Lane Community College board advocates for equitable Oregon Opportunity Grant distribution

EUGENE, Ore. — At its meeting on December 6, 2023, the Lane Community College (LCC) Board of Education unanimously passed Resolution 691, calling for the Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) to revise Oregon Opportunity Grant (OOG) award amounts and related policies to ensure fair and equitable support for community college students.

The resolution addresses recent changes by the HECC in calculating OOG awards, which have resulted in a significant disparity in financial support between university and community college students. The OOG is Oregon's largest state-funded need-based grant program for students planning to go to college and is administered by the Office of Student Access and Completion (OSAC) at the HECC. Earlier this year, the Oregon Legislature approved a historic increase of $100 million of additional funding for the OOG program.  However, for the 2023-2024 academic year, while university students receiving maximum awards saw an increase of nearly $2,500, community college students received an increase of only $300.

Board Chair Austin Folnagy commented, “Our resolution is a call for justice and fairness in higher education funding. It is imperative that the HECC recognizes the full cost of attendance and the unique challenges faced by today’s community college students. The current policy disproportionately impacts low-income and non-traditional students, who are often the most in need of financial support.”

The resolution highlights the growing gap in funding and calls for HECC to re-evaluate its policy, taking into account the total cost of attendance rather than just tuition, fees, books and supplies. This change is essential, as non-tuition costs such as housing and food continue to pose significant barriers to higher education, particularly for community college students.

The LCC board's resolution calls on the HECC to:

1. Return to calculating OOG awards based on the total cost of attendance.
2. Maintain equity in cost-of-attendance funding for lower-cost institutions like community colleges.
3. Rescind a rule requiring fall term attendance for OOG eligibility in subsequent terms. This rule, currently waived by the agency, was established during budget shortfalls more than 10 years ago.
4. Approve OOG award amounts annually through the HECC Commission for transparent and equitable distribution. Currently, OSAC staff determine award amounts and distribution for the $200 million program.

LCC will forward the resolution to the HECC, the Oregon State Legislature, and other stakeholders, highlighting the urgent need for equitable OOG distribution. The board of the Oregon Community College Association, an organization that represents the state’s seventeen community colleges and their locally elected board members, approved a similar resolution Friday, and additional community college boards are expected to consider resolutions in the coming months.