higher ed

Trump just removed DACA, here’s what that means for undocumented students

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Students, faculty, alumni and community members participate in a university-wide walkout protesting the inequity of the UW back in May 2016. Protesters demanded their voices be heard in an effort to end institutional racism and decolonize education for people of color. (Photo by Yemas Le)

It has been rumored since Thursday that President Donald Trump planned to remove Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), and now what many nonprofits and undocumented people feared has become true.

The Department of Homeland Security said it will stop processing first-time applicants for DACA today. But DACA recipients, or Dreamers, who would’ve otherwise renewed their status over the next six months still can, but have to apply by Oct. 5.

When it comes to the UW campus, however, UW President Ana Mari Cauce — whose parents were immigrants — made it clear where the UW stands in her press release today.

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Board of regents decide the president’s salary and buy KPLU

Of the many things on the board of regents’ two-hour long agenda Thursday evening, two of them involved large sums of money.

One of these was the UW president Ana Mari Cauce’s salary for the next five years. She will earn $910,000 a year. Broken down, $12,000 of that is her yearly automobile allowance, $697,500 her yearly salary, $150,000 her yearly deferred compensation, and $50,500 her yearly retirement.

While signing her contract, Cauce announced she will donate $500,000 of her salary to the UW over the course of her promised five years. Cauce will also add to a scholarship fund she created in the name of her brother, who was killed because of his involvement in the Civil Rights Movement. She also said she’ll contribute to other funds for student support and programs.

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Board of Regents announce Ana Mari Cauce as new UW president

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In their meeting Tuesday, the UW Board of Regents announced interim president Ana Mari Cauce will be the new president of the university. Cauce is the first-ever Latina and the first-ever woman president of the UW.

Cauce called the occasion an out-of-body experience.

“This is less about me, than really about us,” Cauce said. “Because we’re all together here. What it says to me is that — and I hope it says to everyone out there — is that you have confidence we’re moving in the right direction.”

She addressed the importance of diversity and access at the UW, saying it’s not just the right thing to do, but it’s also the smart thing to do. She said diversity gives the university an advantage to have complexity, and people coming from different perspectives.

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Private contributions provide boost in the UW’s funding

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Private contributions from outside donors play a large role in university funding across the nation. The UW received approximately $227 million in last year’s private gifts, almost $28 million less than gifts from the preceding 2013-14 fiscal year.

“The [contribution] that is significantly smaller is [to] the School of Law,” said Walt Dryfoos, associate vice president for advancement services at the UW.

The decrease in the law school’s contributions may be in part due to Jack MacDonald, a generous donor, passing away in 2013, leaving his $187.6 million to be split up between the UW’s School of Law, the Salvation Army, and Seattle Children’s Research Institute.

This is the largest gift to the law school in its history, according to The Seattle Times.

With all of this money laying around, some people might wonder why public universities like the UW need funding from the legislature in the first place.

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Fewer Native American students accepted into class of 2019

Even if all of the Native American students who were admitted to the UW this year attend in the fall, they will still make up a smaller portion of the class of 2019 than Native Americans in the class of 2018.

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Tuition increases for graduate, international, and out-of-state students

While Washington state legislators recently decreased resident undergraduate tuition for the next two years, the UW Board of Regents determined June 9 that graduate, out-of-state, and international student tuition would increase.

Only tier III graduate students, or students seeking master’s and doctorate degrees in the College of Engineering, or master’s and doctoral candidates in the School of Public Health and the School of Nursing, will see a tuition hike. These students will be facing a 3 percent increase, a rise of $842 per year.

International students pay the same tuition as out-of-state students and will continue to do so. Their tuition is set to increase 2 percent for the next academic year. These students will be paying $33,072, about $700 more, and approximately three times more than in-state students will pay next year.

There is, however, one big difference between these two groups when it comes to footing the bill for education: International students don’t qualify for financial aid or most scholarships.

Jason Chen, an international undergraduate student at the UW, said neither of his parents finished high school in China, which is why they wanted him to have the best education possible. However, Chen said it’s becoming increasingly difficult for his parents to handle the expenses from his education.

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Tuition reduced for next two years

The Washington state Legislature passed its 2015-17 operating budget Monday, lowering tuition statewide by 5 percent for the 2015-16 academic year. The budget passed just 24 hours before a scheduled partial government shutdown.

Of the many budget points the House Democrats and Senate Republicans disagreed on, tuition was a big one: The Senate wanted a 25 percent reduction, and the House wanted to freeze tuition. The final budget resulted in a compromise between the two parties.

For the UW, a 5 percent reduction will save students about $540 next year. The year after that, state universities are set to reduce tuition by a further 10 percent, a drop of roughly $1,600 for UW students. These reductions only apply to undergraduate, in-state residents.

“I feel like we’re still processing the data we got … to see how the university will fare overall,” said Genesee Adkins, UW director of state relations. “But I think, in general, we’re going to be pleased.”

Regional universities like Western Washington University are required to have an even steeper tuition reduction of 20 percent for the 2016-17 year. The budget also calls for a total spending of approximately $351 million in state funds to higher education.

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