Undergraduate Tuition at Oregon's Public Universities to Rise Again, Up Nearly 30% from a Decade Ago
The state's Higher Education Coordinating Commission reports that Oregon ranks 44th nationally in public higher education funding, a key driver behind the persistent tuition increases. "Oregon public universities have some of the highest tuition and fee rates among Western states," said Ben Cannon, executive director of the commission, in an interview with the Oregon Capital Chronicle. Universities cite rising inflation, higher staff costs—particularly contributions to the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS)—and capital investments as additional pressures. At institutions like Oregon State University (OSU) and the University of Oregon (UO), tuition and fees now account for over half of revenue, one of the highest proportions in the nation.
For the upcoming academic year, OSU's Board of Trustees approved a 4.91% tuition increase for resident undergraduates at its Corvallis campus and 4.7% at OSU-Cascades in Bend, translating to an additional $11-$12 per credit hour. Portland State University (PSU) will raise resident undergraduate tuition by 4.8%, while UO approved a 3% hike for new undergraduates. Eastern Oregon University (EOU) is expected to finalize a tuition increase within the 3-5% range by mid-May. Any increase above 5% requires approval from the Higher Education Coordinating Commission.
The financial burden falls heavily on students. Resident undergraduates currently pay around $15,320 at UO and $14,400 at OSU, while out-of-state students face significantly higher costs—$42,516 at UO and $38,190 at OSU. Over the past six years, tuition for UO's freshman class has risen by more than 25%, with current students paying over $15,600 annually compared to $12,400 in 2019. Despite these increases, enrollment has declined, with full-time enrollment at Oregon's public universities dropping by approximately 3,000 students since 2014, and total class enrollment falling by 4,000. Last fall, nearly 80,000 students were enrolled across the seven universities.
Students and advocacy groups have expressed frustration over the rising costs as universities are attempting to offset the hikes with increased financial aid. OSU plans to provide over $100 million in institutional aid, while UO will offer $125 million, nearly triple the amount provided five years ago. Additionally, UO locks in tuition for five years for each incoming freshman class, providing some predictability. However, the rising cost of living, particularly housing near campuses, exacerbates affordability concerns.
The reliance on tuition revenue stems from a significant decline in state support. Twenty-five years ago, Oregon covered up to 75% of the cost of each full-time university employee; today, it funds 50% or less. Oregon's per-pupil funding of $8,400 annually lags behind the national average of $11,000, and the state's overall investment in higher education remains below most states. This underfunding has economic implications, with reports indicating Oregon struggles to produce enough graduates in fields like STEM, healthcare, and technology to meet workforce demands.
With no significant increase in state funding on the horizon, Oregon's public universities face a challenging balancing act: maintaining quality and accessibility while covering rising costs. For students, the dream of higher education comes with an ever-higher price tag, prompting calls for reform to restore the "public" in public higher education.
Originally published on University Herald
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Int'l Business Times
5 days ago
- Int'l Business Times
Trump Administration's Tariff Strategy Turns Into Geopolitical Pressure On India And Brazil
The Trump administration has significantly expanded the use of tariffs beyond traditional trade policy, deploying them as tools of geopolitical influence targeting India and Brazil. This week, the administration imposed steep 50% tariffs on Indian imports, a punitive measure directly linked to India's continued purchase of Russian oil amid the ongoing Ukraine conflict. As reported by The Washington Post, this move aims to pressure India into aligning more closely with U.S. and Western sanctions on Russia. The tariffs come at a time when India's strategic relationships with both Russia and the West are delicate and evolving. Simultaneously, the administration has imposed similar 50% tariffs on Brazilian imports, in apparent retaliation for legal actions taken against former President Jair Bolsonaro, a prominent Trump ally. According to Reuters, while the tariffs have strained diplomatic relations, Brazil's diversified trade partnerships have so far mitigated the economic impact. Experts cited by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace warn that such aggressive tariff policies risk damaging decades of diplomatic progress between the U.S. and these important emerging markets. The tariffs on India, in particular, may push New Delhi closer to Russia and China, undermining U.S. influence in a critical region. Furthermore, as analyzed by Reuters, this tariff escalation could unintentionally strengthen the BRICS bloc, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, potentially solidifying a trade and strategic counterweight to U.S. interests globally. In response, officials in both India and Brazil have expressed deep disappointment and signaled intentions to seek retaliatory measures, raising fears of a prolonged trade conflict with wide-reaching global consequences.
Int'l Business Times
6 days ago
- Int'l Business Times
Trump Hikes India Levy Over Russian Oil As Tariff Deadline Approaches
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday ordered steeper tariffs on Indian goods over New Delhi's continued purchase of Russian oil, opening a new front in his trade wars just hours before another wave of duties takes effect. Trump's additional 25-percent tariff on Indian goods, set to come into place in three weeks, stacks atop a separate 25-percent duty entering into force Thursday. This takes the level to 50 percent for many products. Trump's order also threatens potential penalties on other countries for "directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil," a key source of revenue for Moscow's war in Ukraine. But exemptions remain for goods targeted under sector-specific duties such as steel and aluminum, and categories that could be hit later, like pharmaceuticals and semiconductors. Smartphones are also among this list of exempted products for now, notably shielding Apple from a major hit as the US tech titan shifts production from China to India. India's foreign ministry condemned Trump's tariff announcement Wednesday, calling the move "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable." The ministry had previously said that India began importing from Russia as traditional supplies were diverted to Europe after the outbreak of the conflict. It noted that Washington at that time had "actively encouraged such imports by India for strengthening global energy market stability." But Trump recently ramped up pressure on India over its purchases of Russian oil, threatening new tariffs as part of a campaign to force Moscow into ending its devastating invasion of Ukraine. India's national security adviser was in Moscow on Wednesday, media in New Delhi reported, coinciding with a visit by US envoy Steve Witkoff. The latest 25-percent additional tariff is notably lower than a 100-percent level Trump floated last month when he told Russia to end its war in Ukraine within 50 days or face massive new economic sanctions. The Republican said at the time that these would be "secondary tariffs" targeting Russia's remaining trade partners, seeking to impede Moscow's ability to survive already sweeping Western sanctions. Trump's latest salvo targeting India came after he separately took aim at Brazil over the trial of his right-wing ally, former president Jair Bolsonaro -- who is accused of planning a coup. On Wednesday, US tariffs on various Brazilian goods surged from 10 percent to 50 percent, although broad exemptions including for orange juice and civil aircraft are expected to soften the blow. Come Thursday, a new wave of tariffs on imports from dozens of other economies, ranging from the European Union to Taiwan, is set to kick in. These updated "reciprocal" tariffs, meant to address trade practices Washington deems unfair, go as high as 41 percent for countries like Syria. Other major US trading partners face varying increases from a current 10-percent level, starting at 15 percent for economies like the EU, Japan and South Korea. Countries not targeted by these "reciprocal" tariff hikes continue facing a 10-percent US levy Trump imposed in April. Trump's plans have sparked a rush to avert the steeper duties, with Switzerland's President Karin Keller-Sutter hurrying to Washington this week ahead of the Thursday deadline. Though she secured a meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, it was unclear if she would meet Trump or any top economic officials. Her Alpine country faces a 39-percent duty on many of its exports, and while its key pharmaceutical sector has been spared for now, Trump has said a potential separate tariff could eventually rise to 250 percent. Some of Trump's sweeping tariffs face legal challenges over his use of emergency economic powers, with the cases likely to ultimately reach the Supreme Court.
DW
6 days ago
- DW
What if India and China stop buying Russian oil? – DW – 08/06/2025
Donald Trump is tightening sanctions loopholes that fund Moscow's war machine. What does a crackdown on Russia's oil trade mean for global markets — and economic heavyweights like China and India? India and China have pushed back firmly against US President Donald Trump's threats of secondary sanctions — penalties for doing business with a sanctioned country — over their continued purchases of Russia's oil, which is a key revenue stream for Moscow's war in Ukraine. Both nations vowed to protect their energy security and economic sovereignty against what Beijing firmly called "coercion and pressure" from the United States. China became the biggest importer of Russian oil in 2022. India, meanwhile, accused the West of hypocrisy, pointing out that the European Union continues to import Russian energy, despite having massively reduced its reliance on it since the war began.. New Delhi further noted that Washington had actively supported its oil purchases from Russia, which ramped up shortly after the Russian invasion, to help stabilize global oil prices. India's oil purchases from Russia have grown nearly 19-fold over the past four years, from 0.1 to 1.9 million barrels a day, while China's rose by 50% to 2.4 million barrels a day. Petras Katinas, a Lithuania-based energy analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), told DW that India, Russia's second-largest oil buyer, had saved up to $33 billion in energy costs between 2022 and 2024 as Moscow offered large price cuts when the US and Europe cut their reliance on Russian oil and gas. India's longtime policy of balancing ties with the US, Russia and China, without prioritizing any side, had "underpinned" the decision to buy discounted Russian crude, with New Delhi "prioritizing energy security and affordability," Katinas said. Having already imposed a 25% tariff on Indian imports25% tariff on Indian imports, Trump issued an executive order on Wednesday, imposing an additional 25% tariff on goods from India over its purchases of Russian oil. Oil prices rose nearly 1% on the news, while Indian media outlets reported that the new levy could spike the country's oil bill by up to $11 billion. New Delhi labeled the additional levy "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable." Trump said the tariffs would take effect in 21 days, giving India and Russia time to negotiate with the administration on the import taxes. The president was also expected to announce wider secondary sanctions on other countries and entities with which Russia trades oil. Secondary sanctions would be another major blow for the Russian economy, already reeling from Western sanctions. With military spending now exceeding 6% of GDP and real inflation estimated by some analysts at 15-20% versus the official 9% figure, Russia is burning through cash, putting serious pressure on its budget and arms factories. For global markets, new sanctions could trigger a seismic shock in energy prices and trade flows reminiscent of 2022, when the oil price surged and Russia bypassed Western sanctions by striking discounted energy deals with two of the world's largest economies. "If India had not bought Russian crude [in 2022], it's anyone's guess what the oil price would have been — $100 (€86), $120, $300 [per barrel]," Sumit Ritolia, a New Delhi-based oil analyst from trade research house Kpler, told DW. WTI crude hovered between $74 and $95 per barrel in the weeks before the invasion. Trump's 25% "secondary tariff" could leave India with no choice but to scale back at least some of its oil trade with Russia. Any additional sanctions would only make matters worse. Katinas said secondary sanctions "raise the stakes" significantly, "threatening Indian companies' access to the US financial system and exposing banks, refineries, and shipping firms to serious repercussions given their integration into global markets." If Russia's 5 million barrels a day were suddenly removed from the oil market, analysts think oil prices could surge once again, as affected countries scramble to source other supplies. Even with oil cartel OPEC recently increasing output, replacing such a large volume would be exceptionally difficult in the short term, given limited spare capacity and logistical constraints. "There is nowhere to get those 5 million [barrels] fast enough to prevent a spike in oil prices." Alexander Kolyandr, senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis, told the UK's newspaper. Ritolia told DW it may take Indian firms up to a year to cut their reliance on Russian oil, if required. Higher oil prices would trigger a sharp rise in inflation both in the US and worldwide. The US Federal Reserve has estimated that every $10 increase in crude adds about 0.2 percentage points to US inflation. India's central bank reached a similar conclusion. If prices were to climb from the current $66 a barrel to $110-$120 per barrel, a roughly 1 percentage point inflation rise would drive up costs for consumers and businesses — especially in energy, transport, and food. Katinas said China, whose total trade with the US is more than four times the size of India's, "might be exempt" from the new US measures. With the world's two largest economies conducting over $580 billion of trade, China's sheer economic scale gives it bargaining power that India lacks. China's chokehold on the supply of rare earth minerals — a persistent friction point in US-China relations — may serve as yet another lever Beijing is pulling to temper Trump's stance. With India lacking comparable leverage, Trump earlier this week doubled down on New Delhi, saying the likely impact of his new sanctions on Russia and India would "take their dead economies down together." India is, meanwhile, no longer reaping the same windfall from Russian oil as it did in 2022, when discounts ranged from $15 to $20 per barrel. That margin has now narrowed to around $5, according to Kpler's Ritolia. Eager to replenish its war chest, Russia is aggressively maximizing energy revenues, buoyed by rising demand from Turkey — now its third-largest oil customer — and across Asia, where Russian crude is discreetly reexported under alternative labels to sidestep US sanctions. Still, Indian refiners continue to buy. Imports hit an 11-month high in June at 2.08 million barrels per day, accounting for 44% of India's total crude intake — a sharp rebound driven by geopolitical hedging and price competitiveness. Beyond the rhetoric, China's likely response seems guided by its earlier reaction to secondary sanctions. Chinese banks are increasingly refusing Russian transactions, even in yuan, forcing Moscow to rely on opaque intermediaries and third-country workarounds. Beijing sees oil imports as a priority that is mostly shielded from political pressure, India is seen as more likely to hedge: trimming purchases if pressured, but not abandoning discounted Russian crude entirely Ritolia speculated that India might "reduce" its Russian oil imports, but added: "I don't see us going down to zero anytime soon."
