As the start of fall term began Monday for most of Oregon鈥檚 public colleges and universities, the Oregon Institute of Technology made an announcement aimed at benefiting Native American students across the country.
OIT announced that all enrolled members of federally-recognized Native American tribes will qualify for in-state tuition at the university, starting this week, regardless of where they live. Oregon Tech鈥檚 announcement follows four other schools in the state that have also made this decision 鈥� , , and .
Out-of-state Native American students who qualify for the in-state tuition rate could save up to $10,000 per term depending on the number of credits they鈥檙e taking and their major, according to OIT.
鈥淥regon Tech has been furthered by tribal culture and heritage and from the tribal lands on which our campuses reside,鈥� OIT president Nagi Naganathan said in a statement Monday. 鈥淲e are honored that many Native American students call Oregon Tech their educational home, and we are happy to make the opportunity to attend Oregon Tech more affordable for out-of-state tribal students who are enrolled members of federally recognized Native American tribes.鈥�
The other four universities in Oregon that also announced in-state tuition rates for Native American students did so during the summer, after most application and enrollment deadlines had passed. For that reason, it鈥檚 not clear yet how the new policies may affect enrollment from out-of-state Native American students. But, some of the universities say the program is drawing attention.
鈥淲e are excited to share that there is already interest in our [Native American Tuition program], particularly in light of how recently we made the announcement,鈥� Paula Baldwin, Western Oregon University鈥檚 interim marketing director told OPB.
Baldwin said WOU has eight prospective student applicants who have noted they are members of federally-recognized tribes 鈥� four from Oregon and four from out of state.
鈥淲e are very early in our recruitment process for Fall of 2023, and we expect both those numbers to increase,鈥� Baldwin said.
According to Portland State, there has been a 鈥渂ig uptick鈥� in inquiries this fall, but the university says the real measure will be next fall since the majority of students had already made college decisions long before PSU鈥檚 new policy was announced.
Southern Oregon University says it reached out to about 70 existing students who identify as Native American to let them know about the in-state rates and to see if they qualify. The university also has three incoming enrolled students who qualified for the in-state tuition, and it says there are a few more incoming qualified students that may enroll.
These individual announcements are separate from the state鈥檚 new program. That statewide program covers tuition and living costs for Oregonians who are members of one of the state鈥檚 nine federally-recognized tribes.
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