Stepping into Fall with Statewide Resources: Grants, Training, and Partnerships
Message from Executive Director Ben Cannon
The start of the academic year and recent national buzz about student loan forgiveness remind us that college affordability continues to be of urgent importance in Oregon.
Just how serious is the college affordability crisis in Oregon? The HECC research office publishes an affordability measure every year in our Statewide Snapshots. The recent report shows 40 percent of Oregon resident public college and university students cannot afford college costs even after you take into account resources including state grants such as the Oregon Opportunity Grant and the Promise, federal grants like the Pell, most institutional financial aid, student work earnings, and the amount their family can contribute. With rising college costs, the solution for far too many Oregonians is to take out debt, not to pursue their goals at all, or to stop out. The state financial aid we offer is deeply insufficient to ensure that college certificate and degree programs are within reach. At $574 per student, Oregon’s state investment in financial aid as calculated in a recent national report is nearly 40 percent below the national average and well below that our neighboring West Coast states California ($1,084/student) and Washington ($1,904/student).
We need achievable state solutions, and we are proposing them for 2023. On September 1, HECC submitted its agency request budget for 2023-25. The Commission has recommended a nearly four-fold increase in need-based financial aid to put college and training programs within reach for more low and middle-income Oregonians. We are also working with the Joint Legislative Task Force on Student Success for Underrepresented Students in Higher Education workgroups as it crafts recommendations to transform our systems to foster the talents of historically underserved communities. As Oregonians think about college costs and student loan debt, we should keep in mind that a future of affordable, equitable college opportunity is achievable for our state if we invest sufficiently and smartly.
In addition to budget recommendations, the HECC is expanding our partnerships through the Future Ready Oregon workforce and training investment package and other collaborative efforts. We are proud to share in this issue the launch of our new Oregon Student Aid website, our upcoming annual Adult Basic Skills conference, and much more. Thanks as always for your engagement.
Ben Cannon, Executive Director, HECC
We are Pleased to Present the New Oregon Student Aid Website
The HECC Office of Student Access and Completion is pleased to announce the launch of the newly designed Oregon Student Aid website at OregonStudentAid.gov, the state website where thousands of Oregonians go to apply for state-administered grants and scholarships to help afford their college goals, and to get help planning for college, training or careers. The new site features a mobile-friendly, accessible design aimed at current and future students, adult learners, and those who support them, including counselors and other career and college readiness practitioners, educators, families, and others. While the address is the same as the previous OSAC site, the new website name of Oregon Student Aid (OregonStudentAid.gov) gives audiences an easy-to-remember parallel with the FederalStudentAid.gov site that is the primary site for federal financial aid.
The site features easy-to-navigate updated sections on financial aid applications, state grants, over 600 scholarships, ASPIRE mentoring program, outreach opportunities, and other college and career planning resources. Students can complete, submit, and follow up on applications. Students and those who support them can attend webinars on a variety of career and college readiness topics. Practitioners can access the partner portal, learn about workshops, order publications, and request presentations. We encourage our partners to explore the new site and share it widely!
Future Ready Oregon Update: Thanks to Partners, Strong Response to the First Round of Workforce Ready Grant Applications
The HECC is pleased to announce that thanks to our partners helping to spread the news, we received a very strong applicant pool—146 complete applications—for the Future Ready Oregon Workforce Ready Grants, Round One: Capacity Building grants. Evaluation is in process, and a total of up to $9.8 million will be distributed through this first round of grants. These grants are focused on increasing capacity to offer workforce training, direct financial supports, and/or wraparound services to job-seekers from priority populations pursuing careers in several high demand fields.
We thank our community partners who have shared insights that led to strategies for an inclusive Request for Application (RFA) process, as well as those who have shared ways we can continue to improve. We appreciate our partners who have volunteered their time and talents to review applications and engage with community partners to share news of this opportunity broadly across the state—we couldn’t do this without you!
This first round of grants is intended to broaden the type, number, and capacity of organizations that comprise Oregon’s workforce system, and the strong applicant pool will help us achieve these goals. We’re pleased to share a few other noteworthy facts on our applicant pool.
Celebrating National Adult Education and Family Literacy Week
September 18th-24th is National Adult Education and Family Literacy Week, a time to highlight the importance of adult education in Oregon and nationwide. This dedicated time in September originated in 2009, created by the National Coalition for Literacy in conjunction with members of congress to shine light on this important work. National data* shows:
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One in five adults have trouble reading communications from their children’s teachers.
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One in three adults have difficulty creating a household budget.
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One in four adults have trouble navigating websites and using digital tools at work.
The HECC Office of Community Colleges and Workforce Development works towards breaking down some of these barriers with the Oregon High School Equivalency Program, which works in conjunction with the National GED Testing Service. The Adult Basic Skills program works with community colleges to provide Oregon adults needed skills for family self-sufficiency, careers, community involvement, and further education. We would like to thank and acknowledge the many adult education partners and instructors across the state who serve Oregon learners in this important journey every day.
The HECC will be hosting a conference for Adult Basic Skills in October (formerly known as the Oregon GED Summit). Learn more about the conference in the article below!
*Source: Adult education transforms lives - National Coalition for Literacy. Adult Education Fact Sheet. (n.d.). Retrieved September 8, 2022, from https://national-coalition-literacy.org/
 Keynote Speakers Announced for Adult Basic Skills Conference 2022 "Going the Extra Mile" - October 24-25, 2022
Registration is open for the 2022 Adult Basic Skills Conference: Going the Extra Mile. The two-day conference to be held on October 24-25 in Salem will focus on the lengths we go to administer exceptional programs and deliver high-quality instruction. The conference's goal is to provide effective strategies, techniques, latest trends, and best practices in the field of adult basic skills and high school equivalency education.
This two-day professional development convening provides a forum for Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada, Utah and California educators and administrators from various adult basic education and high school equivalency programs, to share their knowledge, educational practices and resources with colleagues, the academic community, and influential education leaders.
The conference will have two plenary sessions with a keynote address speaker on each day. We are very pleased to announce that the opening keynote speaker for the conference on October 24 is Kellie Blair Hardt, of the GED Testing Service Board of Directors. She is a GED ® test graduate, college graduate, community college math instructor, and a doctoral degree candidate. Ms. Hardt’s keynote, “Keep Accelerating,” will speak on the importance of progress. We're excited to announce that the keynote speaker on October 25 is HECC Commissioner Fernando Rojas-Galván. Commissioner Rojas-Galván is an instructor of Spanish, English as a Second Language (ESL) at Clatsop Community College, and will share his unique, rich experience supporting and guiding adult basic skills students.
HECC Advances Request for 18 Capital Projects at Oregon Colleges and Universities
Each two years, as part of HECC’s development of recommendations for a comprehensive state postsecondary education budget, the HECC works with Oregon’s colleges and universities to identify and propose investments in buildings and facilities. The significant investments that the State of Oregon makes in capital projects are intended to ensure Oregonians have the highest quality, accessible learning environments, while focusing on maintenance and fiscal stewardship of the state’s extensive assets on Oregon campuses.
As part of the budget development process, institutions develop capital proposals requesting State-backed financing through bonds. Often a multi-year process from the concept to formal recommendation, proposals are submitted each biennium. The 2023-25 HECC Agency Request Budget for capital includes $610 million for 13 public university and $38 million for five community colleges. The HECC uses rubrics, or simplified grading tools, to identify how each project meets State, HECC and institutional goals, as well as being guided by a 10 Year Capital Plan for the public universities. The top three university projects this year emphasized renewal of current space; workforce and completion priorities; deferred maintenance; and/or supporting research, economic development and collaboration. The top three community college projects anchored proposals in science, technology, engineering, math (STEM) and laboratory space; wraparound student services; and/or career-technology based training. Ultimately, the Oregon Legislature will consider requests in 2023. Learn more about the typical state budgeting timeline here.
Recent examples of funded projects that are complete or underway include Portland State University’s Vanport Building and Portland Community College’s Oregon Manufacturing Innovation Center.
Academic Program Approvals
At its August Commission public meeting, the HECC approved the following new academic programs at Oregon's community colleges. Find details in the August 11 meeting materials here.
- Blue Mountain Community College – Business Administration AAS
- Clackamas Community College – Industrial Maintenance AAS
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