Oregon Promise: About 6,000 students are attending college so far

By Andrew Theen | The Oregonian/OregonLive 

One month into fall term, about 6,000 students across the state are taking community college classes through the Oregon Promise...

That headcount is right about what state officials anticipated for the first-year program, which helps defer tuition costs for eligible high school seniors who chose to attend community college…

As Oregon Promise students gear up for first year, some learn attendance isn’t free

..State lawmakers allocated $10 million for the program in 2015, enough to cover the cost of the program for the 2016-17 school year…

The program isn’t guaranteed to continue in perpetuity.  The higher education commission is asking for $34 million in the upcoming biennium…

We Respond & Your Comments

We’re not advocating for or against this program for “free community college.” But we do want to make a few points we hope readers will remember when they hear about new government programs:

• Nothing is “Free” – Somebody pays for everything;
• Spending always rises – Oregon Promise costs $10 million this year; for the next 2 years they want $34 million;
• Look for perverse incentives – Here the incentive is to show less income. Google “lower your income to get college aid.” You’ll find loads of websites about how to do it. Some parents will find legal loopholes; some will under report income; some will work less to get more aid for their kids.

Decide for yourself whether this and other taxpayer funded programs are good or bad. But filter your thoughts through the advice above.

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