Tuition at WWU will drop about $1,000 next year for most students

Tuition at Western Washington University will be 15 percent cheaper for most students — but slightly more expensive for others — beginning next year, the university said.

The reduction, which applies only to resident undergraduates, comes after a mandate from the state Legislature that public universities lower tuition for those students. WWU’s Board of Trustees approved the reduction Thursday when it approved the university’s 2016-17 operating budget.

Western had already approved a 5 percent reduction for resident undergrads for the 2015-16 school year.