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Highlighted Past Accomplishments

Below are links to featured OSA victories from 2003 and before.  For victories from 2004 to the present, visit our Recent Accomplishments page. 

Student Vote

•  2001, 2003, 2005: Defeated legislation that would have limited students’ ability to vote by pushing back the registration deadline, not allowing unofficial ballot boxes on-campus, and prohibiting effective voter registration drives on campuses

•  2002: Registered 12,226 students in an off-election

•  2001: Worked in coalition to provide multilingual ballots to make voting accessible to all Oregonians

•  2000: Registered 27,296 students and gave hundreds of ballot measure presentations so students could make educated decisions on Election Day

•  Registered 12,000 voters in 1998; 19,500 in 1996; 16,000 in 1994; and 15,000 in 1992

Child Care for Student Parents

•  2003:  After the Student Child Care Program was eliminated because of budget cuts and hundreds of families had been kicked off the Program, OSA was able restore $1 million to the program to serve 230 families

•  2001: Secured $1 million of state funding for the Student Child Care Block Grant, previously only funded through federal dollars (now the Student Child Care Program)

•  1989: Helped pass legislation that funded Student Parent Child Care Grant’s pilot project

Federal Need-Based Aid

•  Helped save millions (even billions in 1995) of federal financial aid dollars from cuts and have worked hard with our congressional delegation to create initiatives that benefit students

•  1997: Participated in a national coalition to force an increase in the Pell Grant, raising the maximum award and increasing access to more students.  Total increase: $400 million

•  Saved the State Student Incentive Grant (SSIG) from elimination in 1995 and 1996 and increased the Grant in 1996.  In 1997, Oregon students led a national effort to save the SSIG from elimination once again, saving students $25 million

State Need-Based Aid

•  2003: Increased funding of the Oregon Opportunity Grant by $12 million to serve more low-income students

  2001: Increased funding for the Oregon Opportunity Grant by $5 million to expand the program

•  1997, 1999: Increased funding for the Oregon Need Grant (now the Oregon Opportunity Grant) by $4 million

•  1995: Secured adoption of OSA formula for the Need Grant from the legislature

Tuition

•  2003, 2004: Delayed and minimized implementation of the removal of the tuition plateau, saving students hundreds of dollars

•  1997-2001: Won a tuition freeze and saved every OUS in-state student $600

•  1997, 1999: Supported and assisted in the creation of a Pre-Paid Tuition program for Oregon

•  1993: Defeated a 15 percent tuition increase which was reduced to a 7 percent tuition increase

•  1992, 1994: Compelled OUS to adopt a low tuition (one third of cost) policy

•  1991: Secured additional $10 million to reduce a $600 per student tuition surcharge to $501

University, OHSU, & Community College Funding

•  2003: Worked with Associated Students of Lane Community College to lobby the LCC Board of Directors to decrease the proposed tuition increases

•  Garnered support for Oregon University System (OUS) funding in 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2001, and 2003.  In 1999, we saw a +20 percent increase and in 2001 we restored over $50 million in cuts

•  1997-00: Founded, maintained, and led Access to Quality Coalition, a coalition of faculty, administrations, and businesses focused on adequate faculty compensation and low tuition that secured over $70 million for OUS

•  Convinced legislature to fund regional access initiatives for regional schools (SOU, EOU, OIT) in 1997 and 1999.  Convinced Governor to support regional school access in 2001 budget

•  1993: Secured $20 million for OUS budget beyond Governor’s initial recommendation

Meet the Candidates

Oregon Student Association
In order to provide a non-partisan guide to the 2010 primary election, OSA asked all registered gubernatorial candidates to fill out a short survey explaining their plans to meet student needs.

Their responses were posted in the order we received them.

Candidates who declined to respond:
• Allen Alley - Republican
• Bob Forthan - Republican
• Darren Karr - Republican

Oregon Student Association

Name: John Kitzhaber
Running for: Governor
Party: Democrat
Website: www.johnkitzhaber.com

What, specifically, would you do to increase access to college for Oregon students?

I view good financial access to post-secondary education as an essential component of achieving long-term economic sustainability in Oregon. I believe that in order to meet the demands of the new economy, we must make it possible for more Oregonians than ever before to attain higher levels of education. Studies show that an increasing number of jobs in the immediate economic recovery and longer term future will require some amount of post-secondary education.

If we can’t provide a workforce for those good jobs, our economic future will be in serious doubt.

Specifically with respect to our colleges and universities, we must strive to achieve a very high level of service and learning in our universities and meet access needs for all qualified Oregonians. I have proposed to give each qualified Oregonian at least two years of financial access to a post-secondary experience.

In order to do this we must stabilize our existing revenue stream and give some additional flexibility to the universities to manage their budgets. I don’t think that means taking away some functions from the legislature and Governor, such a transparent process for determining tuition. We must also increase the amount of aid that is available, but because we are facing a $2.5 billion revenue shortfall in the next biennium and possibly large shortfalls even after that, I believe that we must set up a transparent Oregon Education Investment Board so that Oregonians can see the importance of investing in education. I will use this data to make the case for more funding with the “bully pulpit” – quite possibly the Governor’s most effective tool.

Finally, when we put people back to work and begin to increase our revenue, we will continue to make higher education a priority for investment through the Oregon Education Investment Board.

What is your plan for funding and/or restructuring Oregon’s public universities and community colleges?

If broadly defined, education (early childhood to post-secondary education) accounts for sixty percent of Oregon’s general fund budget. And yet the budget framework through which we allocate public resources for education views early childhood investments; primary and secondary education; community colleges and the Oregon University System (OUS) as separate competing entities rather than as part of an interdependent continuum.

Currently the budget for OUS is developed by the Board of Higher Education; the community college budget is developed by the State Board of Education; the K-12 distribution formula is set in statute; and the budgets for early childhood programs are developed through yet other disconnected process. These isolated education budgets move independently through the legislative process.

This budgeting system – as well as the incentives within it – must be fundamentally changed if Oregon is to achieve its long term educational objectives.

First, our current fragmented budget allocation process must be replaced by a unified, transparent budget in which the focus is shifted from enrollment-based funding of institutions to outcome-based funding of the success of students as they move along the continuum.

Second, we must replace our current segmented budget development and governance process with one that recognizes the interdependent nature of the entire enterprise of education. The State Board of Education and the budgetary functions of the Board of Higher Education would be replaced with a new Oregon Education Investment Board which would assume responsibility for the development of the unified, transparent education budget; and for developing performance expectations at each stage of the Pre K-20 continuum.

Finally, we must move to a long term (ten-year) budget framework that allows us to account for how and when our investments pay off; giving us the capacity to understand how investments and programs at one education level inherently affect outcomes at another. To achieve Oregon’s long term educational objectives for preparing a 21st century workforce and innovation will also require a series of important policy initiatives and structural changes in our system of post-secondary education.

These include:

Oregon Student Association

Name: Bill Bradbury
Running for: Governor
Party: Democrat
Website: www.bradbury2010.com

What, specifically, would you do to increase access to college for Oregon students?

We cannot grow our economy, attract new business and put people back to work if we do not have adequate and stable funding for education. By increasing funding for K-12 education, we will better prepare Oregon students for education at the community college and higher education levels. However, it has become increasingly difficult for young Oregonians to afford college tuition because they have, over the years, been asked to shoulder a larger and larger share of the bill.

Right now, the state pays about 8% of the total cost for a student to attend a four-year public university.

The individual student is saddled with the rest of the burden—a whopping 92% of the cost—and must find creative ways to fund his or her college education or go into massive debt. This severely decreases access to college for young Oregonians.

As your next Governor, I will work to increase state funding for higher education thereby reducing the cost of tuition for Oregon students. Oregon families ought to be able to send their children to college—reducing the student’s share of the tuition cost will give students and their families that opportunity.

I am also proposing the Bank of Oregon. The Bank of Oregon, modeled on the State Bank of North Dakota, will keep Oregon money here in Oregon working for Oregonians. One service of the Bank of Oregon could be to provide Student Loans for Oregon high school graduates. The idea would be for the Bank of Oregon to provide low cost student loans for students who want to get their education at one of our public universities or community colleges. This has proven very successful and popular in North Dakota.

What is your plan for funding and/or restructuring Oregon’s public universities and community colleges?

In 1977, the average tuition at an Oregon community college was $387 a year. In 2007, it was $3,870 a year. Tuition increases severely outpaced wage increases in that same timeframe. This was not and is not sustainable. I have a realistic plan to fully fund education by looking at the current tax code.

Right now, Oregon forgoes about $30 billion in lost tax revenue per biennium. I will work to reduce this lost revenue by 5% through either the Legislature or through the voters by ballot measure. This relative small deduction would generate about $2 billion per biennium that could be use to fully fund education at all levels.

For example, right now there is a tax loophole that was enacted in 1909 called the Income from Foreign Controlled Corporations tax break that rewards Oregon corporations for storing money overseas. This is unfair to Oregon individuals. By eliminating just this one loophole, we can generate another $30 million for education.

Kate Brown, the current secretary of state, recently issued an audit report that found $200 million in unpaid state income taxes. One watchdog group estimates that the state loses over $1.2 billion a biennium in uncollected tax revenue personal, corporate and property. I propose we increase enforcement, collect these incomes taxes and allocate it to public education. So by looking at the current tax structure, we have found that we can find the money to fully fund education. We need to make a choice on what is more important to the future of our state; fully fund education, or continue to allow our current tax expenditure to take precedence over education for Oregon students.

Finally there are some who are proposing allowing Oregon’s public universities to become public corporations. I don’t like this idea because I believe that public schools should remain public and we should be talking about creative ways to fund our universities not re-structuring with the same investments.

Oregon Student Association

Name: Rex Watkins
Running for: Governor
Party: Republican
Website: www.rexwatkinsforgovernor.com

What, specifically, would you do to increase access to college for Oregon students?

I don’t think access, in its true sense, is the issue. I think cost and value are the real issues. The cost of a four-year bachelor’s degree is very expensive, and in some areas of study, of dubious value. I plan to make reductions in administrative and physical plant costs.

What is your plan for funding and/or restructuring Oregon’s public universities and community colleges?

We have great programs at our universities and community colleges. Many of these programs can be shared between universities and community colleges (like the dual-enrollment programs now being offered, but not utilized to the fullest extent possible). I plan to implement a program through employers that encourages students to work their way to a degree so that they do not graduate with the burden of student loans. I also plan to reduce the cost of education by making reductions in administrative and physical plant costs.

Oregon Student Association

Name: W. Ames Curtright
Running for: Governor
Party: Republican
Website: www.amesfororegon.com

What, specifically, would you do to increase access to college for Oregon students?

Students must be educated for the years to come. This must include technical schooling of all sorts as well as traditional subjects. I will push for increasing alternative forms of higher education such as online courses to provide students greater access. We must realize that many students need to work and the traditional classroom setting can be a barrier to furthering their education.

What is your plan for funding and/or restructuring Oregon’s public universities and community colleges?

The current bureaucracy in higher education robs the classroom of needed dollars. I will look to consolidate and identify economics of scale in administering our university system. By reducing the size and cost of the bloated bureaucracy our Oregon students will be the benefactors of a better and more cost effective education. I will also lead the way in organizing administrators, teachers, and students to pull together and come up with some common sense ways to improve and streamline our educational system. The groups closest to the current issues that face colleges today are the ones that will lead us to a better system tomorrow.

Oregon Student Association

Name: Chris Dudley
Running for: Governor
Party: Republican
Website: www.chrisdudley.com

What, specifically, would you do to increase access to college for Oregon students?

As Governor, the first thing I can do to improve access to college for Oregonians is to keep it affordable. Restructuring our higher education system by unshackling it from the inefficient micromanagement of state bureaucracy is the first step in that direction. Second, the state must reform the Oregon Opportunity Grant program, which recently ran $19 million into the red, damaging the program’s credibility and viability. This is an important tool to broaden access to colleges and universities and we need to ensure that it is put back on a sustainable track. Third, we need to work with the federal government and private lending institutions to ensure student lending remains accessible and affordable. Having used student loans to finance my own college tuition, I understand the important role they play in providing greater access to higher education.

What is your plan for funding and/or restructuring Oregon’s public universities and community colleges?

I will work to position Oregon colleges, universities and community colleges to be the job and idea factories of tomorrow by unshackling them from the outdated regulations that unnecessarily increase costs, limit innovation and provide little accountability of individual institutions. The 6300 line items in the state budget for higher education should be reduced, but with that greater autonomy must come greater accountability over education outcomes. Finally, I will reverse the decades-long retreat from investments in higher education.

Oregon Student Association

Name: Bill Sizemore
Running for: Governor
Party: Republican
Website: www.billsizemore.com

What, specifically, would you do to increase access to college for Oregon students?

When I ran for governor in 1998, the budget I proposed included more funding for higher ed than John Kitzhaber’s budget. Higher ed has consistently been one of the things Democrats have underfunded, primarily because Democrats legislators are subservient to the OEA, the teachers union that represents teachers in the K-12 system. I will continue my support for funding higher education and have a way to do that without harming K-12 funding.

What is your plan for funding and/or restructuring Oregon’s public universities and community colleges?

Hundreds of millions of dollars are diverted away from education funding each year, because of the $13 billion PERS deficit. I have devised a plan for reforming PERS that is fair to government employees, but also fair for taxpayers and those benefiting from adequate funding public programs. Funding for higher ed will continue to suffer, if the Public Employee Retirement System is not brought into line. I am the only candidate in this race who has a specific, workable plan for breaking the stranglehold the public employee unions have on the state of Oregon and effectively reforming PERS.

Oregon Student Association

Name: Clark Colvin
Running for: Governor
Party: Republican
Website: www.colvinforgovernor2010.com

What, specifically, would you do to increase access to college for Oregon students?

I would increase access by lowering the costs of education.  I would do this by cutting administrative expenses at both the college level and at the State Government level, and I would hold accountable college administrators to provide the best affordable education seen in all 50 states, thereby increasing out-of-state student enrollment.

I would also provide financial aid programs to those students who cannot afford college, though enforcing GPA standards thus eliminating abuse. Note: much of today’s student loan programs end up creating a future drain on the student after college, especially for graduate students who may end with monthly payments as much as a mortgage. These programs must only be offered with fair lending practices and with very low interest rates. Lowering the costs of education lends itself to your second question as to how I would restructure the university system.

What is your plan for funding and/or restructuring Oregon’s public universities and community colleges?

If you compare Oregon’s educational fund to that of some other states you quickly see the major problem.  Oregon’s spends too much money on pensions and welfare and in doing so spends less on education and health services.  We must reverse this non-sense. To make Oregon a beacon for higher education and thus job growth, we must reset our state spending priorities.

Thus in order to restructure our state university system we must first restructure Oregon’s State government as well as radically change the tax structure so that business will want to stay in the state, and out-of-state companies will be attracted to move into the state. Today it is the opposite. And as long as this is the case, college tuition will continue to go up, and jobs will be scarce. Which is a direct negative impact on that Return on Investment mentioned above. 
My career has been dedicated to restructuring and business turnarounds, and I know I can implement the restructuring changes that will both make college less expensive and that will provide more resources enhancing Oregon’s higher educational status across the U.S.

Oregon Student Association

Name: Roger Obrist
Running for: Governor
Party: Democrat
Website:—

What, specifically, would you do to increase access to college for Oregon students?

I would work to increase incentives for institution to attract and retain and successfully educate students.

What is your plan for funding and/or restructuring Oregon’s public universities and community colleges?

I would work for a new budget model where the schools retain all of their tuition thereby making it financially beneficial for the schools to try and attract more students.

Oregon Student Association

Name: John Lim
Running for: Governor
Party: Republican
Website: www.limforgovernor.com

What, specifically, would you do to increase access to college for Oregon students?

I will continue to support Oregon Opportunity Grant, Federal Pell Grant, and each Oregon businessman must be involved in supporting and providing scholarships like I have done in the last 25 years.

What is your plan for funding and/or restructuring Oregon’s public universities and community colleges?

Oregon’s 17 community college tuitions are among highest in Western United States.  Iwant to make sure education funding comes first including higher education.  Even I am supporting the public corporation option for more possible funding from private sector.

Oregon Student Foundation

Oregon Student Action Center

Contact OSA

Oregon Student Association
635 NE Dekum St.
Portland, OR 97211
Phone: 503-286-0477
Fax: 503-286-0924 Email:(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

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