University and community‑college leaders tell committee Oregon underinvests in higher education, urge more state aid

University and community‑college officials told the House Committee on Higher Education and Workforce Development on April 1 that Oregon’s public investment in higher education lags regional peers, shifting greater cost to students and creating budget pressure for institutions.

Jamie Moffitt, senior vice president for finance and administration at the University of Oregon, told the committee the seven public universities collectively have an estimated annual economic impact of about $8 billion and employ more than 31,000 people statewide. Moffitt said median earnings data show a substantial lifetime benefit to degree attainment and argued those economic returns justify public investment. “There’s really a magnifying effect here of the funds that are invested in the institutions and then the impact that the institution has on the state,” she said.

Moffitt and other institutional presenters outlined three…