Engineering Programs No Longer Restricted
Washington State University (WSU) and the University of Washington (UW) will no longer have exclusive authority over engineering degrees and programs in the state of Washington.
On April 24, 2009, Washington state Gov. Christine Gregoire signed Substitute Senate Bill (SSB) 5276. Its companion bill, House Bill (HB) 1312, was reintroduced and retained in present status on Jan. 11, 2010, for further consideration of the 2009 readings.
“Currently, state laws stipulate that only the University of Washington or Washington State University may offer degrees in particular lines of study including civil, mechanical, chemical, aeronautic, and astronautic engineering,” said Debbie Driver, staff to the House Committee on Education Appropriations, in a recording by TVW, Mar. 26, 2009.
These fields of engineering were considered "major lines" at WSU and UW, and no other public institution could offer them, according to the final bill report.
SSB 5276 and HB 1312 state that undergraduate and graduate degrees in those fields of study may now be offered at any institution of higher education in the state of Washington.
“From my standpoint, when you look at the infrastructure of the engineering departments at WSU and UW, it seems like it would be a huge investment for other institutions,” said Glenn A. Johnson, mayor of Pullman and professor at WSU.
Looking at the many engineering classrooms, testing rooms, and equipment on the WSU campus, it makes no practical sense to offer the degrees at other institutions, especially with a limited amount of money in the state, Johnson said.
“There needs to be a cost-benefit analysis to see how much it would cost to set up programs at other schools.”
With a small amount of students in the state wishing to pursue the degree, and enough space at both UW and WSU to house the students, it doesn’t seem worth it, he said.
“If the demand was big, it might make sense.”
No fiscal note is reported for SSB 5276, and the companion bill, HB 1312, states no fiscal impact will occur.
Sen. Mark Schoesler, 9th Legislative District, said the bill has no fiscal note because it can be handled with existing funds, according to a recording by TVW, Mar. 26, 2009.
While this may not interest students in fields other than engineering, current engineering students at WSU feel the bill might be useless for future universities who try to compete with WSU and UW.
“I don’t think that [engineering] programs will get established at other universities because it takes a few years to start a good program,” said Eric Holland, about the already established reputation of engineering at WSU.
Holland, a junior chemical engineering student, came to WSU from Anchorage, Alaska, primarily for the chemical engineering program at WSU.
“Just because they have the ability to have the engineering programs, doesn’t mean they have the capabilities,” said Rhyan Russell, a junior mechanical engineering student at WSU.
“Once they do have the program, it brings up the question of its quality.”
Russell came to WSU because it provided the highest education for a relatively good cost. It is better to pay a little more for a higher quality education, he said.
Although Holland and Russell, along with other students, feel it might be impossible to establish a quality engineering program at other institutions, they don’t disagree with the bill.
“I don’t think it should be required by law that UW and WSU be the only ones to have these programs, I think it should be up to the school to decide if they want to hold the program,” Holland said.
Russell also agrees that offering certain fields of study should be up to the school. It will attract more students to other schools, he said, but it will take time and money to establish the quality curriculum, and by doing so it might sacrifice the budgets and programs of other fields.
“If someone can get the same degree closer to home, people would do it,” said Johnson, “It would be cheaper, but you also have to look at the reputation of the school.”
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Outline:
Lede: What is the issue? WSU and UW no longer have exclusive rights to engineering degrees.
Intro: What bill? When did it pass? Companion bill? What is its status?
Nut Graf: What is SSB 5276 and HB 1312? Why is the bill important to WSU? Quote Debbie Driver
Quote: Glenn Johnson--It would be a huge investment.
TVW: Fiscal note, Sen. Mark Schoesler, 9th district
How are students responding? Do they think it will be affective?
Quote: Eric Holland, junior chemical engineer student
Quote: Rhyan Russell, junior mechanical engineer student
Wrap-up: Glenn Johnson--look at the reputation
Sources:
- Substitute Senate Bill 5276
- House Bill 1312
- Final Bill Report
- TVW.org (17:45)
- Debbie Driver, staff to the House Committee on Education Appropriations
- Sen. Mark Schoesler, 9th legislative district
- http://www.tvw.org/media/mediaplayer.cfm?evid=2009030201&TYPE=V&CFID=5420201&CFTOKEN=36211813&bhcp=1
- Glenn A. Johnson
- Mayor of Pullman, Professor at WSU
- Phone:509-335-3068
- Mechanical Engineering student
- Rhyan Russell, junior
- Phone:360-927-2604
- Chemical Engineering student
- Eric Holland, junior
- Phone: 509-592-8170
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