The cost of attending The Evergreen State College might go up. Here’s what to know

The Evergreen State College in Olympia is proposing to increase tuition, housing and dining fees for the 2023-2024 school year, the Board of Trustees learned Friday.

The board will now weigh that information before they return in June to vote on the matter.

Under consideration is a 3% increase to tuition, a 4% bump to services and activities fees, and a 7% hike in dining and housing costs.

The net result is this, according to Chief Financial Officer Dave Kohler: The estimated cost of attendance at Evergreen for a state resident to attend full-time and live on campus in the 2023-2024 school year would be $29,962, up from $27,007 for the 2022-2023 school year.

“The largest component of this is the housing and dining costs,” he said.

The proposed increase in tuition is in line with what the other public universities in the state are planning, Kohler said, while the other fee increases are tied to higher labor, food and supply costs.

The 4% increase in services and activities fees — which are used to support a number of things on campus, including the campus radio station, the athletic program and the college activities building — would raise the full-time annual fee by $30, from $759 to $789.

The housing and dining increase would result in an additional $550 to $680 per year, or $60 to $75 per month, according to college information.

Susan Hopp, interim director of residential and dining services, said the college monitors the cost of the private-sector apartment market so that the college is never charging more for its housing. Campus housing includes all utilities and internet access, she said.

Trustee Ed Zuckerman asked about the demand for on-campus housing. Hopp said 450 students lived on campus last fall and they expect 125 more next fall.

“We have a commitment to do everything we can to provide a space for every student,” she said. “It may not be their first choice, but we will have enough space.”

One of the future housing destinations is one of the college’s oldest: Building A, otherwise known as A-dorm. The college is in the process of renovating that space. The work would typically take two years, but the college is trying to finish in nine months, Hopp said.

Hopp wanted to make clear that A-dorm didn’t close because it was condemned or unsafe. It closed because during the pandemic there simply weren’t enough students to fill it.

“Every safety feature has been addressed,” she said.

Zuckerman asked about resources for students struggling with housing and dining costs. Hopp said the college does accept payment plans, plus the student emergency fund provides grants of up to $500 and the Basic Needs Center offers food resources.

Student Trustee Shane Everbeck asked whether there could be a change to the food services vendor the college uses, which is a company called Aramark. He said some students and faculty have concerns about Aramark’s ties to the U.S. prison food system, as well as concerns about service and quality.

Everbeck was told the college’s contract with Aramark comes up for a bid in a year.

Board of Trustees

The board on Friday also welcomed Pam MacEwan, the former chief executive of the Washington Health Benefit Exchange, as a new trustee and said goodbye to Thomas Dixon, the longtime leader of the Tacoma Urban League, who died April 26 at 92. Dixon served on Evergreen’s board from 1973 to 1977.

Dexter Gordon, the college’s executive vice president, attended Dixon’s funeral, he said.

Beginning in 1968, Dixon served 32 years with the Tacoma Urban League. He also was active with the local NAACP, Tacoma Public Schools and the Tacoma Pierce County Black Collective, Gordon said.

Dixon was the eighth member of the college’s board. In Tacoma circles, he was affectionately known as “the leader,” Gordon said.

“I’m sure this board will join me in expressing to Tom’s family and all those he left behind our deepest condolences and warm appreciation for his years of service on this board,” he said.

MacEwan graduated from Evergreen in 1976 and later earned a master’s degree in teaching from Brown University in Rhode Island.

Before joining the Health Benefit Exchange, she was senior vice president for public affairs and a member of the executive leadership team for 16 years at Group Health Cooperative, which is now Kaiser Permanente.

Zuckerman, who described MacEwan as a longtime friend, accused her of underplaying her role at the Washington Health Benefit Exchange.

When the Affordable Care Act was first rolled out, some states struggled with enrollment into the program because they relied on a federal website. Here, though, the Washington site hummed along, making it a national leader, Zuckerman said.

“We’re very lucky to have her as a board member,” he said.