The state Higher Education Coordinating Commission rejected the University of Oregon's plan to increase in-state undergraduate tuition by more than 10 percent.
The HECC, a 14-member board in charge of funding of higher education in OR, followed OR governor Kate Brown's recommendation to vote down any tuition hike over 5 percent.
No one wants to increase tuition, but the university is left with little choice given that tuition is the UO's main source of revenue after decades of declining state support. The HECC's decision to overturn a tuition plan that was reached through months of inclusive campus engagement and careful deliberation by our institutional Board of Trustees, however, threatens our ability to deliver on that promise for all Oregonians.
University of OR and Portland State University needed five votes from the eight voting members of the Higher Education Coordinating Commission to get their tuition increases through Thursday.
"PSU faces a $20 million budget shortfall this fall, and the Board of Trustees last month unanimously approved a tuition increase combined with $9 million in cuts for next year to bridge the gap".
The rejected plan proposed a 10.6 percent increase for residents and 3 percent for non-residents.
But the committee nixed the proposed hikes at PSU and UO.
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None of the five votes on tuition increases were unanimous, but three universities got the necessary "yes" votes from commissioners to approve their hikes: Western Oregon University, Southern Oregon University and the Oregon Institute of Technology. "There are no good options here, and we are asking the HECC to reconsider today's vote".
The universities have been seeking steep tuition hikes at a time when health care and pension costs are rising and state support is lagging. "We look forward to hearing how UO and PSU intend to either adjust their tuition proposals or present additional information to the (commission) that could result in reconsideration".
The required sign-off from the commission is part of several big changes to Oregon's higher education system in recent years. Under state law, the UO can raise tuition only up to 5 percent a year without state approval.
A report on how a possible increase in state funding would affect tuition.
One commissioner suggested that turning down the tuition hikes would send a message to state lawmakers to spend more on public universities.
Modify their plan so the tuition increase is less than 5 percent and will not need commission approval. They would likely prefer college leaders keep their focus in legislative discussions on state funding for higher education, rather than on lobbying for tuition increases.
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