All 7 public universities raising tuition in Oregon

SALEM — All seven of Oregon’s public universities will raise tuition for the 2019-20 school year, with officials citing increased costs and less money than expected from legislators.

The hikes range from 2.33% at Western Oregon University in Monmouth to 9.9% at Ashland’s Southern Oregon University.

Gov. Kate Brown had made education a priority of this legislative session, repeatedly saying that she wanted to create a “seamless system of education from cradle to career.” The Democrat expressed disappointment that higher education wasn’t involved in a $2 billion increase for K-12 schools that legislators approved earlier this year, and she has continued to push the Legislature to increase university budgets to avoid tuition increases higher than 5%.

Legislators recommended a two-year higher-education budget of $836.9 million. That is $100 million more than last biennium, though schools like the University of Oregon said they needed at least $120 million more to keep tuition increases below 5%. The University of Oregon will raise tuition 6.91% next school year.

Read more: https://www.bendbulletin.com/localstate/7238996-151/all-7-public-universities-raising-tuition-in-oregon