HECC outlines statewide coordinating role, $4.1 billion biennial budget and Future Ready Oregon progress

Ben Cannon, executive director of Oregon’s Higher Education Coordinating Commission, told the House Committee on Higher Education and Workforce Development on Jan. 23 that the commission serves as the state’s coordinating board for postsecondary education and workforce development and administers the bulk of the state’s higher education budget.

“We are the statewide, coordinating board, governor appointed, senate confirmed,” Cannon said. “We administer the state budget for higher education and workforce. That’s approximately a $4,100,000,000 budget during the current 2023–25 biennium.”

The commission’s duties, Cannon said, include setting a strategic vision, advising state leaders, establishing funding distribution methodologies for community colleges and public universities, administering state financial aid and workforce programs, and collecting data and analysis for the legislature. He told the committee the commission uses a broad definition of “higher education” that includes two‑ and four‑year degrees, certificates, private career schools and apprenticeship work‑based learning coordinated with the Bureau of Labor and Industries.

Why it matters: The HECC’s role affects how state dollars flow to 17 community colleges, seven public universities and private degree‑granting institutions. Cannon said the commission measures progress against longstanding state goals — the “40–40–20” attainment goal and a more recent target to see 300,000 additional adults earn a postsecondary credential by 2030 — and that the agency’s strategic plan is organized around five goals to improve value and outcomes for learners and taxpayers.

Cannon described student demographics that shape policy choices: community college students average about 26 years old, many are part‑time and working, and only a small share of learners attend full time. “This slide suggests that only 8% of the students whom we are counting within our education and postsecondary education system are attending full time,” he said, and he pointed the committee to statewide data on food and housing insecurity among postsecondary learners.

During questions, Cannon described the commission’s role in Future Ready Oregon, a statewide workforce and education initiative. He said HECC administers most Future Ready funds and reporting across partner agencies, that the initiative was a roughly $200,000,000 investment and that HECC has committed most of those dollars through grants for industry‑led training pathways in fields such as health care, manufacturing and technology. “Those dollars have brought thousands of new Oregonians into the workforce,” Cannon said, and he cited credit‑for‑prior‑learning strategies as one example of an approach to accelerate credential completion for adult learners.

Cannon also addressed governance history and the HECC’s creation: the state moved from a single state‑run university board to devolved governing boards for the seven public universities between about 2011 and 2015 and consolidated several previously separate agencies’ functions into the coordinating commission.

On federal funding, Cannon said HECC administers relatively little federal higher education funding directly; he identified U.S. Department of Labor grants for workforce training as the agency’s largest federal funding source but said more than 90% of the HECC’s budget is state money. He recommended committee follow‑ups to examine financials and specific programs in greater detail.

The committee concluded the informational hearing with staff noting upcoming briefings: an introduction from Oregon Health & Science University, an overview of higher education labor organizations, and a presentation on student basic needs scheduled for the next meeting.

Ending: Committee members requested additional briefings on topics Cannon mentioned, including apprenticeships, demographic projections, and a fuller report on Future Ready Oregon outcomes.