Students who are graduating from the University of Washington this weekend have one more thing to celebrate. They won't face next fall's tuition prices.
UW Regents tentative approved a 20-percent increase in tuition for the coming school year at their meeting yesterday. A final vote on the proposal is expected on June 30th. Under the plan, in-state undergraduate students would climb from $8,700 to $10,574 per year.
Student body president Madeleine McKenna (daughter of state Attorney General Rob McKenna) says the increase is going to be tough for a lot of students to absorb.
McKenna told the Seattle Times, "Twenty percent would be a hard pill to swallow for a lot of students."
State Lawmakers gave public universities in the state the right to set their own tuition rates in the last session of the legislature.
Earlier this week regents at Washington State University increased tuition 16-percent for the 2011/2012 school year. Regents at Western Washington University voted today to approve a similar increase while regents at Central Washington University today approved back to back 14-percent tuition hikes for the next two school years.
