Chemeketa Community College lost a $4.2 million federal grant this year after the Trump administration canceled the Career-Connected High Schools program.

It is one piece of a statewide higher education funding crisis that prompted Oregon's oversight commission to request $4.7 billion for the next two years.

The Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) approved the budget request for the 2027-2029 biennium on Aug. 13.

The proposal covers Oregon's seven public universities, 17 community colleges, Oregon Health & Science University and workforce programs.

Gov. Tina Kotek will fold it into her budget recommendations for the Legislature when it reconvenes in January.

Commissioners said they approved the request reluctantly. The current biennium budget is $4.4 billion, and HECC board members have warned that even the higher figure falls short.

HECC Chair Greg Hamann wrote in an Aug. 13 letter to Kotek, reported by OPB, that the fiscal struggles facing Oregon's higher education system are serious and that greater investment is both necessary and strategic for the state's future.

At current funding levels, the commission warned, public colleges will struggle to maintain programming, tuition levels and student support.

Oregon ranks near the bottom nationally in public higher education funding. A Western Oregon University press release from July put the state at 46th, with universities receiving roughly $8,000 less per student than neighboring Washington. At least one HECC subcommittee estimate says Oregon should more than double its annual higher education spending, from $1.2 billion to $2.5 billion, according to OPB.

The strain is visible. The University of Oregon is trying to close a $65 million budget gap. Southern Oregon University needs to cut $20 million or could run out of money by June 2027, according to OPB.

The canceled Chemeketa grant had been a partnership with Oregon Coast Community College and five school districts. It would have given rural students college credits, internships and career exposure. Sara Hastings, Chemeketa's dean of high school partnerships and the grant's project director, told Education Week in February that the cancellation meant breaking promises to students.

"There were so many wonderful things that we could be doing for our students, especially for our rural students," Hastings said. "To not be able to fulfill those promises to our students, it's a hard thing."

Meanwhile, private Willamette University in Salem is tackling the affordability problem from a different angle. The university announced Sept. 2 that it will waive tuition for Oregon students from households earning less than $80,000 a year, starting in the 2027-28 school year. The program, called the Oregon Access Scholarship, covers tuition after federal Pell Grants and state aid are applied. Tuition alone at Willamette runs a little more than $28,000 this year. Willamette is not covered by the HECC budget, but its move reflects the same enrollment and cost pressures squeezing public institutions.

Oregon's college-going rate fell to about 55% for the class of 2025, according to the Oregon Department of Education. That is 8 percentage points below the national average and down from 65% in 2011, as the Statesman Journal reported.

A spokesperson for Kotek's office said the governor has "provided guidance to state agencies to limit budget requests," citing the financial impacts of the federal tax and spending law known as the "One Big Beautiful Bill," OPB reported.

The Legislature will take up the budget when it convenes in January 2027.