Service Area and Prominent Features
Lane Community College (Lane), located in Eugene, Oregon, is a comprehensive two-year public college whose mission is to provide accessible, high quality, affordable lifelong education. Lane’s district covers nearly 5,000 square miles in western Oregon and reaches from the Pacific Ocean to the Cascade Mountains (approximately the size of Connecticut). Between 1990 and 2000 the Lane County population has grown over 15% to a population of 322,959. With a combined population of approximately 200,000 residents, the Eugene/Springfield metropolitan area is Oregon’s second largest population center.

Level of Control
Lane was created in 1964 by a vote of local residents. The 30th Avenue campus opened for classes in September 1968. Lane is accredited by the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges and numerous vocational and professional agencies provide specialized accreditation for a variety of professional technical programs.

The Board of Education is responsible for the governance of the college. It establishes broad general policies and programs under which the college operates and approves budgets, personnel hiring and resignations, and new academic programs. The board comprises seven elected, non-paid voting members.

The College President handles day-to-day administration of the college. The President is responsible for managing resources to achieve college mission and goals. An Executive Team advises the President and assists her in initiating new policies. The Executive Team comprises of nine educational leaders of the college, three who report directly to the President and four who report to the Vice President for Instruction and Student Services, and one who reports to the Vice President for College Operations (see Figure 3). Fifty-nine administrators oversee 277 full-time faculty, 335 part-time faculty, 483 classified staff, and 9 management support staff.

Nearly half (48%) of the college’s funding comes from the State of Oregon. The remainder of the college’s funding comes from local property taxes (17%), tuition and instructional fees (27%), and other fees and income (13%).

Mission Statement
Lane strives to be a dynamic, forward-looking organization focusing on the needs of individuals as they grow, learn, and adapt throughout their lifetimes to the changing demands of occupational competence, responsible citizenship, and personal development. The college’s core values are reflected in its vision statement: Transforming lives through learning.

Lane’s mission statement provides the philosophic base upon which the college operates and is the foundation for strategic planning. It is widely disseminated throughout the college through framed postings, the college’s website, and key publications. There is a firm belief in Lane’s mission as a comprehensive community college. The mission statement expresses the college’s commitment to its students and the inclusiveness of that commitment throughout the college’s service area, as follows:
Lane is a learning-centered community college that provides affordable, quality, lifelong educational opportunities that include:

• Professional technical and lower division college transfer programs
• Employee skill upgrading, business development and career enhancement
• Foundational academic, language and life skills development
• Lifelong personal development and enrichment, and
• Cultural and community services

Lane has long been recognized as an emerging model of the learning college (O’ Banion, A Learning College for the 21st Century, American Council on Education and the American Association of Community Colleges, 1997). Lane is proud to be one of 12 Vanguard Learning Colleges serving as incubators and catalysts for the Learning College concept by working to build on values that place learning first throughout their colleges. Lane is developing and strengthening policies, programs, and practices across the college with a focus on the five Vanguard project objectives: organizational culture, staff recruitment and development, technology, learning outcomes, and under-prepared students.

The Executive Team developed the theme of “placing students at the heart of what we do” to guide their work. Managers have been engaged in a Leading and Learning by Design process to integrate learning college principles into the way they do their work. An effort in “Formation” work based on the writings of Parker Palmer has begun.

Enrollment Figures and Trends
Lane is Oregon’s second largest community college (12,486 FTE in 2001-02). The college’s facilities include a 301-acre campus in southeast Eugene; outreach centers in downtown Eugene, Florence, Cottage Grove, the Eugene Airport; as well as Community Learning Centers at seven area high schools.

In 2001-02, Lane served 40,099 individuals in credit and non-credit programs, down from the 43,223 served (14% of the total Lane County population) in 2000-01. According to a Community Perceptions and Needs Survey (1999), 57% of district residents 18 years or older plan to enroll or use college services in the next three years. However, due to continuing revenue challenges (see the Education Funding in Oregon section below) the college foresees further enrollment decreases, in spite of increased demand.

Student Characteristics
Among 2001-02 credit students, 65% were taking a part-time class load (less than 12 credit hours), with women making up the majority (58%) of part-time students. The average age for all Lane students was 37.4 years (28 years for credit students). Fifteen percent of entering credit students were people of color, which is 10% higher than the general Lane County population (Head Start of Lane County Community Assessment, 1999). Lane has 20% more foreign students than any other community college in Oregon (291 in 2001-02); it ranks fourth overall behind the University of Oregon, and Oregon State and Portland State Universities. Lane is a commuter college with no on-campus housing. Students drive as much as 100 miles one-way to classes on the 30th Avenue campus.

The average age of Lane’s students and the predominance of those enrolled part-time are closely related to the changing economic and employment opportunities of the region. Until the 1980’s Lane County’s economy was historically dominated by timber and agriculture industries. The timber industry provided many workers with high-paying jobs that required little or no post-secondary education. However, since 1978 more than half of all timber-related jobs have disappeared and drastic reductions in timber production in the 1980’s led to restructuring and diversification of the local economy. Of the new jobs developed between 1998 and 2008, a much larger percentage will require an associate degree or higher level. In Oregon, 30% of the net growth of these jobs will require an associate degree (Oregon State Employment Labor Trends, April 1999). Health care and technology are the fastest growing fields and those without training will be unable to compete in the job market and will become increasingly economically disadvantaged.

Current Program Offerings
Lane has been rated as one of the nation’s top community colleges in multiple studies over the last 25 years and has received many awards and accolades for its innovative programs. At Lane a student can:

• Earn credits that can transfer to a four-year college or university
• Earn a degree that will transfer to an Oregon university
• Earn a certificate or degree in a Professional Technical program

Professional/Technical Training students can earn a one- or two-year degree or certificate in approximately 50 professional/technical programs. Eighty-eight percent of recent professional/technical graduates who entered the job market are employed in a job related to their degree. From Graphic Design to Dental Hygiene to Welding, students learn the skills needed to start a career or advance in their present profession. A high school diploma is not necessary to enroll.

College Transfer students can earn an associate degree, as well as complete the first two years of a bachelor degree and then transfer to a four-year college or university. Lane offers a comprehensive range of majors, affordable tuition (compared to area universities), individual attention from instructors, and small classes (average class size is 22 students). In February 2001, Lane forged a dual admission and enrollment agreement with the University of Oregon. The Dual Admission and Enrollment Program enables students to move seamlessly between the two institutions and simplifies the administrative processes for them. The program breaks down administrative barriers and provides more comprehensive advising to smooth the transition processes for students.

Credit Programs at Lane
· Apprenticeship Trades
· Auto Body and Fender Technology
· Automotive Technology
· Aviation Maintenance Technology
· Business Support (Accounting; Administrative; E-Business; Legal Secretary; Office Assistant)
· Computer Applications Specialist
· Computer Network Operations
· Computer Programming
· Computer User Support
· Construction Technology
· Dental Assisting
· Dental Hygiene
· Diesel Technology
· Drafting
· Early Childhood Education
· Electronic Technology
· Emergency Medical/Paramedic Technology
· Employment Skills Training
· Energy Management Technician
· *Renewable Energy Option
· Fabrication/Welding Technology
· Fitness Specialist
· Fitness Technician
· Flight Technology
· Food Service Management
· Graphic Design
· Health Records Technology
· Hospitality Management
· Human Services: (Criminal Justice; Juvenile Corrections)
· Manufacturing Technology
· Medical Office Assistant
· Multimedia Design and Production
· Nursing-Associate Degree and Practical Nursing
· Occupational Skills Certificate Program
· Recreational Vehicle Service Technician
· Respiratory Care

Non-credit Programs
· Business Management
· Farm Business Management
· Small Business Management
· Cabinet/Furniture Making
· Certified Nursing Assistant
· Massage Therapist
· Real Estate
· Supervisory Management Series
· Tax Preparation
· Travel Agent Training

Grants Office - Foundation - 4000 East  30th Avenue, Eugene, Oregon  97405
(541) 463-5312 | fax:  (541) 463-3985 - Building 3, Room 205
Please address questions about this page to Grants Coordinator Aaron Shonk

at (541) 463-5312 or email Aaron Shonk.