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Higher Education

Lt. Governor Habib has made expanding access to higher education central to his office mission, establishing a Director of Higher Education position within the agency, pursuing an aggressive legislative portfolio, and implementing independent programs.

Why Higher Education?

Our best projections tell us the jobs of the future will require a college degree.

“As I often say, I went from Braille to Yale,” said Habib. “The reason I could do this is I had access to really well-funded public schools, and we want that for everybody—irrespective of disability or race, or economic background.”

Of the 7.2 million jobs lost in the Great Recession, nearly 80% were those that required only a high school diploma. Conversely, over 99% of the jobs created post-recession went to workers with a college education.


Lt. Governor’s office policy portfolio

In 2020, the Lt. Governor’s office successfully passed all three of its agency priority bills through the State Legislature.

HB 2513 - Prohibiting the Practice of Transcript Withholding, sponsored by Rep. Slatter, will help students transfer and apply to jobs by:

  • Largely prohibiting colleges and universities (both public and private), from using transcript holds as a tool for debt collection

Status: Passed by the State Legislature. Signed into law.

SB 6142 - Creating the Washington Common Application, sponsored by Sen. Liias, aims to simplify the college application process by:

  • Aligning all public institutions in Washington into a single common application

Status: Passed by the State Legislature. Vetoed by the Governor given the budget crisis related to the novel coronavirus.

SB 6141 - Expanding Access to Higher Education, sponsored by Sen. Randall, will help students understand their financial aid options for both federal and state grants by:

  • Requiring schools to hold a “Financial Aid Day” and creating an online financial aid calculator

  • Requiring colleges and universities to standardize financial aid language in award letters

Status: Passed by the State Legislature. Signed into law.


Initiatives

Complete Washington

A Lt. Governor’s office program aimed at developing adult-friendly online degree programs in high-demand sectors.

Washington World Fellows

An equity-focused study abroad and college readiness program established by the Office of the Lt. Governor. The program has since been codified in law by the State Legislature.

AP Access Fund

The Lt. Governor’s office initiated a public-private partnership between itself, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and private sector leaders to cover the cost of AP exams for low-income students in lieu of federal funding. Approximately 15,000 students took exams for free thanks to this initiative.