Message from Executive Director Ben Cannon
Greetings, and happy holidays to all! We are on the eve of a budget-setting legislative session, and you can read in this newsletter about how to stay engaged with this work over the next six months. The state’s higher education and workforce investments continue to be critical to ensuring equitable opportunity for Oregonians and a thriving future for Oregon. We plan to present to the Oregon Legislature on Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) budget, policy, and programs, and we look forward to discussions on the transformative impacts of the state's postsecondary education investment for students, learners, communities, and the economy.
The December before a session is always an apex of planning, policy, and funding activity here at the HECC. While we continue to implement initiatives, we look ahead with strategic attention to planning for the future, and we look back to analyze and report on the difference Oregon's higher education and training investments have made on Oregonians.
This fall, we redefined our vision, mission, and goals with the approval of a new Strategic Plan for higher education and workforce training, and I am excited that we are diving into implementation of this plan for the next three to five years. The new Strategic Plan contains five goals related to relevance, alignment, affordable access, belonging, and leadership, and a total of 18 strategies. At the HECC’s December 12, 2024 public meeting, I presented next steps for turning the plan into action.
The HECC has significant end-of-year reporting and analysis requirements, many legislatively-required, which provide us the opportunity to measure how we are advancing toward our vision and goals. One of these, our Key Performance Metrics (KPM) report, measures and informs progress toward our statewide goals. I invite you to read about Dr. Amy Cox's recent summary of the 2024 KPM report and to see some key findings on our "Oregon By the Numbers" page here. We see some promising trends in our data this fall, including the first increase to Oregon’s college-going rate in years, growing fall enrollment in our public institutions, and improving employment rates for our graduates. However, we also see some concerning information. Racial equity gaps in college-going rates, completion and other measures continue to be wide. And after steadily increasing for numerous years, graduation rates fell slightly for 2023, likely part of the long tail of pandemic effects. The findings emphasize the continued need to support student success and to intentionally work for racial equity to ensure all Oregonians—and particularly those from underserved and marginalized communities—have real opportunity to benefit from the life-changing opportunity of postsecondary education.
Enjoy the updates here on some of our recent activity to better serve Oregonians, and thank you as always for your engagement.
2024 Key Performance Measures Show Increased College-Going Rate, Continued Impacts from Pandemic
We are pleased to share a summary of the HECC’s Key Performance Measures (KPMs), a set of 17 metrics focused on Oregon's strategic progress toward state higher education and workforce goals. The HECC’s KPMs include indicators related to accessing college for high school students, affordability, completion, and outcomes of postsecondary education and training. The HECC's measures feature disaggregated data by race/ethnicity to draw attention to the continued need for equity progress.
A summary of findings from HECC's 17 KPMs was presented to the Commission by Dr. Amy Cox, director of research and data, at the HECC's December 12 public meeting. A few notable findings from the HECC KPM presentation include the following.
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Looking at the high school class of 2021-22, the college-going rate of Oregon high school graduates* rose to 53 percent for the first time since the pandemic, and it rose for all racial/ethnic groups. However, equity gaps between groups widened during the pandemic and have not closed.
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A slightly larger percentage of students are facing unaffordable costs than a year ago. In 2022-23, 37 percent of resident students could not meet expected costs of college or university even with public grant aid, most institutional aid, expected family contributions, and estimated student earnings.
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Completion and transfer rates at community colleges slightly declined by just over one percentage point to 50.3 percent in the most recent year (measuring four-year rates for students who started in 2019), but equity gaps have narrowed.
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Graduation rates for first-time, full-time Oregon resident freshmen at public universities fell almost three percentage points to 67 percent in the most recent year (measuring six-year rates for students who started in 2017). This decline follows steady increases for numerous prior years.
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Earnings in the fifth year after completion rose for both community college completers and bachelor’s degree graduates at the public universities, even after accounting for inflation. This continues increases for numerous prior years.
- Measuring progress toward the postsecondary portion of the 40-40-20 goal, 55% of Oregonians ages 25-34 held a college degree or certificate in 2023, but postsecondary education rates continue to vary widely by race/ethnicity.
The Commission and agency use these findings to help guide our ongoing work and new strategies. The full report of HECC's annual metrics is submitted to the Legislative Fiscal Office and the Department of Administrative Services and is posted on our website with past reports at the link featured below.
*Note: the methodology for this measure changed slightly in 2024; it now focuses on college-going rate within 12 months of graduation. The historical data shown in the report were recalculated and show the new measure.
Preparing for the 2025 Legislative Session
During each legislative session, the HECC presents to legislative committees and advises the Oregon Legislature and the Governor on topics of critical concern to Oregon postsecondary education and training. On our website legislative resources page here, you can stay informed on HECC legislative presentations, testimony, and documents designed to inform legislative and budgetary decisions in the 2025 Legislative Session.
We work closely with many of our partners on the legislative and budget development process. You can also learn more about the typical budget timeline here. At this point in the process, the Governor has just released the Governor's Recommended Budget (GRB), and HECC is preparing to present on this budget to the Legislature. These presentations are generally made to the Education Subcommittee of the Joint Ways and Means Committee between February and June.
The GRB for HECC takes a Current Service Level (CSL) approach for many components of the HECC budget, including to the public university and community college support funds we administer, and adds strategic increases in some areas. Read our fact sheet on the GRB below.
The GRB includes strategic increases in the following areas:
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Financial aid investments above CSL, including $25 M of additional funding for the Oregon Opportunity Grant; $1.1 M of additional funding for the Oregon National Guard Student Tuition Assistance Program; $2.5 M for the Oregon Tribal Student Grant; and the addition of $3 M for administering the Educator Administrator Scholarship Program (a program that was previously administered by the Teacher Standards and Practices Commission).
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Education and workforce training investments, including $5 M of new funding to support pre-apprenticeships as part of an investment focused on housing production, and $25.6 M of new funding to support education and training for careers in behavioral health.
As is the case in each biennium, a number of one-time investments from the current biennium are phased out. Key changes are noted in the fact sheet.
Transfer Council Approves 19 Courses as Part of Common Course Numbering
Through faculty-led collaboration, the HECC, community colleges, and public universities are working to better support transfer students through numerous statewide transfer policies and agreements. We are pleased to report that with the Transfer Council’s recent approval of 19 new courses, Oregon now offers 37 commonly numbered courses to support student transfer. Common Course Numbering (CCN) focuses on aligning the most transferred, lower-division coursework to help reduce credit loss when students transfer between public institutions in Oregon. Students can learn more about the approved tools for transfer here. Important tip: students can recognize a CCN-approved course during registration because all CCN-aligned course numbers end in a Z.
Institutions can learn more about CCN and find the approved courses here. The process for approving CCNs is now itself streamlined. Since passage of the CCN Oregon Administrative Rules on October 15, 2024, CCN courses only need to be approved by Transfer Council and no longer require HECC Commission approval. The courses approved in 2024 will appear in academic catalogs starting 2025-2026.
In addition to the CCNs, the Transfer Council is continuing to make progress on the development of new Major Transfer Maps (MTMs), major-specific agreements that prepare students for transfer of credits in a particular major.
Getting Smart Podcast: Jennifer Purcell on Future Ready Oregon and a Future Ready Workforce
We are pleased to share that Jennifer Purcell, the director of Future Ready Oregon, was recently featured in the Getting Smart podcast. Getting Smart is an organization that works with leaders, schools, and systems to support innovations that empower learners and drive equity. Listen to the podcast or read a transcript here.
In this recent episode, Tom Vander Ark, CEO of Getting Smart, dives into the intricacies of workforce development and public leadership with Director Purcell. Purcell shares insights into innovative strategies that support diverse learners and workers, creating equitable pathways that connect education and high-demand career opportunities. The conversation highlights innovative programs that integrate education and workforce systems like Workforce Benefits Navigators, which address broader needs such as transportation and childcare, ensuring equitable access to education and training.
At its October 10 public meeting, the HECC approved two administrative rule changes to the Oregon Opportunity Grant (OOG), the state's largest need-based grant program supporting Oregonians with college costs.
The first set of rule changes came from Senate Bill 1552 (2024 session) to outline a more transparent awarding structure for the OOG. This legislation required the Commission to detail in rule its awarding strategy for instances where the budget is not sufficient to award all students in the manner that statute requires. For this rulemaking process, the HECC Office of Student Access and Completion (OSAC) had extensive discussions with the Oregon Student Aid Advisory committee for many months to present a clear, but flexible, structure in rule. These changes will begin for the 2025-26 academic year. The current practice calculates the maximum award for the highest-need students as a percentage of the tuition for each public institution sector. The new awarding structure will calculate awards using a base award across all college sectors, then a tuition differential (based on the college sector the student attends) shall be added to the base award. Similar to current practice, eligible private institutions’ maximum awards are aligned with the four-year public award amounts, and students who have the greatest financial need will receive the largest awards.
The second set of changes implemented a longstanding statute to provide guidance on the process to award OOG funds to eligible students who are close to completing their education goals and have exhausted other means of financial assistance. Should state funding be available for these additional awards, the rules adopted will allow the Commission to administer them.
Oregon Ranks Tenth in Nation for Volunteering
In a November announcement, AmeriCorps, the federal agency for national service and volunteerism named Oregon as the tenth ranking state for formal volunteering in the nation as highlighted in the latest Volunteering and Civic Life in America research.
AmeriCorps reported that Oregon’s formal volunteering rate has increased by almost eight percentage points in just two years. In 2023, 1,240,730 state residents volunteered through an organization, contributing $1.8 billion in economic value. Other Oregon highlights:
- 98.5 percent of residents talked to or spent time with friends or family.
- 61.3 percent of residents informally helped others by exchanging favors with their neighbors.
- 76.3 percent of residents had a conversation or spent time with their neighbors.
- 33.3 percent of residents belonged to an organization.
- 55.2 percent of residents donated $25 or more to charity
Every two years, AmeriCorps partners with the U.S. Census Bureau to conduct the most robust survey about civic engagement across the United States and over time. The data informs AmeriCorps’ Volunteering and Civic Life in America research.
The HECC houses OregonServes and Oregon’s AmeriCorps State Grant Program. These programs promote volunteerism, national service, and civic engagement in Oregon by awarding grants and providing technical support and leadership.
HECC Convenes Hundreds for Annual Conference to Advance Adult Basic Skills and High School Equivalency Education
Thank you to all who joined us for the Oregon Adult Basic Skills (ABS) Conference on November 4-5, 2024, in Salem, Oregon. We are grateful for the contributions of our partners and presenters for elevating the experiences of Oregon’s adult learners and engaging participants in exploring innovative approaches to serving adult learners.
The theme of the conference this year, "Point of View," emphasized the importance of valuing diverse perspectives of adult learners and those pursuing high school equivalency. The perspectives of adult learners span a wide range of experiences, including those of immigrants, first-generation students, neurodivergent individuals, those impacted by trauma, gifted students, individuals affected by incarceration, individuals experiencing poverty, people from both rural and urban environments, and more. This year’s conference brought together educators from across the state to discuss topics such as creating inclusive learning environments through Universal Design for Learning; supporting language and literacy skills building; implementing effective GED® programs that retain and transition students through college and career; data in Oregon’s adult education programs; and more. The keynote speakers focused on the power of utilizing a trauma-informed perspective to inspire adult learner success in the classroom and beyond. The many panels included members of Oregon’s immigrant and refugee communities who shared their experiences; a panel of adults with dyslexia who shared perspectives on the impact of dyslexia in their lives, educations, and careers; and many others.
We look forward to continuing our work together to elevate ABS education in Oregon.
Recent Announcements
PRESS RELEASE: Current and Future Students are Encouraged to Apply for Scholarships and Grants at OregonStudentAid.gov
In a recent press release, the HECC is encouraging all Oregonians pursuing postsecondary education in 2025-26 to apply for grants and scholarships through the state website OregonStudentAid.gov. In November, the HECC Office of Student Access and Completion (OSAC) officially opened the OSAC Scholarship Application where students can explore more than 600 scholarships. Students can apply to many awards at one time through the OSAC Scholarship Application, open now through March 3, 2025.
PRESS RELEASE: Workforce Ready Grants Expand Career Pathways in Healthcare, Manufacturing, and Technology
In a recent press release, the HECC announced the latest round of Future Ready Oregon Workforce Ready Grant awards to support 62 innovative workforce and talent development projects. A combined total of approximately $42 million has been preliminarily awarded, making this the largest round of Future Ready Oregon grant funding to date. These sector-focused Workforce Ready Grants in Healthcare, Manufacturing, and Technology support collaborative programs that center the needs of Oregon’s underserved communities and connect individuals to resources for pursuing good-paying jobs and meaningful careers in key sectors of Oregon’s economy. Read more
Fall Fourth Week Enrollment Summary Now Available
The fourth week fall enrollment summary for Oregon public institutions is now available on our website under Featured Research. The total number of students enrolled at Oregon community colleges and public universities rose 3 percent in fall 2024. This year's increase continues the upward trend of total statewide enrollment seen last year.
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