The University of Oregon is facing a growing shortfall, starting with an anticipated $2.3 million deficit this year.
For years, the school has relied on out-of-state students to subsidize in-state students. UO Chief Financial Officer Jamie Moffitt said out-of-state enrollment has now fallen short of projections and costs have grown faster than anticipated.
“We’re a large institution and we can, for a year or two, operate in a situation where we don’t have enough revenue coming in,” Moffitt said. “Just like any organization, we can’t do that indefinitely.”
Moffitt said a number of factors could have impacted enrollment, including the federal government’s botched student aid overhaul.
One of the Biden Administration’s priorities was to simplify the Federal Application for Student Aid, or FAFSA. The initial rollout was plagued with delayed and technical issues for students and colleges.
College demographics are also changing overall - the generation of young people entering college is smaller than previous generations and fewer see the value of higher education.
After the last recession, Moffitt said Oregon’s public universities faced large state budget cuts, and they made up the money with significant increases to tuition. Since then, Oregon has spent far less per-student than other states.
“I don’t think it would be feasible for students to raise tuition like we had to during that time period,” Moffitt said. “I’m hopeful we’ll be in a situation where we’ll see investments in higher education, and not cuts.”
Ahead of the legislative session Oregon's seven public universities asked the state to increase support, hoping to head off a significant tuition increase. They requested an additional $275 million.
The association that represents Oregon’s community colleges has also requested additional state support, saying it also anticipates potential shortfalls.
Gov. Tina Kotek’s proposed budget did not include the full requested boost in funding the two groups requested- but state lawmakers could still write them into their budget.
There are still several other factors at play that could impact the projected $2.3 million deficit, and future financial challenges.
President Donald Trump has promised to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education. Locally, UO is still in contract negotiations with the union that represents its faculty.
Nationally, some colleges and universities are experiencing an upswing in enrollment. The University of Oregon expects to get updated enrollment figures in a few months.
