Video: UW may have to trim budget

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SEATTLE - With the state facing a $5 billion shortfall, look for serious cuts in higher education.

The University of Washington may have to trim its next budget by 20 percent.

Right now the UW is experiencing record enrollment numbers. Belt-tightening could mean fewer kids get in and higher tuition.

UW junior Latasha Green is already feeling the tuition pinch. She pays $7,000 a year, lives at home with her mom to save on room and board and teaches tap dancing on the side to pay for her education.

"Its really tough cause I have to work a lot," she said. "I don't get to spend time with my family. I'm always working and going to school."

The University of Washington Board of Regents is facing a huge financial challenge.

The university must model a budget based on a 20 percent cut. That equals a loss of $167 million over the next two years.

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University of Washington, Seattle.

"It strikes me as inevitable that tuition would go up," UW President Mark Emmert said. "How much is at issue."

It's too early to talk about specifics, but brace for these possibilities: The cuts could mean larger class sizes, fewer teachers and maybe fewer students.

The budget crunch comes at a time when the UW president is the second highest paid public university executive in the nation, with an annual salary of nearly $900,000. Is he willing to take a cut?

"We're going to have to look at all of the options available to us," Emmert said.

There's no way to take some money from the UW athletic budget. The athletic program is a completely separate budget funded through ticket sales and donations