Tuition is typically one of the primary concerns for college students.
“The price of attending a public four-year college has risen 27 percent beyond inflation over the past five years,” wrote Bryce Covert of thinkprogress.com. “The costs have also gone up 24 percent at community colleges and 13 percent at private universities.”
Senate Bill 81, the “Oregon Promise,” is a last-minute bill passed by legislators on Thursday, July 9 that will provide free tuition to eligible community college students in the state of Oregon. The bill makes Oregon the second state after Tennessee to offer free community college.
The key phrase regarding the bill is “eligible community college students.” In order to qualify for the free tuition, students will need to meet specific criteria. Recipients must have lived in Oregon for at least 12 months prior to enrolling in community college, received a high school diploma or GED certificate, and earned a cumulative high school GPA of 2.5 or equivalent.
It’s also not completely free. Each student must pay at least $50 per term.
The bill was proposed by Sen. Mark Hass. According to Hass, the two main goals of the 2015 Legislative Session were to make the tax system in Oregon more stable and to provide debt-free community college to Oregon high school graduates at no cost.
“We are closer to improving the lives and opportunities of our students,” said Hass.
It’s still early on. Oregon could begin the program as early 2016, and it’s estimated that 10,000 to 12,000 students will see the benefits of free community college.
Regardless of how soon the bill is enacted, it is a huge accomplishment for Oregon to pass a bill granting free community college for students. It will be interesting to see what the future holds for Senate Bill 81.
“A lifetime of food stamps is much more expensive than the annual community college tuition of $3,ooo,” Hass told lawmakers on May 28.
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