The Oregon Legislature continues to spend far less on higher education than other states, according to a new report, leading to some of the highest costs of attendance among universities in the West.
Oregon is ranked 44th in the nation for public funding of higher education and 37th in the nation for per-pupil funding, according to the latest annual from the Colorado-based State Higher Education Executive Officers Association. Oregon鈥檚 Higher Education Coordinating Commission is a member of the association.
The report compared state-by-state funding data from the 2022-23 fiscal year. While higher education investment in has increased in recent years, it has not been enough to make up for more than a decade of underfunding and of relying heavily on student tuition to cover rising costs, said Ben Cannon, executive director of the commission.
Cannon and university presidents have repeatedly for more higher education dollars and a model of funding that balances state investment with tuition revenue.
鈥淲e are continuing to rely on students to balance our budgets,鈥� Cannon said in testimony to a legislative ways and means subcommittee last year.
Unreliable revenue source
Enrollment declines across Oregon鈥檚 seven public universities and 17 community colleges over the last five to 10 years have been more than twice the national average, the report found, making tuition an unreliable source of funding.
鈥淥ver the next 10 years, or whatever portion of that 10 years I鈥檓 around for, I will hope to partner with the Legislature to restore the 鈥榩ublic鈥� in our public system of higher education,鈥� Cannon told the members of the subcommittee.
Per-pupil investment in Oregon鈥檚 public higher education system was more than $2,500 less than the national average last year, according to the higher education finance report. In Oregon during the 2022-23 school year, the state invested about $8,400 per full-time enrolled student each year. The national average that year was more than $11,000 per student. State investments in financial aid for middle and low-income students have increased in the last decade, but still fall behind national averages. Washington invests twice as much funding in scholarships for such students compared to Oregon.
鈥淵ou have a situation in Oregon right now, where the vast majority of Oregon鈥檚 public university presidents are from outside of the state and we鈥檙e shocked,鈥� said Eastern Oregon University President Kelly Ryan, who took over in 2023. 鈥淲e鈥檙e shocked at what we found. And we鈥檙e also in wonderment about how we鈥檙e supposed to get our work done in such a drastically underfunded environment.鈥�
Ryan had to cut 8.4% of the university鈥檚 budget for the 2023-24 school year 鈥� about $5 million.
鈥淭hey (the Legislature) acknowledge we鈥檙e really important to building a tax base, building a workforce, but it鈥檚 hard for us to stay front and center,鈥� she said.
Decade of disinvestment
Oregon鈥檚 higher education funding model has relied since the 2008 recession more heavily than many other states鈥� on raising tuition to cover rising operating costs, with funding since then cut in half.
鈥淎 whole lot of students took on a whole lot of debt in order to help the state keep its Corrections (Department), Human Services (Department) and K-12 systems afloat during the worst recession anyone had seen in their living memories,鈥� Cannon told the Legislature.
Oregon鈥檚 public universities and colleges now derive 32% more of their revenue from tuition than most public higher education institutions in the country, the report found. Between 2013 and 2023, revenue growth from student tuition in Oregon increased 23%. The national average for tuition revenue growth was 1.5% during the same period.
Every one of Oregon鈥檚 seven public universities is increasing tuition in the upcoming school year, and has done so just about every year for the past 10 years. at those schools today is about 26% higher than it was a decade ago. The rising costs of housing around Oregon鈥檚 universities have also driven up costs and affordability concerns, Cannon said.
鈥淎 state that invests relatively little is going to have institutions that are likely going to have relatively high tuition, and that鈥檚 absolutely what this report illustrates,鈥� he told the Capital Chronicle.
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