Oregon Sees Notable Gains for Student Affordability
Message from Executive Director Ben Cannon
I hope you have enjoyed the Pacific Northwest this summer. With the Legislative Session concluded and the school year quickly approaching, we are busy implementing investments that are focused on fostering thriving futures for Oregonians.
I'm happy to share good news for college affordability this month. Thanks to the Governor's and Legislature's major investment in the Oregon Opportunity Grant, for the first time, HECC is able to make awards equivalent to 75 percent of average tuition to the highest need Oregonians attending a community college or a public university. This is a large increase in grant amounts for high-need students, and is welcome news for students and families across the state who are struggling with college costs or concerned about student debt. Given this program's strong track record, we are optimistic about the impact the investment will have on helping low-income students afford college, succeed to graduation, and avoid burdensome debt loads. Read more about the increase here.
While we are making immediate investments to support students starting fall 2023 with the new investment, we also continue to measure how the state system is doing overall for student affordability. For several years, we have measured affordability by comparing the cost of attendance at a college or university with the expected financial resources for each student. Students whose costs outweigh their resources are deemed as facing unaffordable costs. Here too we have good news to report, as Oregon’s unaffordability rate has dropped from 43 percent to 34 percent in the most recent data (2021-22). Our research team has published an issue brief on factors contributing to this improvement (read more about the research brief here). And this measure is one of many reported annually by our talented research and data team via our Statewide Snapshots report, which has just been updated (read about the new Snapshots here). We look forward to building on this progress, and we will continue to work to advocate for expansion of access and affordability so that cost is not a barrier to gaining the benefits of postsecondary education and training.
Also in this newsletter you can read updates on new administrative rules to support our continuing work to streamline student transfer pathways between two- and four-year institutions, the launch of industry consortia, and more. Thank you as always for your engagement.
Notice: HECC Collaborations on Pause until early 2024
We are diving into a project to improve our public communications through a redesign of our agency website. Given this focus of staff time, the HECC Collaborations newsletter will be on pause for the remainder of this year, and we will resume in 2024. We will continue to keep our partners informed of our work through our other forms of communication including our weekly News Clips, press releases, and other HECC newsletters/updates focused on specific programs and subjects. You can update your subscriptions here.
New Research Brief Examines Improvement in Affordability at Oregon Community Colleges and Public Universities
We are pleased to publish a new research brief on improvements in affordability at public colleges and universities in Oregon, and the underlying reasons behind these improvements. Through a combination of expanded financial aid, reduced enrollment, and relatively stable tuition in recent years, more Oregon students at public colleges and universities had resources to cover the cost of attendance in the last two years than at any time in recent history.
For many Oregonians, especially those from low-income backgrounds, the high cost of education is a barrier to obtaining a postsecondary certificate or degree and the upward mobility it can offer. However, the share of Oregon students who face costs that their expected resources do not cover fell from 43 percent to 34 percent over the last two years.
The improvement stems both from increased state financial aid and from pandemic-related factors, including federal relief efforts, steep enrollment declines, and relatively stable tuition. This research brief focuses on data from 2021-22. With multiple new expansions in state-based financial aid—especially a significant increase to the Oregon Opportunity Grant in 2023—Oregon is likely to see continued progress in affordability in coming years.
With Major Investment, Oregon Opportunity Grant Awards Increase to 75 Percent of Average Tuition at Oregon Public Colleges and Universities
Thanks to the $100 million increase in the Oregon Opportunity Grant (OOG) approved by the Oregon Legislature and recommended by Governor Kotek, more help is available for students struggling the most with college costs.
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With the added funding, the HECC Office of Student Access and Completion (OSAC) is increasing award amounts to up to 75 percent of average tuition for the lowest income Oregonians, and recently posted the new OOG grant amount tables with details on the tiered award amounts by need level. These need-based grants follow the students. For the first time, HECC is able to make awards to high-need community college and public university students that equal 75 percent of their sector’s average tuition costs. Students at eligible private 4-year institutions can receive the same maximum award as at the public universities. In addition to covering a higher percentage of tuition, the new OOG award amount coupled with the Federal Pell Grant—for which many OOG recipients qualify—is expected to cover about 45 percent of the total cost of attendance (COA) at the community colleges and 47 percent of COA at the public universities for the highest need students in 2023-24. For the highest need community college students who receive the OOG, the Pell Grant and the Oregon Promise, the combined awards are expected to cover up to 53 percent of the total cost of attendance.
Oregon has had a steep mountain to climb in addressing the crisis of college affordability, and the OOG has long been severely underfunded to meet the need. The added $100M investment is the first major climb towards the HECC’s “summit goal” for this program.
The new funding brings Oregon closer to the level of support offered by leading states like Washington whose program has been a model for Oregon. The need-based Washington College Grant covers up to full tuition cost at the state’s public institutions for the lowest income students. Through public processes that spanned about 18 months, the HECC developed a similar goal for Oregon’s state financial aid to eventually cover up to 100 percent of the average cost of tuition, fees, books, and supplies for the highest need students. We are pleased to be climbing toward our summit goal for the state’s longstanding need-based grant program. Students who have not yet completed the FAFSA or ORSAA are encouraged to do so at the earliest point possible to be considered for the Oregon Opportunity Grant and other financial aid programs.
*Note: A separate award amount is pending to be set for students attending a community college and enrolled in a Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS) degree program.
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Application Open for Oregon Tribal Student Grant for 2023-24
Current, new and continuing students who are members of Oregon's 9 federally recognized tribes are encouraged to apply for the Oregon Tribal Student Grant for the 2023-24 academic year. The Oregon Tribal Student Grant provides funding for eligible Oregon tribal students to offset the cost of attendance at eligible Oregon colleges and universities. Additional details including information on eligibility and how to apply are on our website. Click on the link below to learn more.
Sixth Annual "Statewide Higher Education Snapshots" (2021-22) Provide Key Metrics on Oregon Postsecondary Learners
Oregon’s Statewide Higher Education Snapshots answer frequently asked questions about the enrollment, affordability, and outcomes of Oregon students at the state’s 17 community colleges and seven public universities. The information included in the one-page reports include breakouts by race/ethnicity, first-generation status, and more. The 2021-22 snapshots for each institution and statewide summaries are now available on the Oregon map here.
Oregon students in 2021-22 – 350,656 total students were enrolled in college or university in Oregon. Most of these students were undergraduates from Oregon enrolled at public institutions. Most Oregon undergraduates enrolled part-time, and many identified as students of color (30 percent) and as adult learners over age 25 (43 percent).
Affordability – This year’s snapshots showed marked improvement in the affordability rate. Among students who applied for grant aid, 34 percent were unable to meet the cost of attendance with expected resources—an improvement of six percentage points over last year and nine percentage points compared to two years ago. The new research brief highlighted in the article above explores this improvement.
Completion rates – Completion rates remained stable at the community colleges and improved at the public universities but continued to show disparities by race/ethnicity and other equity indicators. Among new credential-seeking community college students, 51 percent earned a certificate/degree or transferred to a four-year institution within four years, while among new university freshmen, 70 percent earned a bachelor’s degree within six years.
Questions may be addressed to Amy Cox, director of research and data, at amy.cox@hecc.oregon.gov.
Commission Adopts Rules on Policy-making Processes Related to Streamlining Student Transfer
Through statewide faculty collaboration, the HECC and Oregon’s public institutions are working together to streamline the transfer of credits from community colleges to universities in order to save transfer students time and money, and support their success. Transfer students in Oregon face barriers that can derail or delay them on the path to completion. This faculty-led statewide work is intended to remove barriers for tens of thousands of transfer students, and to better support pathways for underrepresented students of color, low-income, and rural populations who more often start at a community college.
The collaboration, public processes, and consensus-building work to develop statewide transfer articulation policies is currently performed with the Transfer Council, a Council that advises the HECC on establishing transfer policies. The legislation that created the Transfer Council, SB 233 (2021), requires all public higher education institutions to better align high-demand majors like Business and Computer Science by the creation of Major Transfer Maps to help students transfer successfully. At its August 10 Commission meeting, the Commission unanimously approved administrative rules defining institutional participation and the process for creating Major Transfer Maps. These rules were developed after a year of discussions with the Transfer Council and institution partners.
The new rules will help ensure that the alignment of the first two years of some high demand majors are completed in a timely manner. The rules compel institution participation and contemplates, rare scenarios, in which the Transfer Council cannot reach agreement. The rules are designed to result in the creation of student pathways that are intended by SB 233, even when the Transfer Council itself reaches an impasse. At the same time, they create a process that is faculty-driven and provides significant time for institutional collaboration to arrive at pathway agreements. Read more in the document below.
Future Ready Oregon Convenes Industry Consortia to Address Workforce Gaps and Opportunities
The Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) announced in recent press releases the convening of the Technology Industry Consortium and the Healthcare Industry Corsortium.
Established by Senate Bill 1545 (2022), also known as Future Ready Oregon, the Consortia will develop strategic policy and funding recommendations to advance a more equitable workforce system, addressing gaps and seizing opportunities to grow and diversify Oregon’s workforce. The Consortia meet quarterly, and meetings are open to the public.
Healthcare Shortage Study Receives National Notable Document Award
We are pleased to share that the Oregon HECC, and specifically the Oregon Longitudinal Data Collaborative, received the 2023 Notable Document Award for Public Health from the National Conference of State Legislatures for their study on the Postsecondary Healthcare Education Shortage in Oregon. The Notable Document Awards are made by the National Conference of State Legislatures Legislative Research Librarians Professional Staff Association. The awards recognize "excellence in documents or publication that explore topics of interest to legislators and legislative staff and present substantive material in an outstanding format."
The Oregon State Library nominated Oregon HECC for this national award, which is focused on promoting state government information. The healthcare shortage study is among many documents featured in the Oregon Documents Depository Program, a repository providing permanent public access to publications of Oregon state government.
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