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HECC Collaborations
e-newsletter, July 2023
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Recent Initiatives of the Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) |
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Oregonians will Benefit from Historic Investments in Financial Aid and other Postsecondary Investments this Session
Message from Executive Director Ben Cannon
It is an inspiring time of the year for many: commencement season! Congratulations to recent graduates, and tremendous thanks to everyone who supported them in their journeys.
I’m happy to report that current and future learners will benefit from historic investments in financial aid and other critical postsecondary funding recently approved by the Oregon Legislature. We are grateful to Governor Kotek and legislators for prioritizing college affordability, student success, and workforce training for Oregonians. We also thank all our institution and community partners who engaged and collaborated in the budget development process. It is always a long, detailed process, and the input at every point is deeply valued.
The major increase in the Oregon Opportunity Grant, Oregon’s long-underfunded need-based financial aid program, is good news for low and middle-income Oregon students who will see higher awards to help them cover more of their college costs. This investment will increase access to higher education and reduce student loan burden for families struggling with college costs or struggling with food or housing instability.
In addition, the Legislature’s continued investment in the Oregon Tribal Student Grant, launched by the HECC in 2022, will maintain this critically important program that reduces affordability barriers for students who are members of Oregon’s nine federally recognized Tribes. This grant was also codified into Oregon law for the first time this session and we look forward to building upon the great momentum underway as we partner with the Oregon tribes to support tribal student success.
Increased investment in educational and operating funds for Oregon’s community colleges and public universities is good news for students served by those 24 public institutions. This investment builds on the momentum of recent state reinvestments in postsecondary education/training to bolster a system that continues to rank low nationally in state funding per student, and to fund Oregon’s public system to be strong and nimble to meet evolving statewide needs.
Finally, the continuation of workforce funding and reauthorization of Future Ready Oregon investments will allow us to continue the great work underway to prepare Oregonians from historically underserved and priority communities for family-wage careers and fill critical workforce needs.
While these investments will benefit communities for years to come, we look forward to future conversations with legislators and partners on the state’s long-term investment in the postsecondary system, including additional strategies recommended by an interim task force in 2021 to address longstanding disparities in higher education and support the success of underrepresented Oregonians.
Enjoy the other news presented here, and thank you for your engagement as always.
Highlights of the State Postsecondary Education and Training Budget for 2023-25
We are pleased to report highlights of the postsecondary education and training budget approved by the Oregon Legislature in the HECC budget bill (HB 5025) as well as additional investments included in SB 5506 and HB 5005. These bills are now awaiting the Governor's approval. We will report in more detail on investments and other legislative outcomes in a future summary.
FINANCIAL AID AND ACCESS PROGRAMS
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$100 million increase to the Oregon Opportunity Grant (OOG): Oregon’s need-based financial aid program serving Oregonians with grants toward postsecondary expenses received a $100 million increase for 2023-25, bringing the funding to $308 million.
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$24 million for continuation of the Oregon Tribal Student Grant: This recently launched grant program that reduces affordability barriers for members of Oregon’s nine federally-recognized tribes attending eligible Oregon colleges is funded at $24 million for 2023-25. Based on this amount, HECC will fully award students next year, and return to the Legislature if further appropriations are needed.
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Funding is continued at current service levels for Oregon Promise and the Oregon Student Child Care Grant. The National Guard State Tuition Assistance (ONGSTA) Program is increased by $800,000.
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$5 million for college access: A one-time investment of $1 million each made in 2021-23 to five college access programs including ASPIRE (administered by HECC) is continued as another one-time investment for 2023-25.
PUBLIC COMMUNITY COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITY FUNDS
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$800 million for Community College Support: The educational and operational expenses at Oregon 17 community colleges (primarily through the Community College Support Fund) are funded at $800 million, an increase above current service level.
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$1 billion for Public University Support: The educational and operational expenses at seven public universities (through the Public University Support Fund) are funded at $1 billion, also an increase above current service level.
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Up to $25 million for university fiscal sustainability: Fiscal sustainability at the regional universities and Portland State University is supported by $6.2 million that will be distributed in grants by the HECC, and up to $18.7 million more in grant funds that may be considered by the Emergency Board.
- Funding is increased for the Statewide Public Service Programs (The Agricultural Experiment Station, Extension Services, and Forest Research Laboratory), and at current service level for the Public University State Programs and for Oregon Health and Science University with the addition of funding for certain programs.
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The Strong Start program at the seven public universities, instituted during the pandemic to support student success, will be continued into the next biennium by re-allocating $6.8 million in unspent funds from 2021-23.
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Increase of $1.8 million to the Sports Action Lottery, which is dedicated primarily to scholarships for underrepresented and women’s intercollegiate athletes and graduate student scholarships.
ADDITIONAL WORKFORCE AND EDUCATION INVESTMENTS
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Reauthorization of Future Ready Oregon funds: The Legislature reauthorized $111.8 million Other Funds in ARPA funding to continue HECC’s implementation of Future Ready Oregon, an investment package passed in 2022 that supports education and training Oregonians need for family-wage careers, with a focus on historically underserved communities.
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Continued funding for the Oregon Workforce Development System supporting regional workforce development activities directed by Oregon’s nine local workforce development boards and Youth Workforce Development investments administered by the HECC. A one-time investment of $10 million made in 2021-23 the Oregon Conservation Corps is continued as another one-time investment for 2023-25.
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HECC IT Modernization Project is funded with expenditure limitation authority for bond proceeds from 21-23 biennium and the authority for new bond funding for Phase 2 of the Project.
CAPITAL BONDING AUTHORITY
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University Capital Funding: The budget funds additional bonding authority for Public University Capital Improvement and Renewal at $100 million, along with bonding authority for six university projects totaling $243.7 million, including the first three prioritized projects on the HECC capital list: University of Oregon’s Friendly Hall, Oregon State University’s Collaborative Innovation Complex, and Portland State University’s Vernier Science and Gateway Projects. In addition, the Legislature approved funding for the PSU Smith Memorial Union and the Oregon Tech Geothermal System Emergency Renovation.
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Community College Capital Funding: The budget funds bonding authority for five new community college (CC) capital construction projects totaling $37.5 million, including Lane CC Science, Math, Engineering Building Renovation, Southwestern Oregon CC SUCCESS Project Building Remodels, Columbia Gorge CC The Dalles/Hood River Facility Renovations, Umpqua CC Welcome Center & Medical Careers Training Hub, and Portland CC Rock Creek Building 2 Complex. It also reauthorizes six existing community college capital projects through the upcoming sale of Article XI-G bonds.
Application Open for Oregon Tribal Student Grant for 2023-24
The Oregon Tribal Student Grant application is now open for the 2023-2024 school year, with a priority deadline of August 1, 2023 for students planning to attend this fall. The Oregon Tribal Student Grant provides funding for eligible Oregon tribal students to offset the cost of attendance at eligible Oregon colleges and universities. Current, new and continuing students who are members of Oregon's 9 federally recognized tribes are encouraged to apply for the 2023-24 academic year. Additional details including information on eligibility and how to apply are on our website: https://oregonstudentaid.gov/grants/oregon-tribal-student-grant/
Volunteers Needed to Review Applications for Workforce Ready Grants
The HECC is calling for volunteers to join the Evaluation Review Committee for the second round of Future Ready Oregon Workforce Ready Grants. This committee will score eligible applications using criteria established in the Request for Applications (RFA). Scores will inform funding and award decisions for Workforce Ready Grants, Round Two. Evaluation Review Committee members will receive training and written instructions prior to starting the review process. Before volunteering, please consider the guidelines detailed here on the date range, time commitment, training/orientation, method of evaluation, and conflicts of interest. Interested in volunteering? Submit a volunteer interest form by July 10. Any questions should be directed to: FutureReadyOregon@hecc.oregon.gov
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 Impact of Past Oregon Public Higher Education Investments (Fiscal Year 2022) Highlighted in National SHEF Report
The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO)’s FY2022 State Higher Education Finance (SHEF) report examines the trends, context, and consequences of state higher education funding decisions through fiscal year 2022. The HECC Office of Postsecondary Finance and Capital has highlighted key Oregon funding trends based on this national report in a short summary here. Some high level trends include:
- Oregon enrollment continued to decline at a slightly faster pace than the national average. Enrollment also declined nationally as well as in most states.
- Public investments are making a difference but Oregon continues to lag the national average. Oregon’s public investment in higher education per student FTE increased 7.3 percent between FY2021 and FY2022 but remains well below the national average and ranked us 32nd among all states.
- Sector-level per-student funding rankings vary, and the definitions for each sector described in the document above are important to understand.
- At $699 per student, Oregon’s state investment in financial aid was 29 percent below the national average and remained well below that of our neighboring West Coast states, California ($1,113/student) and Washington ($1,753/student).
- Tuition and fees continued to make up the majority of Oregon institutional revenue, and a larger proportion than the national average.
The HECC uses this report frequently because it reflects the most reliable available data for national comparisons of overall public investment in higher education. The experience of individual Oregon institutions or sectors is likely to differ from this overall picture. The SHEEO press release on national trends can be read here, and the SHEEO dashboard on Oregon data is available here.
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Academic Program Approvals
At its June 8, 2023 Commission meeting, the Commission approved the following new academic programs at Oregon's public institutions. Read more about the programs here.
Community Colleges:
- Blue Mountain Community College: Unmanned Aircraft Systems, AAS
- Central Oregon Community College: Community Health, Certificate of Completion (CCO)
- Southwestern Oregon Community College: Agroecology, AAS; Water Quality Treatment, AAS
- Umpqua CC: Accounting Certificate, CC1; Expert Systems, Automation, Machine Learning and Robotics, CC; Mechatronics, AAS; Mechatronics Certificate, CC1; Medical Assisting Certificate, CC1; and Water Quality Technology, AAS
- Linn-Benton CC: Medical Assisting, CC1
Universities:
- Portland State University: BA/BS Chicano/Latino Studies; BA/BS Business Economics
Commission Revises Community College Funding Distribution Model to Help Drive Student Success and Equity
At its June 8, 2023 public meeting, the HECC approved a major revision to the way in which over $550 million annually in local and state taxpayer funding is distributed to the state’s 17 community colleges. Developed after a year-long collaborative process, the new student-focused distribution model dedicates a proportion of taxpayer funds to support student success and equity outcomes for Oregon community college students. This is the first time in a generation the community college funding formula has been extensively reviewed in relation to statewide and community goals, and the changes reflect an intentional focus on improving success of underserved populations. Learn more in our press release and links to documents here.
Oregon Adult Basic Skills Conference 2023: Call for Proposals
We are pleased to announce the call for proposals for the Oregon Adult Basic Skills Conference: Collaborate to Innovate, to be held on October 23-24, 2023. The theme, Collaborate to Innovate, highlights the importance of working together to address the complex challenges of Adult Basic Skills education and create new solutions to improve outcomes for learners. We welcome submissions that showcase collaborative and innovative approaches to teaching and learning in this field. Read more here on the call for proposals, which are due August 15, 2023. Those interested in attending are encouraged to save the date, and we will share registration details in future updates.
Oregon Adult Education Strategies Featured in Webinar
In April, the National Reporting System (NRS) featured Oregon alongside Indiana and New York in a webinar titled “State Spotlight on Adult Education Strategies for Recruitment and Enrollment.” Two members of the Oregon WIOA Title II team at the HECC--Ashley Garrigan, State Leadership Coordinator, and Kelly Zinck, Education Team Research analyst, shared Oregon’s recruitment and enrollment vision, detailing the state’s goals of regaining pre-COVID levels of Title II enrollment and increasing services to prioritize underserved populations. The recording of the webinar can be viewed on the NRS Website.
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Partner News
Governor Kotek Names Dr. Charlene Williams Next Director of Oregon Department of Education: In a recent press release, Governor Tina Kotek, as Superintendent of Public Instruction, announced she has appointed Dr. Charlene Williams to serve as the next Director of the Oregon Department of Education and Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction. Williams brings 30 years of experience as a teacher and public school administrator, working in school districts of all sizes. She is the first Black woman in Oregon history to be appointed to the role and will officially take over as interim director on Monday, July 10. The Oregon Senate will take up her confirmation as permanent director in September. Read more here.
Oregon Attorney General Rosenblum Hosts Student Debt 3.0 Symposium on July 19-20, 2023: Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum is hosting her third national symposium on the student debt crisis, and invites participants. The event is an opportunity to digest the recent Supreme Court decision on debt relief and chart a path forward, especially with federal student loan payments set to resume this fall. The keynote speaker will be Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Rohit Chopra. Presentations will include a discussion of the Supreme Court’s recent decision, the federal student loan Return to Repayment later this year; emerging trends and consumer protection risks from private student loans; and more. This event will be held in Portland and is open to the public. Please RSVP to garrett.t.reagan@doj.state.or.us.
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