m**2
发帖数: 3374 | 1 Last night the Washington State Legislature passed a budget and accompanying
legislation to lower tuition at the state's colleges and universities. This
legislation is expected to be signed into law by the Governor today. This
historic event will make college more affordable and accessible for more
Washington families and current students. Below you will find responses to
questions arising from this legislation in order to provide you with more
information about the impacts to the GET program.
What does lower tuition mean for students today?
This historic event will make college more affordable and accessible for
more Washington families and current students.
More specifically, tuition will be reduced at the state's two research
institutions (UW & WSU) by five percent in the 2015-16 academic year and by
another ten percent in the 2016-17 academic year for a total two year
reduction of 15 percent. This is important because these are the two
institutions for which GET's payout value is based upon.
The legislation goes on to say that beginning in the 2017-18 academic
year, tuition operating fees for resident undergraduates at community and
technical colleges, may increase by no more than the state's average annual
growth rate in median hourly wage as determined by the Federal Bureau of
Labor Statistics.
How will this impact my student if they are needing to use their units in
the next two years?
In response to lower tuition, the legislation states that for the 2015-
16 and 2016-17 academic years, the GET Committee shall set the payout value
for units redeemed at the 2014-15 rate of $117.82 per unit.
What happens to the value of my account if I am not going to use my units in
the next two years? Will I lose money?
Beginning in the 2017-18 academic year, the GET Committee is required to
make the necessary program adjustments to ensure GET customer accounts are
not decreased or diluted as a result of lower tuition. This may include a
cash refund, additional units, a minimum payout value, or another solution
that is deemed appropriate. Part of a feasibility study the program will be
conducting during the next 18 months is to develop a resolution to this
issue.
What is the GET Committee going to do about the future of the program?
By December 1, 2016, the legislation calls for the GET Committee to
review and report to the legislative fiscal and higher education committees
on the following:
The impact of reducing tuition on the funded status of GET and
future unit prices;
The feasibility of establishing a traditional 529 college savings
program;
Alternatives of linking GET to tuition and fees and linking GET to a
cost of attendance metric;
And the current state penalty for nonqualified withdrawals.
Details regarding next steps for the GET program will be discussed at
the GET Committee meeting on Monday, July 13 from 2 to 4 p.m. at Senate
Hearing Room 3 on the Capitol Campus in Olympia. As information becomes
available, updates will be shared on the GET website.
Does the two year freeze in payout also mean a two year freeze in unit cost?
Does this mean the current unit cost is now calibrated to a tuition cost 15
% less than today?
These are good questions and issues the GET Committee will be addressing
. The Committee will be meeting on Monday, July 13 to begin conversations
around future unit pricing; however, a great deal of analysis will need to
be done by the State Actuary and other financial experts before any future
pricing formulas will be considered. | r**********g
发帖数: 22734 | 2 GET is the stupidest 529 plan in the entire country | k*****a
发帖数: 1463 | 3 It is too late to new comer to add a penny to it. The original participants
are liability to the state. It should be just pay the participants off,
hopefully at promise, and closed down. | y****6
发帖数: 49 | 4 For those who are already in the program, are they lucky or not lucky?
It is too late to new comer to add a penny to it. The original participants
are liabilit........
【在 k*****a 的大作中提到】
: It is too late to new comer to add a penny to it. The original participants
: are liability to the state. It should be just pay the participants off,
: hopefully at promise, and closed down.
| c****7
发帖数: 4192 | 5 for those very early ones, of course yes
participants
【在 y****6 的大作中提到】
: For those who are already in the program, are they lucky or not lucky?
:
: It is too late to new comer to add a penny to it. The original participants
: are liabilit........
|
|
