Colleges offer to freeze tuition, but only if they get more state funding

Washington’s public four-year colleges and universities would agree to freeze tuition for another two years if the state Legislature increases college funding by 16 percent, the presidents of those institutions said Thursday.

That 16 percent, which would total $198 million, would also allow the schools to expand their enrollment and increase the number of students who earn degrees in high-demand fields, according to the statement from the Council of Presidents, made up of the presidents of Washington’s six four-year schools.