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Students present plan for higher ed
n Oregon Student Association gives suggestions for governor's budget during Salem committee hearing
Aleks Cherednichenko
Issue date: 1/19/07 Section: News
For the past four decades, investment in higher education in Oregon has dropped significantly.
Representatives from student governments across Oregon frequently make pleas to change the trend.
On Thursday, the Oregon Student Association presented their plan for a "stronger Oregon" before the Senate Education Committee in Salem.
Courtney Morse, vice-chair for the Oregon Student Association, Lorena Landeros, a member of the Oregon Students of Color Coalition, and Melissa Unger, executive director of the Oregon Student Association, spoke before the committee.
The students presented a plan for improving the state of higher education in Oregon. The committee was presided over by Sen. Vicki L. Walker, a Democrat from Eugene District 7.
"The presentation was very professional. I actually learned quite a bit about the history of higher education in Oregon from it," Walker said.
According to Morse in the hearing in front of the Senate Education Committee, by 2010, 87 percent of new jobs in Oregon will require a college degree, yet fewer Oregonians are able to afford secondary education.
For the first time in a decade, resident enrollment actually decreased 1.2 percent at universities, according to Morse.
"One of our main goals is to see a reversal of a trend where students are paying more for education, yet receiving less in the context of quality of education," Unger said.
The first point presented to the committee covered further investment in the Oregon Opportunity Grant to address the issues of affordability and access.
The Oregon Opportunity Grant is the state's only need-based aid program. Its purpose is to eliminate the growing gap between those who can afford college and those who cannot.
According to Morse, students from families who earn below $25,000 a year are 40 percent less likely to attend college than students with family income above $75,000 a year.
"It was astonishing to hear these statistics. Especially shocking were the rising interest rates for student loans," Walker said.
Representatives from student governments across Oregon frequently make pleas to change the trend.
On Thursday, the Oregon Student Association presented their plan for a "stronger Oregon" before the Senate Education Committee in Salem.
Courtney Morse, vice-chair for the Oregon Student Association, Lorena Landeros, a member of the Oregon Students of Color Coalition, and Melissa Unger, executive director of the Oregon Student Association, spoke before the committee.
The students presented a plan for improving the state of higher education in Oregon. The committee was presided over by Sen. Vicki L. Walker, a Democrat from Eugene District 7.
"The presentation was very professional. I actually learned quite a bit about the history of higher education in Oregon from it," Walker said.
According to Morse in the hearing in front of the Senate Education Committee, by 2010, 87 percent of new jobs in Oregon will require a college degree, yet fewer Oregonians are able to afford secondary education.
For the first time in a decade, resident enrollment actually decreased 1.2 percent at universities, according to Morse.
"One of our main goals is to see a reversal of a trend where students are paying more for education, yet receiving less in the context of quality of education," Unger said.
The first point presented to the committee covered further investment in the Oregon Opportunity Grant to address the issues of affordability and access.
The Oregon Opportunity Grant is the state's only need-based aid program. Its purpose is to eliminate the growing gap between those who can afford college and those who cannot.
According to Morse, students from families who earn below $25,000 a year are 40 percent less likely to attend college than students with family income above $75,000 a year.
"It was astonishing to hear these statistics. Especially shocking were the rising interest rates for student loans," Walker said.
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