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The Senate's GET committee is also expected to recommend differential tuition be allowed at all state colleges and universities, except the University of Washington. The UW already charges the highest tuition in the state. (MyNortwest.com Photo/File)

Pre-pay college tuition program GET could be meeting its end

BY Kim Shepard  on January 16, 2013 @ 7:40 am (Updated: 10:04 am - 1/16/13 )

Washington's popular program for parents to pre-pay for college tuition could be coming to an end.

The Legislative Advisory Committee says the Guaranteed Education Tuition Program (GET) is underfunded by $631 million.

On Wednesday, the committee will recommend shutting the fund down to new members, according to the Seattle Times, and closing the program altogether once the current accounts are payed out.

There are currently about 120,000 active accounts and about $2 billion in assets, making it the second-largest prepaid tuition program in the country.

Part of the problem, though, is the possibility of differential tuition at Washington universities. That's an idea that has already come up in the House Higher Education Committee on the first full day of this legislative session.

"Unlike the past where we tried to incent institutions to offer high demand degrees, you've got creative ways for us to incent students into high demand degrees because we've never used pricing the way we probably should to get students in the degrees we want," explained Representative Chris Reykdal of Tumwater

The Legislative Advisory Committee is also expected to recommend differential tuition be allowed at all state colleges and universities, except the University of Washington. The UW already charges the highest tuition in the state.

GET has a released a statement in response to questions they've received since announcing the recommendation to shut the program down.

Kim Shepard, KIRO Radio Reporter
Kim Shepard is a news anchor and reporter for KIRO Radio and the office optimist. She's energetic, quick to laugh and has a positive outlook on life.
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Comments (5)


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  • Fuego wrote...
    Further proof
    January 16, 2013 10:31 am
    that government can't manage our money. This one really stinks and as I recall people pay money up front to the state for future use when their kids need it after high school. It sure would be nice to know if they "borrowed" from this fund to pay for something really important like a new building. What a bunch of maroons.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Denco25 wrote...
    A Great Program
    January 16, 2013 10:44 am
    I enrolled my children when they were very young -- paid $100 per month for one and $125 per month for the other. One of the best investments I ever made -- now the tuition money is there. Purchased at a lower cost and inflation protection has kept up with tuition. The wealthy have the money and the "poor" get lots of government assistance for college. this is a great program for the middle class. in addition, this is one government agency that has done a great job -- anytime I have had to call with questions, I have gotten a knowledgeable, real person. My payments were always accounted for and the requests I've had for tuition reimbursement have been handled promptly. It would be a shame to see this program end.
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  • Gar57 wrote...
    agreed!
    January 16, 2013 12:02 pm
    As another middle class caucasion parent, I can attest to the above letter. GET has been a Godsend to our family-we have two daughters in college and would never have been able to afford without this program. It's true that the rich can afford the cost and the poor have alot of aid available, but the middle class has gotten royally screwed in the tuition runup of the last few years!
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  • Keitho wrote...
    Almost...
    January 16, 2013 3:51 pm
    I almost got past my instincts about government and went for this. It sounded good but never really made total sense to me. Glad I did not sink my cash in it. Better to save $500 a month now in a stock portfolio. In 15 years, they should be good to go. And this way I am not penalized if my child decides ....heaven forbid....not to go to college but to a trade school. College is a rip off anyway. Not worth the investment for most
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • TwoTrees wrote...
    @ Keitho
    January 16, 2013 4:33 pm
    Oh God...not a Trade School! You know, where they teach actual, useful SKILLS! In all seriousness, today's college grads would probably be jealous of how much money my brother makes with his welding certification. As for the underfunded GET program - this is my surprised face :|
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
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