Meerah Powell
Reporter & Producer | OPBMeerah Powell is a general assignment and breaking news reporter for OPB. She previously worked as a news reporter and podcast producer for Eugene Weekly in her hometown of Eugene, Oregon. Along with writing and audio work, Meerah also has experience with photography and videography. She graduated from the University of Oregon's School of Journalism and Communication.
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Oregon鈥檚 17 community colleges generated more than $9 billion in annual economic impact for the state in the 2021-2022 fiscal year, according to a report released last week by the Oregon Community College Association. -
The budget includes welcome increases to state financial aid to students in need and a set-aside for universities struggling with 鈥榝inancial sustainability.鈥� -
SB 523 allows community colleges to offer nursing bachelor鈥檚 degrees, in hopes of improving education pathways, especially in rural Oregon. -
According to the Oregon Education Association, part-time community college instructors are paid roughly half as much as their full-time counterparts on average. -
The first-of-its-kind multi-agency analysis has provided a much more granular, regional-level understanding of why Oregon continues to suffer from a nursing shortage, and it lays out potential solutions. -
A legislative committee learned many incoming students aren鈥檛 ready for college-level work. -
An audit of Oregon鈥檚 Higher Education Coordinating Commission calls for more focus on community college support. -
That鈥檚 not the case for every school. Oregon State reports record enrollment this fall. -
SOU president Rick Bailey has plans for the university to have self-reliant energy and other projects to lessen the institution鈥檚 dependence on tuition and state funding. -
Oregon State University announces $200M education and research center aimed at technology industriesThe center, funded in part by $100 million in donations, is expected to open in 2025. -
OIT joins SOU and three other public universities in Oregon that have made the same decision -
Test scores fell by 9 percentage points at the state level 鈥� and even more sharply at some large districts 鈥� in the first set of statewide test results in three years.
