As the state’s financial woes shrink available funds for higher education, one group is ambitiously working to ensure access to college for Oregon’s most needy students.
The Oregon Student Assistance Commission, which oversees the Oregon Opportunity Grant, a need-based scholarship for low-income Oregonians, is asking for more appropriations to expand the need-based program.
Elizabeth Bickford, director of the Office of Student Financial Aid and Scholarships, said the grant helps many students fill gaps left by loans and other aid.
“Students have to work harder to figure out how to replace funding when it’s not there,” she said.
Bickford said the state should ensure low-income students can attend college. Education is a good investment for the state, she added, not just socially, but financially as well.
“There’s every reason for wanting an educated society,” she said.
The funding available for the Oregon Opportunity Grant has not kept up with the number of eligible applicants. This school year, the program had to turn down 13,086 eligible applicants because of a lack of funds. That number is expected to increase 34 percent, to more than 17,600 next year, according to OSAC spokeswoman Shelley Snow.
With not enough money and too many eligible recipients, OSAC was forced to make a difficult decision. For only the second time in the Oregon Opportunity Grant’s 31-year history, the average award amount is expected to decrease. The average this year was $1,214 per student and next year it is projected to drop to $1,201.
OSAC Executive Director Jeff Svejcar said the state’s weak economy combined with increasing college enrollment are the primary reasons for the reductions. As the recession causes income tax revenues to decrease, all state-funded programs and agencies take a hit, he said.
“This has been a very painful process for the legislators,” he said. “There are no winners in this process.”
Svejcar said Measure 19, which voters approved in September, will further reduce available funding for the program. The measure tapped the Education Endowment Fund to close budget gaps in public schools. The Oregon Opportunity Grant, which is partially financed by interest from the fund, stands to lose approximately $3.5 million in the 2003-05 biennium as a result.
Officials are also keeping an eye on the January special election, when voters will decide on Measure 28. If approved, the measure will increase income taxes to cover the state budget shortfall.
In the future, OSAC hopes to expand the scholarship program. The first priority, Svejcar said, is funding all eligible applicants. OSAC is requesting $35.6 million in additional funding from the state to meet that goal.
“It doesn’t seem fair to have some students who qualify not get the money,” he said. “The goal is to provide access to all Oregonians.”