Western Washington University to raise tuition

BELLINGHAM — A 2.2-percent tuition increase is coming for resident undergraduate students at Western Washington University.

The Bellingham Herald reports Western’s Board of Trustees approved the increase Thursday along with the university’s 2017-18 annual operating budget of $168.8 million.

Tuition rates also will rise 3.5 percent for nonresident undergraduates, resident graduates, nonresident graduates and MBA students.

Western officials say the state Legislature, as part of its 2017-19 two-year biennial operating budget, authorized a 2.2-percent increase at the state’s four-year public higher education institutions.

The increase will be reflected in the fall.

Officials noted the increase follows an overall 20-percent reduction in resident undergraduate tuition at Western in the past two years.