Oregon Promise: About 6,000 students are attending college so far

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Portland Community College saw the largest number of Oregon Promise students enroll in fall 2016.

(Dana Tims/The Oregonian)

One month into fall term, about 6,000 students across the state are taking community college classes through the Oregon Promise.

That's according to preliminary enrollment figures provided by state education officials and updated figures confirmed by several colleges.

That headcount is right about what state officials anticipated for the first-year program, which helps defer tuition costs for eligible high school seniors who chose to attend community college.

"This is clearly within the projections that we've made from the outset," Ben Cannon, executive director of the state's Higher Education Coordinating Commission, said of the preliminary enrollment figures. The numbers could change as the state tracks how many students tick with the program into the new year. "We'll continue to watch this pretty closely," Cannon said.

The data doesn't answer whether those students would have otherwise attended a four-year university or indicate how many classes they are taking. The grant is available to full and parttime students.

State lawmakers allocated $10 million for the program in 2015, enough to cover the cost of the program for the 2016-17 school year.

Roughly 10,000 Oregonians met Oregon Promise's basic requirements - at least a 2.5 grade point average with a high school diploma or a GED - and enrolled at least part-time at a community college.

The Oregon Promise is a last-dollar scholarship program that provides state resources only after other scholarships and grants are subtracted from a student's tuition. Students must complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid, then accept any assistance offered, such as the federal Pell Grant for low-income students or the state's Oregon Opportunity Grant.

Unsurprisingly, the state's largest post-secondary institution had the biggest enrollment of promise students. Portland Community College had an estimated 1,650 promise students enrolled.

Chemeketa Community College in Salem had the second most enrollees, with 1,088. Greg Harris, a school spokesman, said the promise students represent a 20 percent increase in the number of first-time freshmen.

The influx hasn't strained resources, Harris said, because the college has seen a 4.5 percent enrollment decline in recent years. Enrollment at community colleges tends to spike during tough times and decline when economies rebound.
"We certainly had capacity, Harris said. The school hired two new advisers to focus on the promise grant recipients.

Harris said he's curious about whether the new students would otherwise have attended a four-year college. Collectively, they had an average high school GPA of 3.24, he said, which could imply  "they might have been intending to go to college" but opted to save money.

The program isn't guaranteed to continue in perpetuity.  The higher education commission is asking for $34 million in the upcoming biennium to continue the promise program, which only received funding for the 2015-17 cycle.

Sen. Mark Hass, D-Beaverton, who introduced the legislation, said he's encouraged by the early enrollment numbers. Hass said the community college tuition program is taking root nationally, where 125 different jurisdictions - either counties, states, or cities - have similar incentives to make tuition free or more affordable for students. He attended a meeting Wednesday in Washington, D.C., of the College Promise Advisory Board, which is chaired by Dr. Jill Biden, an educator/advocate and wife of Vice President Joe Biden.

Hass said he's encouraged by conversations with Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham about its expanded offering for dual enrollment, where high school students can earn college credit and potentially save thousands of dollars off their college degrees.

Hass said he doesn't have to do much advocating for continuing the program with his Salem colleagues, but he doesn't want to take anything for granted.

"It's on more and more secure footing every day," he said of the program.


-- Andrew Theen
atheen@oregonian.com
503-294-4026
@andrewtheen

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