WHEN Bill Introduced In Senate; But House Leaders
Urging Delay of the Project for Study
Senate Higher Education Chair Al Bauer, D-Vancouver,
is preparing legislation to fully-fund the $40 million ìWashington
Higher Education Network," the innovative telecommunications
proposal that expands the WSU "WHETS" to all six
four-year institutions and the stateís community colleges.
The proposal, a rewrite of Senate Bill 6705, could come up for
a vote in committee Thursday. The proposal has also picked up
strong support from US West, which requested technical information
from the institutions before publicly endorsing the plan at a
Senate Ways and Means Committee hearing. But the proposal seems
to be in serious trouble in the State House of Representatives.
House Appropriations Chair Tom Huff, R-Gig Harbor, cited a ìton
of unresolved questionsî around the issue in comments that
appeared in The News Tribune of Tacoma. "We're
looking at something more of a study," said Huff. That
would be the 12th study of such distance learning technology as
the WHETS system has undergone 11 state studies. Huff has submitted
a series of questions to the higher education institutions. Here
are some excerpts of those questions and the answers he received:
What board or entity should lead an effort to
develop a comprehensive needs assessment, cost-benefit analysis
and funding proposal?
The Information Services Board (ISB) would review
and approve the technical, business, and financial elements of
the proposal submitted by the provosts and the state Board for
Community and Technical Colleges. Similarly, the state Higher
Education Coordinating Board would evaluate and approve academic
programs. Even though the budget we prepared for the WHEN project
reflects the use of (state-owned) microwave, we anticipate that
there will be alternative technology options available to us (such
as fiber optics cable leased from private vendors) that may reduce
the overall cost of the project. Our preference is that the transmission
would be from leased fiber optics cable. Pricing and predictability
are the criteria state officials will use to evaluate options.
As we have demonstrated in WHETS and Internet projects, we are
committed to marshaling the state's resources responsibly
and we are prepared to be accountable to the Legislature.
How does the current WHETS system fit into this
vision?
WHETS is a 28-channel backbone system which currently
serves WSU Pullman, CWU, Tri-Cities, Spokane, Vancouver, Wenatchee,
Yakima and Seattle Central Community College. WHEN is the next
logical phase in the development of higher education technology.
It upgrades the WHETS backbone to 84 channels and expands to
every community and technical college as well as UW, WWU, TESC
and EWU.
Does the funding proposal detail the cost of the
network/technology plan, by increment, in prioritized order,
so that the Legislature could phase in the network by component?
While the Legislature could conceive of different
options for phasing, we are concerned that the comprehensive nature
of this project and the partnership we have achieved could be
adversely affected. The WHEN proposal is for a comprehensive
systematic backbone. Building that backbone is our priority.
Breaking up the backbone could result in potential increases
in costs and lost opportunities. An example is the probability
that broadcast frequencies would be unavailable at many locations
or cost substantially more in later years. Building (electronic)
classrooms is another important element of the proposal. If the
Legislature decided not to fund classrooms in some communities,
then there would be no deliverable courses, and those communities
would not initially benefit from use of the system.
What assurance can be provided that a network
would provide a cost-effective delivery option?
Competition among private sector vendors will promote
cost-effective options for evaluation by the Information Services
Board and higher education institutions. The history of WHETS
may be instructive in making this case on a cost-per-student basis.
When WHETS was first implemented, the cost per student for some
programs was up to $30,000. Over time, that cost has gone down
to less than $8,000.
Is the higher education network interoperable
with (connectable to) K-12?
The WHEN proposal is designed to state standards,
and to be interoperable with K-12 and other broad constituencies.
Our vision is that we will partner with others as resources become
available. WHEN is a system in which higher education is the
primary user, but other entities can utilize the network on a
cost-recovery basis.
This update is shared by broadcast fax and electronic
mail to friends of Washington State University as state government
developments occur. Contact Karen Fischer, WSU State-wide
Affairs, 509/335-6665. Larry Ganders is at 360/438-7552; Fax:
360/438-8104. Internet address is ganders@wsunix.wsu.edu. Visit
our web home page at www.wsu.edu/IR/wsulegis/olympia.html.
