UW cashing in on foreign students

Apparently, the Pac-12 wasn’t the only thing that University of Washington left behind for more money.

As the state senator for a legislative district that includes two four-year universities (Washington State University and Eastern Washington University), I take great interest in our state’s higher-education system. I make it a point to stay in contact with the presidents at Washington State and Eastern and keep up on key developments at these campuses in Pullman and Cheney.

So, I was surprised to learn this week that University of Washington’s main campus in Seattle has experienced a decrease in its undergraduate enrollment.

Over the past 10 years – from 2011-12 to 2021-22 – the percentage of resident undergrads at UW-Seattle has fallen to 67.1%, from 76.6%. In the 2011-12 academic year, the Seattle campus had 28,307 undergrad students, including 21,674 resident students and 6,633 nonresident students.

Of its 31,064 undergrad students in 2021-22, only 20,848 were resident students while the number of nonresident students jumped to 10,216.

Over this 10-year period, there has been a net decrease of 826 resident undergrads and a net increase of 3,583 non-resident undergraduates. Keep in mind that non-resident students pay much higher tuition costs than resident students, so this trend toward having more out-of-state students and fewer in-state students means more money coming into that university’s coffers.

It’s disappointing that what some (certainly not Cougars) consider to be the top four-year higher-education institution in our state is accepting a lower number of in-state students than a decade ago. This seems like a disservice to many Washington high-school graduates, as well as the state’s taxpayers, who have a right to expect that their tax dollars going to the UW would be used to actually help more in-state students.

Not a great example of your tax dollars at work.

— Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, represents the 9th Legislative District, including Eastern Adams County. Email him at Mark.Schoesler@leg.wa.gov.