Oregon Public Broadcasting

A handful of Oregon universities have announced they will backfill a state funding shortfall for lower income students.

Last month, universities found out that the state didn’t have enough money to fully fund the Oregon Opportunity Grants program. Ethan Lindsey reports.

Every student receiving an Oregon Opportunity Grant was going to have to share the pain.

Full time students would get $80 less than before.

Elizabeth Bickford: “Eighty dollars, when you are on a fixed income, is hard to make up for. Especially because these are low income students.”

Elizabeth Bickford is director of student financial aid at the University of Oregon.

Bickford says state educators met and decided they needed to, basically, hold up their end of the bargain.

The University of Oregon found $340,000 in unrestricted funds and grant-specific donor dollars.

But Bickford says this is a one-time deal. If the state underfunds the grants again.

Elizabeth Bickford: “We could put together this program. But what really has to happen is that the Governor and the Legislature need to understand the need of this program.”

Oregon State, Western Oregon, and others also found ways to fund the grants. But many community colleges, with few donor dollars, will not be able to make up the difference.