Operating Budget

1. MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES $2.5 million to expand mental health treatment capacity

CWU joins all public universities in Washington in making expansion of student mental health care a top priority in the 2019-2021 budget. Over the past five years, the number of new counseling clients at CWU has increased 243 percent; since 2015, mental health-distress referrals have increased 75 percent. In the 2017-2018 school year, Student Counseling Services provided nearly 6,200 individual and group counseling appointments to CWU students.

Insufficient resources at CWU often result in students seeking services in the community, where services already are over-subscribed. Student referrals to local community providers are often not possible because mental health providers in Kittitas County, where the university is located, have a long wait list that ranges from 3 months to 2 years. There are currently no psychiatrists at all practicing in Kittitas County.

CWU seeks state support to: 1. Hire counseling staff and case managers, in order

to reduce referral of students to limited community resources.

2. Create master’s-level practicum that provides counseling services to students and community members.

3. Hire a psychiatrist to address complex behavioral and mental health issues.

4. Launch a public information campaign to educate the public about mental health symptoms and services.

2. AVIATION EXPANSION $5.3 million in one-time funds to purchase 10 airplanes and four flight simulators

Due to the shortage of commercial pilots, CWU proposes to dramatically increase teaching capacity in its BS Aviation degree program, the only baccalaureate aviation program in the Pacific Northwest. The program is experiencing record growth. In fall 2009, the BS Aviation had only 150 student majors; in fall 2018 there are an estimated 250 majors, with additional geometric growth potential in the immediate future. In order to be able to expand the program to meet the current demand, CWU will need to purchase 10 aircraft and four simulators.

The CWU Aviation program graduates enjoy an industry placement rate of 100 percent. CWU Aviation has signed direct-hire, scholarship, and internship agreements with ExpressJet Airlines, Alaska/Horizon Airlines, Mesa Airlines, SkyWest Airlines, and PSA Airlines. CWU has obtained the FAA’s approval to certify professional pilot graduates for employment as airline first officers at 1,000 hours of flight time. This is immensely important as it allows entry into the profession at least a year earlier than those who train at non-approved organizations.

3. GAME ON! $584,000 to double participation in an innovative pathway for underserved students to the state’s digital workforce

Washington’s need to grow the digital workforce has never been more urgent. Game On! provides a unique educational and social pathway for students who otherwise

Central Washington University

2019-2021Operating Budget Priorities

Fall 2018

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might not believe they could have a place in the exciting and profitable software industry.

GAME ON! is a partnership between the Real Madrid Foundation, Microsoft Corporation, and Central Washington University. GAME ON! draws in students with the excitement of World Cup soccer. Then Microsoft helps them to unlock the secret language of computer coding. CWU provides the mentor and organization to create this compelling program in which students learn leadership, social and digital literacy, and college-ready skills.

Game On! now serves approximately 225 students in central Washington, including at:

• Eisenhower High School, Yakima• Excel High School, Ellensburg• Franklin Middle School, Yakima• Henry Beauchamp Community Center• Lewis & Clark Middle School, Yakima• Mabton School District• Stanton Academy, Yakima• Washington Middle School, Yakima• Wilson Middle School, Yakima

4. TEACHER SHORTAGE SOLUTIONS $3.2 million to address Washington’s K-12 teacher shortage

According to the state Superintendent of Public Instruction, more than 90 percent of Washington K-12 principals say they are struggling to retain and hire teachers. Eighty percent have employed teachers with emergency teaching certifications, and 29 percent have teacher positions that were not filled. Nearly 75 percent of principals reported they themselves have had to cover a classroom in the past week because a substitute was not available.

The region with the most critical need is central Washington, where with 34 percent of schools report they are in crisis mode for certified teachers and 68 percent are in crisis mode for substitutes.

CWU’s School of Education proposes to increase the output of certified teachers by:

• Establishing teaching academics in high schools to enhance recruitment and to encourage more diverse students to enter the profession

• Creating scholarships for mandatory WEST B tests• Using remote conferencing technology to place

student teachers in remote districts• Increasing capacity in teacher preparation programs• Expanding alternative certification, high-demand

endorsements at CWU University Centers, student scholarships, and technology to supervise student teachers in remote schools

For more information contact Steve DuPont, Director of Government Relations, at 509-201-0528 or Steve.DuPont@cwu.edu.

cwu.eduCWU IS AN EEO/AA/TITLE IX/VETERAN/DISABILITY EMPLOYER. FOR ACCOMMODATION EMAIL: DS@CWU.EDU.