Financial aid reductions

Oregon students will see a reduction in their allocation of the Oregon Opportunity Grant beginning at the start of the 2010 spring semester, or, for students attending schools on the trimester system, the start of the spring term.

The Oregon Student Assistance Commission (OSAC) approved the reduction in order to balance a projected budget shortfall in its $57 million budget for 2009–10.

Full-time students enrolled at Oregon two- and four-year universities will receive a $120 reduction in their awards, and part-time students will receive a $60 enrollment reduction. The reductions are expected to affect up to 38,000 Oregon college students, according to a press release from OSAC.

OSAC reports that the number of applications from students who meet general-grant eligibility requirements jumped nearly 29 percent by the end of November 2009, compared to the same time in 2008.

With more than six months remaining in the 2009–10 cycle, financial aid applications from community college students alone are up another 44 percent over last year. Students applying for aid are in deeper need financially than previously projected, according to the press release.

The OSAC board is appointed by the governor to oversee the agency responsible for managing a variety of state-funded and privately funded grant and scholarship programs, including the Oregon Opportunity Grant.

“The national recession and high unemployment rates are contributing factors to this surge in demand,” said Dennis Johnson, OSAC executive director. “More dependent students and older, married students with families applied for and were eligible for maximum awards than anticipated.”

To help manage this shortfall, OSAC will submit a request to the Interim Joint Committee on Ways and Means for a supplemental allocation of $19.7 million in General Funds for the Oregon Opportunity Grant awards for the remainder of the 2009-11 biennium.

OSAC budgeted $57 million for the 2009–10 academic year, but has authorized awards for a projected $66.7 million. Of the requested $19.7 million in additional funds, $5 million would enable OSAC to replace the midyear cuts that students will face during the 2009–01 biennium. Approximately $15 million of the request money, if approved, will help fill the budget shortfall for the 2010¬–11 academic year.

OSAC is encouraging students and families to continue the process of applying for financial aid by filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as soon as possible this calendar year. FAFSA determines a student’s eligibility for federal and state aid, including grants, scholarships and other financial aid.