hourly wage in Washington.
If approved, the 3% increase would raise in-state undergraduate tuition by $339 to $11,644 for the 2025-2026 academic year.
Administrators project this hike would boost WSU’s revenue by $3 million. However, the report also predicts a slight decline in enrollment next year.
The last significant drop in tuition at WSU occurred about a decade ago when Republican-led legislation in Olympia reduced rates by 15%, with the state providing additional funding to offset the revenue loss.
In-state undergraduate tuition hit a low of around $9,300 in 2016. If the proposed 3% hike is approved, it would mark a 25% increase in tuition over the past nine years.
According to regents documents, WSU currently has the highest tuition and fees among public universities in Washington.
For the current academic year, resident undergraduate tuition and fees at WSU total nearly $13,400, slightly higher than the University of Washington, which charges just under $13,000.
The WSU Regents are expected to make a final decision on next year’s tuition during their January meeting.
Olivia Harnack is a Journalist at the Whitman County Gazette. Olivia is enrolled at University of Idaho and is majoring in digital film studies. She serves in the United States Army National Guard and is proud to serve Whitman County.
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