Oregon student numbers hit record high

The Oregon University System announced that a record-high enrollment of 101,393 students was reached in fall 2012.

The increase reflects an influx of out-of-state and international students, and growth in high-demand fields such as engineering and health care, where targeted university investments continue to support an increasing number of students.

Ten-year enrollment growth for OUS continues to outpace national averages, increasing by almost 23,400 students since 2002—almost the size of another University of Oregon—with more than 19,100 of those just in the last five years. Oregon was recognized last year for having the highest five-year enrollment growth in public postsecondary education of any state in the nation.

OUS Chancellor George Pernsteiner gives credit to faculty and staff at Oregon’s public universities for continuing to serve more students in the classroom with support services that keep them in college in very difficult budget times.

“More of our students are facing affordability and life challenges, are juggling work and college, and are returning to school after unemployment or after serving our country in the military. These are the students and the issues that we are focusing on to reach the state’s important 40-40-20 education attainment goals,” Pernsteiner said. “Meeting this target is both an equity and an economic issue for Oregonians. We need the companies and the jobs that educated, diverse citizens draw in and keep in a state, and that help stabilize the economic flux that has kept Oregon from bouncing back.”

For this fall term, PSU counted 28,731 students attending school, compared to 28,958 students in fall 2011, nearly a 1 percent decrease.

Oregon’s 40-40-20 goal, recently codified in law with the passage of Senate Bill 253, targets achievement levels at 40 percent of Oregonians with a bachelor’s degree or higher, 40 percent with an associate’s degree or post-high-school certificate and 100 percent with at least a high school diploma.

The ultimate outcome of increased enrollment over time is an increased number of degrees attained by OUS students. A record-high number of graduates who departed campuses this past June produced the resulting lower enrollment increase than seen in recent years. OUS awarded 20,209 degrees and certificates in 2011–12, an 8.1 percent increase over 2010–11 and an all time high for the system, with bachelor’s degrees alone totaling 15,492.

Melody Rose, vice chancellor for academic strategies, said that leaders, professors and teachers at the university, community college and K–12 levels are working together to rethink how higher education is delivered so more people can enter and graduate college and find great jobs.

“We are hopeful that the state will make an investment in Oregon’s college students in 2013 that will ensure that cost is not a barrier for them. We can’t afford to lose a generation of educated Oregonians,” Rose said.

Enrollment growth for OUS in fall 2012 increased by 1,077 students, to 101,393 students. This is a five-year increase of 23.3 percent, keeping OUS on a trajectory just slightly short of what is needed to reach the state’s 40-40-20 goal by 2025.

—Oregon University System