What do we expect our investment to achieve for this principle?
Increased accessibility and affordability of post-secondary education for low-income and minority Oregonians through:
- Expanded eligibility and provision of need-based grants for eligible undergraduate applicants attending Oregon colleges and universities.
Progress on "more, better, faster" goals for post-secondary education:
- More students entering and completing college, more students from diverse backgrounds with college degrees, and more Oregonians with degrees, flexible job skills, and higher earnings staying in Oregon after college.
- Better alignment between two and four year institutions, better alignment with economic needs, better use of public resources, better student retention.
- Faster to graduation, faster to the workforce, faster to a stronger Oregon.
Protection of critical classroom resources by increasing efficiencies in the PreK-16 education system:
- ESD (Education Service District) consolidation.
- ESDs’ expanded role in the central office business functions of some school districts.
- Statewide K-12 health insurance pool.
- Alignment of undergraduate general education courses to allow for transfer of credits among all community colleges and public universities.
- PreK-16 electronic data system linking communications between schools, community colleges, and universities to improve preparation for post-secondary education, support more effective student counseling, and enhance measurement of and accountability for student progress throughout the educational system.
Investment in critical infrastructure and operations, including:
- Critical infrastructure in all seven public universities, including taking the first step in addressing the Department of Higher Education’s $600 million deferred maintenance backlog and the replacement of OSU’s central heating plant with a co-generation plant that will provide electricity, heating, and cooling and enable the school to stay open when the temperature dips below 28 degrees.
- $20 million in bond proceeds for upgrading OUS telecommunications wiring and information systems and telecommunications needs throughout the system.
- Expanded instructional facilities in Medford through a joint project by Southern Oregon University and Rogue Community College.
- Twenty-five construction projects at the University of Oregon, which include a new building and upgrades or renovations of housing, dining, and other facilities.
- Funding for construction projects at Rogue Community College, Oregon Coast Community College, Columbia Gorge Community College, Clatsop Community College, Klamath Community College, and Tillamook Bay Community College. This is the first state investment in community college facilities projects in over twenty years.
Education for students across the state through:
- Operation of the seven Department of Higher Education institutions for the 148,700 full-time equivalent students and the seventeen community colleges serving over 175,000 full-time equivalent students.
- Education for 532,000 students in K-12 provided by 198 school districts, more than 1,200 schools, and 20 Education Service Districts - which employ approximately 35,000 teachers, assistants, and 20,000 other staff.
Help to ensure children enter school ready to learn and succeed in school through:
- Early intervention services for all children with special education needs ages 2 to 5 years old.
- Pre-kindergarten services for 53 percent of eligible low-income children.
- Healthy Start program for voluntary home visitation/family support services during the prenatal period or at the time of birth, for about 45 percent of first-birth families in all 36 counties.
- Maintaining the progress made over the past decade in student test scores.
Enhanced workforce development opportunities:
- Training to more than 11,000 workers helping them enhance their skills and helping Oregon companies remain competitive.
- Leveraging of federal resources to expand state investments in education programs connected with the state’s workforce training system.
- Increased opportunities for professional development training for thousands of Oregonians from first responders to manufacturers to nurses and agricultural workers.
Assistance to help working families and Oregonians with disabilities succeed:
- Move more than 18,500 low-income families with children toward self-sufficiency through Oregon’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program by providing employment training services, housing, transportation and childcare assistance.
- Child care assistance for nearly 10,000 working families (19,000 children) each month to support employment and training opportunities.
- Support for more than 13,000 children annually who are placed in 24-hour substitute care outside their own homes, including emergency shelters and residential facilities.
- Vocational rehabilitation services to help more than 19,000 Oregonians with disabilities achieve and maintain employment.
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