Annual Payout Value & Annual Tuition Increases Over Time
The 2023-24 GET unit payout value for the 2023-24 academic year is $120.16.
GET works on a unit system, with 100 GET units equal to one year of resident, undergraduate tuition and state-mandated fees at Washington’s most expensive public university. For the 2023-24 academic year, the highest annual tuition and state-mandated fees at a public university in our state is $12,016, meaning that the 2023-24 payout value for one GET unit is $120.16 (or 1/100th). Tuition is established at the state’s higher education institutions once a year by each school’s Board of Regents. Tuition is largely influenced based on the funding each school receives from the state legislature. The following chart shows the GET unit payout value as well as changes in in-state tuition over time (since 2000):
Setting the Unit Purchase Price
The 2023-24 GET Unit Purchase Price was set at $120.16 through June 25, 2024.
Setting an informed and well-researched unit purchase price is critical to maintaining the financial stability of the GET program and providing a fair price for customers. Annually, the Committee on Advanced Tuition Payment and College Savings sets the GET unit purchase price. In 2011, the Committee adopted a unit pricing model that includes three components: the expected cost of future tuition, an expense component that contributes to the cost of administering GET, and a 15 percent reserve to ensure financial stability for the program. It also includes an optional amortization component that is not part of the current pricing. The Office of the State Actuary (OSA) supports the Committee by providing a pricing analysis that provides a unit price range and a best-estimate unit price. The Committee considers this analysis in setting the final unit price, which may or may not match the best-estimate unit price. See the GET Program Details Booklet for more information on how the Committee determines the unit purchase price.
2023-24 GET Unit Price Breakdown
The Committee on Advanced Tuition Payment and College Savings sets the GET unit purchase price before each enrollment year.
*The unit price for the 2023-24 enrollment period was set at $120.16 through June 25th.
The unit price is composed of three components:
- Expected Costs
Covers the expected present value of the cost of future Tuition and State-Mandated Fees.
- Program Expenses
The Unit Purchase Price includes an expense component that determines the amount each future unit sold should contribute to the program’s assets for the payment of future Program administrative expenses. OSA estimates this amount based on the long-term cost of administering current unredeemed units. OSA determines this estimate by dividing the present value of estimated program expenses (as provided by the Program) by the number of unredeemed units as of the program’s most recent valuation date and increases the resulting amount with one year of assumed interest at 4.75%.
- Reserve
Covers unexpected future costs such as higher than expected tuition growth or lower than expected investment returns.
Historical Unit Prices
- Unit Prices Over Time (2001-2023)
Program Funded Status
Annually, the Washington State Actuary conducts a valuation of GET that assesses the program’s financial health. The most recent actuarial valuation, as of June 30, 2023, indicated that the program's funded status is at 148 percent. The funded status reflects the amount of money the program would need in order to cover all current contracts as they come due in the future, compared to the assets on hand. The 148 percent funded status means the program is expected to be able to cover all of its current and future obligations without the need for state appropriations. It is important to remember that if funds were ever insufficient to cover all of the program’s obligations, GET customers are protected by Washington State Law (RCW 28B.95.050).
Program Fees
The following program information document outlines all of the account, refund and organizational fees associated with the GET Program.
Qualified Higher Education Expenses
You can use your GET units to pay for any of the qualified higher education expenses in the chart below.