This briefing paper examines Washington State's higher education tuition and fee policies for its public institutions. It discusses the state's current structure for determining tuition and fees; and compares tuition and fees to economic indicators, including state appropriations and other states' policies. The paper also briefly highlights the Washington State Legislature's directives and the Washington State Higher Education Coordinating Board's recommendations and studies concerning tuition and fee policy issues since 1986. Among the current issues that remain unresolved are the following: (1) the appropriate cost sharing relationship between students and the state; (2) the concept of establishing the building fee as a percentage of general tuition and fees; (3) the concept of providing institutional flexibility to impose tuition and fee rates higher than statutory rates for nonresident undergraduate students and resident and nonresident graduate and professional students; (4) the concept of tuition and fee revenues remaining in a local institutional fund; (5) the concept of a general surcharge during the 1993-95 biennium to generate revenue during a state fiscal emergency; (6) the relationship between tuition and fee policy and student financial aid; and (7) the relationship of tuition and fee policy and the current structure of tuition, fee waivers, and residency statutes. The appendix provides peer comparisons of tuition for each student level and status at each institution and the community college system. (GLR)