JULY 2008: AROUND THE STATE
University enrollment projected to increase
Portland State University's fall 2007
enrollment was almost 25,000 students.
|
STATEWIDE
This fall, the Oregon University System expects another
increase in enrollment, even though lenders of federally backed
student loans are becoming more selective with their money in
the ongoing credit crisis.
Last month Eastern Oregon University — a less selective,
lower-tier school — said it had been dropped by some
lenders. If the trend spreads to other schools, some
prospective Oregon students, especially the neediest, could
find it more difficult to get financing for tuition and housing
costs, thus affecting enrollment.
OUS Board President Kirby Dyess calls the trend a
“concern,” but says state initiatives like last
year’s $50 million funding boost of the Oregon
Opportunity Grant for middle and low-income students and the
increased use of Oregon’s 529 Plan — a state-run
college savings plan — should offset the downshift in the
student loan industry.
And a down economy can mean more students, Dyess says.
Students view it as an ideal to time to enhance their job
marketability by gaining new skills or more education, she
says. Initial data suggests a spike in state resident and
first-generation college students.
Final enrollment figures will not be available until fall.
Last year OUS reported a 1.5% nudge in enrollment, from 81,002
to
82,249.
JASON SHUFFLER
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